At the end of her workday, Octavia left the office and climbed into her Mazda CX-5 and buckled her seat belt. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed a number she could never forget and turned the car on, making sure to maximize the heat.

“Living Balanced LLC, this is Jennifer. How may I help you?”

Octavia bit her lip.

“Hello, are you there?” Jennifer prodded.

“Good evening, Jennifer, this is…” Octavia hesitated before pushing forward, “Octavia Davenport. I need to make an appointment with Dr. Cooper if she has any availability.”

Octavia fumbled with the keys that hung from the ignition.

“Are you a new patient or an existing one?”

Octavia bristled. She hated being referred to as a patient. It made her feel like she should be in an insane asylum. Octavia ended the call and sat the phone in her lap. Turning her head to look out the window, Octavia gazed to the street where traffic was beginning to pick up. When she turned back around, Claudia was turning the corner. Claudia strolled to her car, unlocked her door, and then turned to see if Octavia was in her car. When Claudia spotted her, she waved, and Octavia powered down her window.

“Hey girl,” Claudia said. “I’ll be at your house in about an hour. Will you be there?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Okay.” Claudia looked on for a second. “Are you good?”

“Yeah,” Octavia said. “Just getting ready to make a phone call and didn’t want to drive while I did it.”

Claudia nodded. “Good girl. The last thing we need is some crazy lady driving on the road while she’s talking on the phone.” Claudia meant it as a joke by the look of her head tossed back in laughter. Octavia, on the other hand, locked her jaw, wondering maybe she was a little nuts. She watched as Claudia climbed into her car and drove away before she put up a brave front and redialed Dr. Cooper’s office.

“Living Balanced LLC, this is Jennifer. How may I help you?”

“Hi Jennifer, we got disconnected before, this is Octavia Davenport, and I’m currently not a client of Dr. Cooper’s, but I’ve seen her in the past. I’d like to schedule her next available appointment if at all possible.”

“All right, give me just a moment to check Dr. Cooper’s schedule.”

“Okay.” Octavia exhaled. The phone was quiet for a minute before Jennifer’s voice rang through.

“Dr. Cooper’s been booked for months out, but we just got a cancellation. If you would like to take that appointment, it’s next Wednesday at four-fifteen.”

Octavia wasn’t expecting the appointment to be so soon. “I’ll take it,” she said.

“Okay, Ms. Davenport, I have your account pulled up. I’ll send you some documents in the mail that are just preliminary papers for you to sign and update any information you have. Send those in before your appointment so we can get you in the office with Dr. Cooper right away.”

Octavia nodded. “I’ll look out for them. Thank you, Jennifer.”

“No problem at all. See you next Wednesday.”

Octavia dropped the call and tossed her phone into her purse. Her eyes pulled to the rearview mirror, and she stared at her reflection. Soft brown eyes stared back, and she reached for her hair and shuffled around the thick curls. Putting the car in reverse, Octavia backed out of her parking spot and headed home. If she put the pedal to the metal, she could get there before evening traffic caged around her.

Octavia’s escape from downtown had come just in time. When she pulled in front of her home, Officer Davis was knocking at her door. He turned to the sound of her soft engine pulling into the driveway. Turning off the car, Octavia left her vehicle, and they met halfway with outstretched hands.

“Just the person I was looking for,” Officer Davis said. “Are you just getting home from work?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, I would give you a minute to get settled in before I bothered you, but,” Officer Davis lowered his voice, “this is the last weekend the official search will go on.”

Octavia frowned. “Has there been any news of Ayana’s disappearance?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Officer Davis lowered his voice again. “These things are government funded, and they all have an expiration date.”

“How horrible,” Octavia said as dread crept in.

“There will still be smaller searches going on, but they will be community provided. If at that time you’d still like to keep your home open as an unofficial station, it’s your right to do so. The only difference is you’ll have no way of tracking if someone coming into your home is a volunteer or just a plain ol’ trespasser. It would be up to you to keep up with it, and it would be in your best interest to hire security.” Officer Davis hesitated. “That is if you really need to hire someone.”

Octavia understood that Officer Davis was hinting at the fact that she had a personal security team in Rose Security Group because of Jonathon. She took it in stride and nodded.

“I understand,” she said. “I wanted to ask you if there are any other volunteers you could send my way. Even if it’s just one. With this being the last weekend, I wouldn’t want to take away from the strong effort you have.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Officer Davis said.

“Thank you. I’ll open up now, and you can start directing volunteers here when you need to.”

“I’ll give you thirty minutes to get ready. Sorry for bombarding you.”

Octavia smiled. “Don’t mention it.” She turned and walked to the entrance, letting herself inside. Closing the door behind her, she walked over to the thermostat and readjusted the heat then pivoted for her bedroom.

Octavia hadn’t spoken to Jonathon all day, and although she knew he was busy, it didn’t make her miss him any less. Deciding to send him a quick message, Octavia removed the cell from her purse then hung the straps along with her coat up on the rack in the hallway.

Hey you. I missed you today.

She inserted the pair of lips emoji then chickened out and removed it, opting for a smiling face as an alternative. Stepping into her room, Octavia removed her boots and replaced her suit for a V-neck thin sweater and a pair of blue jeans before slipping her feet in a pair of Reebok Classics. The same pair Jonathon had gotten her for her birthday earlier in the year.

In the kitchen, Octavia went about the task of getting snacks, water, and juices together for the volunteers who would stop by. The table that housed the hotline hadn’t been removed throughout the week. The most authorities would have to do is turn it on and calls would flood the line.

There was a knock on the door, then it opened, and Selena stuck her head inside. “Hootie hoo!” she shouted through.

Octavia shook her head and laughed. “Come on in, girl.”

Selena entered and closed the door behind her. “Am I the first one here?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want this door open or closed?”

“We’re going to leave it closed to keep the heat inside.”

“Good point,” Selena said. “Since I’m early to the party, I’ll take a load off.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Octavia responded. “Why don’t you sit right here.” Octavia pulled the chair out that sat in front of the hotline table.

Selena frowned. “How about today, I’m Adam and Adam will be me. So, then Adam can answer phones, and I’ll check off people coming through the door.”

“The problem with that is Adam isn’t here yet.”

Just then another knock at the door came. “Well, let me put my skills to use and answer the door,” Selena said.

Octavia rolled her eyes and smirked. Sure enough, it was Adam Fletcher.

“Hey Adam,” Selena greeted.

“Howdy,” Adam responded. He glanced over at Octavia.

“Good evening, Adam, how was your day?” Octavia asked.

Adam shrugged. “I can’t complain.”

“What’s that there you have in your hand?” Octavia said, mentioning the briefcase in his hand.

“Oh, this has the names of today’s volunteers and a checkoff list.”

“You’re just in time,” Selena said, reaching for the briefcase. Adam frowned. “Today I’ll be checking off the volunteers, and you can answer the phones, if you don’t mind.” Selena batted her eyes.

Adam grinned sheepishly. “I don’t mind.”

“Thank you so much,” Selena said.

Adam gave up the briefcase so fast you would think it burned his hand. He walked over to the hotline table and passed Octavia as she strolled toward Selena.

Once Octavia had reached her, she leaned in to whisper in Selena’s ear: “You know you wrong for using your womanly woes to get what you want, right?”

Selena twisted her lips and arched a brow. “Since when?”

“She doesn’t even deny it,” Octavia stated, staring at her.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take turns. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Mmhmm,” Octavia mumbled. She turned to go back to the kitchen when the door opened and Claudia and her sister Desiree strolled in.

“Yay!” Selena shouted doing a little shoulder jig. “You brought reinforcements!”

Octavia made a U-turn and smiled upon re-entering the living room. “I’m so glad to see your faces,” she said.

“Anytime, just let us know,” Desiree added, “unless of course, it’s in the middle of the night, or my boo’s home.”

“I wouldn’t dare call at those times,” Octavia said jokingly.

“Actually, you didn’t call at all,” Desiree said.

“You’re right, I don’t like messing with anybody’s happily ever after.”

“Girl, please,” Desiree and Claudia said in unison. Desiree had married Jonathon’s brother at the beginning of the summer. She and Claudia’s double wedding in Montego Bay Jamaica had been one of the most beautiful Octavia had ever seen.

When the phone rang, Adam answered swiftly.

“And so, it begins,” Selena said.

“Don’t sound so gloom and doom about it,” Claudia said.

Octavia chuckled. “Ladies, if you’ll follow me.”

Octavia turned back for the kitchen, entering with Claudia and Desiree behind her. Inside the pantry, Octavia pulled out more snacks, juices, and water.

“If you can just keep the snacks stocked and rotate answering phones and checking volunteers on and off the list, that would be great.”

“Oh, this is easy,” Claudia said.

“Yeah, until we’re over run with volunteers, and you can’t keep an eye on everyone,” Octavia said.

“Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem,” Desiree said.

“Have fun,” Octavia said, leaving the kitchen. Her mind traveled back to Jonathon and she went in search of her cell. Rounding through the living room, Octavia’s advance slowed when the front door opened. The man who stepped inside took an eye around the room before his focus landed right on her.

Surprised, Octavia paused, then approached just as Selena asked him for his name. A smooth smile spread across his lips as he kept his eye on Octavia. Selena turned from him to Octavia with a questionable look.

“Steven,” Octavia said, “what are you doing here?”

Steven closed the door behind him. “I’m a volunteer with Ayana’s search team. Officer Davis sent me over, he said you needed some help?”

Octavia was thrown at his appearance. As if speaking with Jonathon last week about Steven had talked him up.

“Oh, yes,” Octavia said. She turned to Selena. “This is Steven Matthews,” Octavia said.

Selena checked the list, and sure enough Steven Matthews was printed on the sheet. “It’s there,” Selena said. “I get the feeling you two know each other.” Selena glanced from Steven to Octavia who were both staring at each other.

Octavia pulled her eyes away from him and looked at Selena, but before she could answer, Steven did. “We have history,” he crooned.

“I could hardly call it history,” Octavia retorted. “Just a dude I was dating, but he wasn’t good for me, so I stopped seeing him.”

Steven put a hand up to his chest. “Ouch,” he said. “You’ve always had a sharp bite.”

“Let that be your warning,” Octavia said.

“I remember us having a pleasant conversation the last time we spoke.”

Octavia watched his mouth that was outlined with facial hair as he spoke. Steven had always been handsome. Light brown skin, smooth lips, a wide nose and deep facial features. He’d been a complete gentleman the few dates they’d made it on except for the ogling he displayed later. Steven knew he was handsome, and like an arrogant ass, he displayed it, expecting women to fawn over him whenever he was around. That didn’t happen with Octavia, and Steven saw her as a challenge. Someone he needed to conquer to prove that he could have any woman he wanted.

Octavia had seen right through his arrogance, and she’d told him as much. Steven had apologized and confessed that sometimes the attention got to his head. He seemed genuine enough, so Octavia had accepted his apology but never called him again. Now, here he was standing in her living room. Someone she didn’t think she’d ever see again.

“If that’s what you want to call it,” Octavia said.

“What would you call it?”

“If you plan to stick around, you can take phone calls from the hotline.”

“Whatever you’d like. I belong to you for the rest of the evening.”

Octavia glanced to Selena who stood with her mouth open.

“Who is this?” Selena mouthed behind Steven’s back.

Octavia gave a swift shake of her head and turned to walk away. Steven followed her with his eyes attached to Octavia’s derriere. Turning back to Steven, she motioned with her hands at the table and the second line that was set up on it.

“Steven, this is Adam, Adam, Steven, you guys will be working closely together taking phone calls on these two phones. We’ll rotate in about an hour to give you guys a break.”

Octavia moved to walk away when Steven caught her hand, halting her departure. “Are we good?” he asked.

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I’m just making sure. I’d like to right any wrongs I’ve made against you in the past if there are still things between us.”

Octavia turned to him fully and folded her arms. “There is nothing between us, Steven. Personally, spiritually, or otherwise. We’re good.”

With that, she turned and went to the kitchen to check on Desiree and Claudia. Octavia was officially off balanced with Steven’s appearance, but she would keep busy to stay out of his way.