Page 65 of Refuge for Flora

“Y’all do what ya want. I’m takin’ a nap.”

“Would you mind if I had cable and internet put in here?”

Mrs.Murphy’s head snapped around and she gaped at Barrett. “Why on earth would you do that?”

“Because I want her to have internet service and I don’t mind paying for it.”

“Well, if you’ll take care of gettin’ it put in, I’ll pay for it if’n ya think she needs it.”

“She does. Come with me, baby.” Barrett grabbed Flora’s hand and headed toward the door.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Come on.”

On the way to wherever they were going, Barrett stopped at an office building and told her to stay in the truck. He was only gone a few minutes. “What was that about?”

“I just asked them to put in the cable and internet out there and paid the deposit for the equipment. Now for the fun.” He wheeled out of the parking lot and headed toward the mall.

An hour later, Flora sat in the front seat of the truck, staring at the shiny beauty in her hand. “I don’t believe it. I never thought I’d have one of these.”

“Well, now you do. You can do anything on that phone?check email, get on social media, make calls, send texts, all that stuff. We’re going to be very careful about who we give your number to. Mrs.Murphy should have it. I’ll give it to Kirby and Bud. I’ll give it to Mom and Dad, and Zyan and Landee. There’s really nobody else who needs it.”

“But I don’t even know your mom and dad or Zyan and Landee.”

“Don’t worry,” Barrett answered with a twinkle in his eye. “You will.”

* * *

“Areyou sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?”

Mrs.Murphy snorted. “Well, hell yeah. You ain’t been ‘round here all that long, and I was fine afore you came.”

“I’ll just be right down there. If you need me, you can call me.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. Y’all go do whatever you need to do.”

Flora headed toward the door, then turned and stepped back over to Mrs.Murphy. “Can I give you a hug before I go?”

“Why on earth would you wanna hug me?” the old woman asked.

“Because I care about you and I’ll miss you while I’m gone.” Flora bent down and wrapped her arms around Mrs.Murphy’s shoulders. Surprisingly, the woman patted her arms and kissed her on the cheek. “I won’t be gone late.”

“You bringin’ him back here when it’s all over?”

“I dunno. Why?”

Mrs.Murphy was grinning from ear to ear. “One-o these days he’s gonna walk outta that bathroom buck nekkid and I wanna be here to see it.”

“Oh, lord. I’ll be back in a while. I’ll bring you a plate.”

“Sounds good. Bye, girl. Be careful.”

“I will. Bye.” It occurred to her as she stepped outside that she and Mrs.Murphy were becoming more than an employer and employee. They were more like grandmother and granddaughter, and she liked it. It worked for them.

She’d no more than touched the truck’s seat when Barrett turned to her, one eyebrow hiked up. “Are you ready for this?”

“I need to be. If I’m going to stay alive, this has to happen.”

---