Free Saving Sunni by Reggie Alexander, Kasi Alexander

divorce and get a restraining order. The divorce paperwork was easy once I figured out the right place to go. The restraining order was a little different. The paperwork for that was much more detailed, asking for the reason that I felt I was in “imminent danger.” I didn’t really want to write “He is trying to convert me,” but I also couldn’t honestly say that he had threatened me with any violence.
    Sir and sage sat with me that night trying to puzzle out what to put down. sage suggested, “He has a history of violence,” and Sir added, “And has been contacting me persistently at my place of business after being requested to desist.” That sounded very legal to me, so I used it, although I wasn’t absolutely convinced that his visits could really be considered “persistent.” But both Sir and sage were very persistent, so I wrote it.
    The few days that it took me to get the paperwork done and ready to be filed made me very edgy. I wanted to get back to the store, but I knew Sir was nervous about me being there. I tried arguing that Randy already knew where I lived, and wouldn’t it be better for me to be in a public place if he showed up than home alone?
    Sir wasn’t having that, and it just made him angry when I suggested it. It seemed to me that he was overreacting to the whole thing, but I bit my tongue and let it go. Part of me even found his overprotectiveness a little sexy. At least now I would have time to start organizing my puppy club. I had written to Toby, the organizer of the puppy party I had gone to, and he had written back with some suggestions for getting started. I sent emails to the puppies whose contact information Toby had provided, and suggested a meeting at our house to plan some play dates.
    When Sir came home I was nearly bouncing in my chair, wanting to tell him what I had been doing. He looked at me strangely while I told him about hunting down the puppies in Denver, but didn’t say anything until I described my efforts to organize a meeting.
    “And you did all this without asking my permission?” he asked gravely. I felt my mouth go dry.
    “I…yes, Sir,” I said slowly, “but you said I could start organizing a group.”
    “Yes, I did,” he agreed. “But I would prefer that you check with me before offering my house as a meeting place.”
    I stared at him, frustration making me go cold all over. I didn’t know what to say.
    “Sir,” I started, but he slapped his hand down on the arm of his chair and stood up. He looked very intimidating, and I wondered for a minute if he was going to slap me.
    “This is my house, and I have told you that I prefer to be asked before you make plans,” he said, his voice quiet but intense. We stared at each other for a few seconds.
    “Yes, Sir,” I finally said, careful not to let anger into my voice. “I’ll remember that.”
    “Please do.” He stomped off into the kitchen, and I was left sitting on the floor, staring after him, wondering why he was so angry. It didn’t make any sense. The stress could have been making him grouchy, but it still didn’t seem fair to take it out on me.
    I heard sage coming in then and waited while she knelt down in front of Sir to do the greeting ritual. Sir’s voice still sounded a little abrupt, and I knew she was wondering what was wrong with him.
    sage set her books down on the coffee table and mouthed, “Is he in a bad mood?”
    I nodded glumly, and she sighed, sitting down in the recliner. Since it was my night to cook, I got up and headed into the kitchen, happy to see that Sir was coming back into the living room to wait.
    His bad mood didn’t last too long, though—they usually didn’t—and during dinner he started asking questions about the puppy club. We talked about the different kinds of events we could have at a puppy field day, and everyone was much more cheerful when we took our coffee into the living room to watch television. Sir told us to put on our robes, and the