Page 12 of The Run Option

My brow furrows when I see I have a voicemail from an unknown number. It’s rare that I get calls from anyone but family. Worried that it might be something from Granny’s doctor, I play the voicemail.

“Good evening, Ms. Delmont,” a monotone male voice greets. “My name is Clarence Bowlfield with U.S. Immigration Services. I am calling to inform you that your work visa has expired.”

My phone drops out of my hand, and my stomach with it. I scramble to pick it up again, my heart racing.

“-sent multiple verification emails, and mailed letters to your home. Since you missed the application cut-off, you will need to report back to Canada within the next sixty days.”

I cut off the voicemail and lunge for my laptop. My hands tremble as I log onto my email. I check every inbox, including my spam folder, and find nothing. There must be a mistake. I don’t delete any of my emails, so they would be in here.

The blood drains from my face as it dawns on me. “No, no, no,no.” I log out of my email and log into my old college account. The one I haven’t looked at in at least a year. It takes four tries to get in, but I finally do. Sure enough, several emails from Immigration are waiting for me,unread. I click on the most recent one, which tells me in bold red letters that I’ve missed the cut-off date.

I call the number back, trying to take deep breaths but failing. Hopefully, Clarence can understand me while I’m hyperventilating.

“U.S. Immigration Services, Clarence speaking. How may I help you?”

“This is Willow Delmont. I received a call about my work visa expiring.”

The sound of typing breaks the silence. He asks a few questions to prove my identity, then pulls up my file.

“Ah, yes, I have your file right here. What can I do for you?”

“I think there’s been some sort of mistake. I didn’t receive any letters in the mail.”

“My notes say we sent several letters to the address 151 Magnolia Drive. This is the address you listed on your contact form.”

Granny’s address.I lived with her for a short time before finding my apartment. When I moved, she started calling often to ask about random junk mail with my name on it. I told her not to bother saving the envelopes and to just throw away anything that didn’t have her name on it. I squeeze my eyes shut. This is so, so bad.

“I moved from that location,” I say, my voice tight.

“I see. But you did receive our emails?”

I look down at my laptop, the words blurred from my tears. “Yes,” I rasp.

“Then I’m afraid there was no mistake, Ms. Delmont. We did what we could to reach you.”

“Why wasn’t I called before now?” I ask, grasping desperately at the one thing they didn’t do. Logically I know this is my fault, but maybe if that’s some mistake on their part I can get time to reapply.

“It’s our policy to reach out first via email, then send letters if no response, then call once you’ve been deported.”

“Policy,” I echo.

“Yes. I’m sorry, but I cannot do anything further for you. You must return to Canada within the next sixty days, or you will face the risk of being banned from reentry into the United States.”

I wipe my face with the sleeve of my Lions sweatshirt. The team I can no longer work for because my visa has expired.

“Okay,” I manage to choke out. “Thank you for your time.”

I hang up before he can give me some platitude about having a nice day. Numb, I stare at my living room wall. I’m being deported. My grandmother is hurt, and I’m going to be forced to abandon her. And the dream job I worked so hard to get is gone. My phone starts to buzz in my hand, Aaliyah’s name and face lighting the screen. I draw in a breath, then answer.

“Girl, where are you? There are way too many guys here,” Aaliyah says with a laugh.

I didn’t tell anyone other than Bianca that my grandmother was hurt. There wasn’t much time to, what with talking to all the doctors and making sure she was set up at home.

“Sorry, some things came up. I’ll try to be there soon,” I say, doing my best not to sniffle.

“Is everything okay?”

I stifle a hysterical laugh. “Yeah, everything is fine! I just had to help out my granny.”

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