Page 42 of Find Me in California

“Are you going to finish reading it?”

“I might. Yeah, probably. She used to tell me stories about her past, but she never told me about meeting your grandparents. I feel like I’m learning a whole new side of her.”

“What was she like?” he asks to get her talking. She seems happier when she’s reminiscing.

“Young.” She laughs lightly. “Provocative, bold, daring. Very bohemian. She didn’t care about rules, and she loved big. I envy those qualities about her.”

“She’s your grandmother. Those qualities must be in you too.” That’s why being an asshole comes naturally to him. He gets it from Liza.

She hums, unconvinced. “I don’t have the freedom she did.”

Because she’s solely responsible for her grandmother’s well-being.

Will that happen to him? Will he lose his freedom if he assumes Elizabeth’s financial obligations? He earns a decent income that allows him to save and invest with some to spare for travel and play. How much of his life will he have to give up to keep a roof over that woman’s head?

“Don’t you find it odd both of our grandmothers ended up at Rosemont?” she asks. “Liza never once mentioned she knew my grandmother. Oh, Matt, I am so sorry. I asked Liza about what I’d read, and she got upset.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“No ... Ireallyupset her. Lenore will tell you about it when you get here. I wanted you to hear it from me first. I’m sorry.”

“Trust me, it’s not a big deal. Everything sets her off.” Then curiosity gets the better of him. “What exactly did you say to her?”

“I asked why she never told me she knew my grandmother. That’s all.”

“Well, she can piss off.”

“Anyway, I’m sorry. It’s getting late. I should let you go.”

“Yeah.” He glances at the clock. “I should get some sleep. Finish the diary, Jules. You can tell me about it tomorrow.”

“I’d like that. You’ll be here then?”

“I should be.”

“I hope so. Good night, Matt.”

“Night, Jules.”

He ends the call and sets the alarm on his phone for 4:00 a.m.

Outside, water splashes and kids shriek. He goes to the window. Five teens are hanging around the pool. He closes the window and presses his back to the wall, thinking about what’s in store for him tomorrow.

He reaches for Jack and unscrews the cap.

CHAPTER 20

JULIA

Julia ends her call with Matt, but her mind doesn’t wander far from him. From what little she could gather, and considering he’s drinking at a motel when he should be driving to California, Liza troubles him, and not because she’s broke and her days at Rosemont are numbered. The massage therapist inside her wants to ease the tension between them and get to the heart of the matter. But emotions aren’t sore muscles that unwind with a few strokes of a thumb.

Should she be worried about him? Maybe she should mention something to Lenore or Liza.

No, she better not. Lenore specifically warned her away from Liza. She was also clear that Julia needed to focus on her own problems and not everyone else’s. Matt will take care of Matt.

That settled, Julia gives her laptop a withering glare. She’s sitting cross legged on her bed with more browser windows open than she cares to count. Before Matt’s call, she was running numbers and had finally accepted her reality. She can’t see how she can afford to keep Mama Rose at Rosemont.

She’ll have to break her promise to her grandmother.

---