Page 120 of Hutch
“Your phone doesn’t have Facetime and we can’t video chat.”
“Sure we can. There are tons of other programs.” She shoves the phone box into my hands and I shove it right back into hers.
“How old is your phone?”
“Why?”
“Just answer the question, Red.”
“It’s not that old.”
“How old is not that old?”
“Five years old.”
“Is it even still getting regular updates?”
She stays silent which means it’s probably not.
“You need a reliable phone, Daisy, especially now that asswipe is around. This will make me feel better when I’m not here knowing you can call me at the drop of a hat on a program that isn’t going to give us fits trying to make it work on different operating systems. Please, sweetheart, take the phone.”
“It’s too expensive.”
“No, it’s not. Even if I hadn’t just signed a five million dollar contract, it still wouldn’t be too much because I’m damned careful with my money and I have a lot in savings from money I got from grants and scholarships. It isn’t too much.”
She frowns.
“And it’s your same number. I remember what you said about making sure your mom at least had a voicemail box to talk to.”
“You remembered that?”
“I remember everything you’ve ever told me.”
“It’s so expensive.”
“This is something you need. It’s not like I went out and bought you a ten thousand dollar necklace or something. This is a necessity and since it’s part of my family plan, it was cheaper than if I bought it outright.”
“You are not paying my monthly phone bill!”
“I get four phones on the family plan. I pay for Mom’s phone, so why shouldn’t I pay for yours? It’s not costing me any extra since I already basically pay for four.” Well, it did cost a little more, but she doesn’t need to know that. She’ll throw the phone in my face and tell me to get lost.
“Because I’m not related to you? I understand your mom, but not me.”
I sigh. “Daisy, a phone plan is expensive, especially if it’s not a prepaid one and the phones on those are not nearly as good as this one. Please, let me do this one thing for you. It’s not costing me anything extra outside what I paid for the phone. Please.”
“I’ll think about it.”
That’s probably as good as I’ll get tonight.
“So, now that that’s settled, what do you want to do? I really don’t want to go back downstairs into that mess.”
I feel the shudder go through her. “Me either.”
“Never been a fan of parties?”
It’s her turn to sigh. “I used to go to every party thrown. Girlfriend of the quarterback and all that. I enjoyed them too. The loud music, the laughter, the dancing…it was my scene.”
“But not anymore?”
