Page 58 of Her Brother's Keeper

“You bet your sweet ass I am.”

I felt myself grin and said, “I’ve got to go or I’m going to be late to work.”

“Okay, Angel. Be careful.”

“I will, and thank you, they’re all so beautiful,” I said twisting in my seat to look into the back.

“Not half as beautiful as you. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

I left the school feeling energized and renewed, and I hated that I could only stop at home long enough to bring in the flowers and teddy bear, taking three trips to get it all up to my room; only so I could change clothes and rush off to work.

Sage wasn’t home yet, which wasn’t completely unusual. Sometimes he liked to stay for the after school program and sometimes he didn’t; when he did, I would pick him up. Today just wasn’t the day, though.

I tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

“Dammit!” I muttered harshly and went back out to the garage. I got in the car and tried him again. Straight to voicemail.

I was going to kill him.

I drove to his school and found him in the after school program area playing Ping-Pong with one of his teachers.

“Sage!” I called out and he turned, smiling which took some of the edge off my mad. His face fell a little and I tried to head off the souring of his mood right off the bat with, “I was worried about you, did you turn off your phone?”

“Oh, yeah!” he cried and pulled it out of his pocket.

“Come on, I’m already late. I’m just glad you’re okay.” I hugged him around the shoulders and he squirmed out of it but not angrily.

I exchanged pleasantries with his teacher and raced my brother home, he got out of the car at the curb and said, “I’m really sorry, Maren. Mrs. Trenkle made me turn off my phone and I forgot to turn it back on.”

“It’s okay, Sage. Just be a little more careful? I need your help on some of these things. It’s the only way we’re going to keep making this work.”

He looked a little sad and said, “You shouldn’t have to do all of this stuff by yourself,” he said.

I laughed a little, “No one elsetodo it, bud.”

“I know,” he said, a weird look on his face.

“Close the door, I’ve got to go!” he grinned at me and slammed the car door. I waited the extra two minutes for him to run to the front door and unlock it, only taking my foot off the brake when he disappeared inside.

Despite my best efforts, I was over ten minutes late to work. I breezed into the back room and clocked in at the computer. My manager looked up and sighed.

“I’ll need to talk to you at the end of your shift, Maren,” she said tiredly.

“I know, Holly. I’m sorry, I had to go get Sage.”

“Just come find me before you clock out.”

“Okay.”

I felt yet another write up in my future as I took myself to my till and spent the next five and a half hours cashiering. By the end of my shift, all I wanted was to go home, fix a sandwich, and go to bed. I almost forgot to go find Holly, but Holly found me as I was finishing up just before clocking out.

“Maren, good, glad I found you… listen… I really hate to tell you this, but I’m going to have to let you go.”

I blinked and said, “I’m sorry?”

“You’ve just been late too many times. Well past what corporate will tolerate.”

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