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Who's R.H.M.?

When I opened my eyes, I yawned as I stretched. It has been months since I’ve slept so well. Will had gotten progressively more demanding, to the point where, by the time I fell into bed, it was time to get up to make his breakfast before he had to go to work: 4 scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms, onions, ham, homemade hash browns, 4 pieces of bacon, and two sausage links. I would then clean the house before making his lunch, which was always a homemade pot pie, either steak, chicken, or pork. After lunch, I would go shopping for whatever we needed before going home to take an hour’s nap before I had to get up to cook his dinner.

Mondays were fish, buttered noodles, and cabbage. Tuesdays were fried pork chops, steamed green beans, and garlic-mashed potatoes. On Wednesdays, it was stuffed bell peppers, and Thursdays were reserved for either lasagna or spaghetti. Fridays were steak, homemade mashed potatoes, brown gravy, and cauliflower with cheese. Saturdays were for chicken, corn, and mushroom rice. Sundays, according to my husband, were for roast, corn bread, squash, and a boiled vegetable medley. It was always the same thing. Nothing ever changed except for how he treated me. I was tired of the same old things. I was tired of being a slave in my own home and marriage. I wanted to be free and live for myself; whether or not Mister allowed me to stay, I was going to do just that.

I got up to wander through the small house. I was stunned at how perfect the house was. The open concept offered a direct line of sight from the living room through the dining room and into the kitchen. The living room had a huge 60-inch television, a bookshelf that was devoid of any books, a V.R. system, a beautiful glass coffee table, two end tables that matched the coffee table, and a thick-cushioned, deep couch. I moved to the dining room, which boasted an ornate dinner table with a gold frame in the shape of a rose, holding up a thin green and silver-swirled marble top. On the wall opposite from me stood an empty hutch. A gorgeous cuckoo clock, depicting a large oak tree on top of a waterfall, sat on top of the hutch. I turned in a small circle, a little breathless at the exquisiteness of the house.

“God, this is so perfect,” I murmured. “Just simply perfect.”

I walked into the kitchen and immediately drew up short when I saw the red envelope on the island. I stood frozen in place, a little afraid of what the sinister-looking envelope would hold. When my heart finally returned to its regular, steady rhythm, I walked slowly over to the island to pick up the envelope. On the front of the envelope, written in beautiful curly handwriting in golden ink, was my name. My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage as I traced my name with my fingers. I was stunned at the beauty of the writing. I had never seen handwriting quite as intricate as this. I slowly opened the envelope to pull out the cream-colored card from within it.

‘Leah,

Mister would like to request your presence at his office. When you wake up, please come to the tall, 6-story building you see to the right when you step out onto the porch. Feel free to eat before you come. I have placed a few dishes in the refrigerator for you. Enjoy.

R.H.M.’

Who was R.H.M.? And more importantly, how had I not woken up when he entered the house? Did people just enter other people’s homes here? If I stayed, would I even be safe? I took a deep breath before laying the note back down on the island to go over to the fridge. I pulled it open and was stunned to see several tupperware containers that all held different foods. I picked one up, moaning when I found the most aromatic stew contained inside it. I popped it into the microwave to heat it up while I searched through the rest of the tupperware containers.

There was potato salad, ribs, green bean casserole, a pot pie, spaghetti, lasagna, fried chicken, crawfish, shrimp etouffee, stuffed crab, a loaded salad, and many more delectable things that were completely drool-worthy. I kept the potato salad as well as the loaded salad out, grabbing the poppy seed dressing before shutting the fridge door. I wandered through the kitchen to find some silverware to eat with and a glass to pour myself some water to drink along with my food. I removed the stew from the microwave before settling into a chair in front of the island. I bowed my head to say grace before digging into my food. None of the foods complemented each other, but I was so hungry that I really didn’t care. I devoured all the food in no time, leaving all the containers completely empty.

I lifted the small bowl, which previously contained the stew, to my mouth to lick the remnants of the stew’s sauce from it before leaning back in my chair, completely satisfied, which was another thing that I didn’t get to do often. Will always ate like a king, while I was not allowed to eat the food that I prepared for him. I was only allowed to eat rice cakes, peanut butter, and celery. I had to remain thin and beautiful; otherwise, my husband would divorce me. I now regretted adhering to Will’s strict regimens for me. Before I left to go to Mister’s office, I washed the dishes that I used and wiped the counter off. I didn’t want to leave the house in a mess if I didn’t come back.

I walked to the front door and was, once again, amazed that the door was locked. Maybe I would be safe. Whoever this R.H.M. was, he must be the only other person who had a key. I started walking down the road with my eyes glued to the building I was headed to. There were dozens of people walking around outside, and they were all naked. By the time I reached the building, I could have sworn that my entire body was red from the amount of blushing I was doing. When I entered, I was surprised to find that there were no doors except elevator doors. I slowly walked over to them, jumping back when the doors automatically opened in my presence.

“Welcome, Leah. Please step into the elevator,” a voice instructed.

Alright, now this was just weird. I didn’t know whether I should be terrified or exhilarated. This whole community had already exceeded “daring,” in my opinion, by far. This was the first part of my journey to learning more about myself, so I took a deep breath and stepped into the elevator, the doors promptly closing behind me. I still grabbed the railing on the side, expecting to be slammed into the wall, but it moved so smoothly that it took me by surprise. When the doors opened again, I was presented with a long hallway, which had nothing but a single set of very tall doors that had an elegant desk stationed in front of it. As I walked up to the desk, I broke into a smile as I recognized the man sitting behind it. He smiled back at me.

“It’s about time you woke up. I kept checking the cameras to make sure you were still breathing,” he teased.

“The cameras?” I asked.

He nodded. “Every area is recorded for safety purposes,” he explained.

“Even the bathrooms?” I asked in shock.

“Yes, except those cameras are voice activated to grant our members privacy.”

“Oh. How do they work?” I asked out of curiosity.

“You have to say, ‘Hey, Mister,’ and they’ll start right up.”

“Interesting. Is everything here so high-tech?”

“Yes. And if you remain here, you will be given a wristband, which will monitor your vital signs, and so on, as you move around.”

“Oh wow! That is fancy.” I exclaimed.

He went back to typing on his computer while I shifted uncomfortably in my seat in front of his desk.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Sure. What can I help you with?”

“Who’s R.H.M.?”

He chuckled. “I am ‘Mister’s Right Hand Man.’ R.H.M.”

I blinked slowly. “That’s actually brilliant. I would have thought it was something like Robert Harold Mason or something along those lines.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “Do I look like a Robert Harold Mason to you?”

“Not really. You look more like a Stephan or a Fabio to me. Or maybe even a Vladimir.”

“Stephen? Fabio? Vladimir? Those are all very different from each other.”

“Yes, but all very fitting for someone like you.”

“Please, do explain,” he asked.

“Well, Stephan, because you were really nice to me when we first met. My brother’s name is Stephan as well, and he is what I imagine angels to be like. The way you treated me reminded me of him. Vladimir, because you look like you have a very dark side to you that could swallow people whole and not give them a chance for survival,” I explained shyly.

He tilted his head a little as he studied me. “And Fabio?”

“I… Ummm…” I mumbled as I looked down at my feet, blushing again.

“Go on,” he encouraged.

“It’s just that… You know, Fabio is supposedly the romance man… And he’s really attractive and suave, and sinful… with long hair and… He is just every woman’s dream come true. You know?”

I jumped when he tilted my face up so that I was looking into his eyes. My heart rate sped up, pounding mercilessly in my chest.

“Do you think that I am attractive, Leah?” He murmured huskily, capturing me in the depths of his hazel eyes.

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it again as no words would come out. Why couldn’t I speak? Oh, yeah, I could feel the heat coming off of his body, and I had never been so close to a man other than Will before, and he didn’t really count as he only got this close to me when he wanted sex. I swallowed hard. I was too embarrassed to tell him the truth. Did women really tell men that they wondered what their lips would feel like on theirs? Or that they wanted to feel their bodies against each other, with nothing between them but air?

“Well, Leah, do you?” He whispered, leaning closer to me.

“I-I… I…” I stammered as my body started to coil in excitement and anticipation, and my bottom lip started to tremble.

Suddenly, the doors opened behind him, and he pulled himself away from me. Disappointment coursed through my body at the loss of his closeness as he returned to his seat and sat back down behind his desk. He waved his hand over his shoulder.

“You may enter now, Leah. Mister is ready for you.”

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