Page 59 of Too Old for This
“Hold on. If I hang up—”
“I’ll call you right back,” he says.
I type out a quick reply to Morgan.
Yes. Good.
Texting has always been laborious to me, which is why I keep my messages succinct and to the point. Something I appreciate from others as well.
“Done,” I say to Archie.
“Thank you. Now, seriously, how are you? Everything okay?”
“It’s fine. How are you?”
“Good, good. And your hip? Have you decided about the surgery yet?”
“Oh, you know there’s a waiting list. Even if I decided to get it done, it would take a while.”
Silence.
“I was just wondering if the pain is getting worse,” he says.
“Same as always.”
Another sigh from Archie. So many of them today.
“If you need me to come up there, I will,” he says.
“No, no.” As much as I would love to see Archie, I can’t right now. The last thing I need is him fussing around, getting in the way while I’m dealing with Norma. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Call if you need anything. I can come up there if you need me.”
“I know. I will.”
It’s nice to have a son who cares so much. Except when he tries to tell his mother what to do.
Back to Norma. I need to understand what I’m dealing with, so a little research is in order. It never occurred to me that I should look into Plum’s mother. Not after Cole told me she was barely a part of Plum’s life. Another mistake that shouldn’t have happened.
It doesn’t take long to find her online. There aren’t many Norma Dixons in the Seattle area. She is fifty-one years old and single. She was married once, after abandoning Plum, but it didn’t last long. Her work history is spotty and has mostly been in the service industry. Waitress, clerk, sales associate, that kind of thing. Norma switches jobs every couple of years.
I’m not surprised to discover she is active on social media. Her profile pic is a selfie of her sitting in a fancy restaurant with a view of the water behind her. She is holding up a full glass of wine.
Her recent posts are about Plum’s disappearance. Not surprising, but not what I’m looking for. I scroll back farther to see what her life was like before.
Cocktails. Dinner and drinks. Dartboards and beer. Bowling and more beer. Movies and margaritas. No cigarettes, though I spot a wisp of smoke in one of the photos.
Buried between the socializing and drinking, I find a few more gems. On occasion, maybe after imbibing a bit too much, Norma likes to share.
Riddle me this! You know I normally keep things light on here (cheers!), but today I want to change it up and talk about breakthroughs. Earlier, I had an unpleasant experience at a store (DM me for name). A sweatshirt I purchased started to fall apart after one washing. ONE. The clerk would not let me return it.
Exchange only, he said.
If the sweatshirt was crappy the first time, why would I want another? And why was he trying to force it on me?
I don’t know what’s going on with this store or this sweatshirt, but something doesn’t smell right.
Just as I was about to get truly angry, I stopped. Was a sweatshirt that cost $9.99 worth raising my blood pressure? Was it worth making me upset and miserable all day?
