Page 46 of Summer Ever After
“Oh, dear.” She smiled. “He’ll always be a boy to me. A sweet boy who should be out flying airplanes and climbing ice walls, not caged in that loft in the city wearing suits.” Her eyes started to well with tears. “My apologies, Daisy. Please ignore me, I’m just an old woman.”
“You’re not just an old woman, Mrs. Graham. You’re one of the kindest women I’ve ever met.”
She grabbed my arms and pulled me in close to her, her breath tickling my ear. “Don’t you ever tell anyone. I want to be feared around here.”
I laughed. “Your secret is safe with me, and I think your strategy is working. Even Trey jumps when you clap your hands.”
“He’s another one.” She smiled. “He deserves to meet a good girl too. But enough about that.” She pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of her jacket. “I was only able to get one ticket. I guess Miss Jessica changed her mind about her date.”
“Thank god.” I thought to myself. Jessica deserves so much more than that asshole.
Mrs. Graham pressed the envelope into my hand. “I hope that your friend enjoys herself.”
Years of tears spilled down my face. I sagged into Mrs. Graham’s arms. “It’s okay, child.” She held me as I sobbed. I wept in gratitude for what she had done for me, but I also felt sorrow that it was being wasted on Christina. After one last heaving inhale, I pulled away and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my Starling Estate work shirt.
“I…I…” I couldn’t get the right words to come out. “Thank you.” I tucked the ticket into the pocket of my leggings. “You have no idea what this means to me.” It meant that I wouldn’t have to work eighty hours a week. It meant that I wouldn’t have to use the money I’d scraped together over the years to buy a full-priced ticket. Mrs. G had no idea that the envelope in my pocket was one more step towards freedom.
“May I make a phone call?” I asked.
She pointed to a phone on the wall between the bunk beds. “Be my guest. Back to work at one o’clock though.” Her pointed finger swung from the phone to me. “Got it?”
“Got it,” I smiled. My face was sore from the hot tears. I picked up the phone and dialed Christina’s number.
Her voice was as cold as usual.
“What?”
“I got a ticket, but I was only able to get one”.
The line was so quiet I wondered if it had gone dead. Hello?
“You got one ticket after I asked you for two.”
“It was the best I could do. I’m pretty sure it’s the last available ticket. My boss pulled some strings.”
I was rapid-firing my argument. I thought that Christina would be happy, but she seemed totally pissed. “I’ll bring it home tonight after work.”
“One ticket?”
Her tone was hard to place.
“Yes, one,” I whispered, hoping that Mrs. Graham wouldn’t overhear the conversation and think that I was ungrateful.
Then, a cackle erupted through the phone. It was so loud that I had to hold the earpiece away from my head.
“You stupid girl. I already have two tickets. I knew that you’d fail at this, like you fail at everything else. Bring the ticket home though. I’m going to sell it.”
“When?”
Rage was building in my body and I gripped the earpiece of the phone so tightly I’m surprised it didn’t crack.
“When what? I’m at work, Daze. I can’t play your word games.”
“When did you get the tickets?”
“Oh, a few days ago.”
She had asked me about the tickets every night - even though she already had them. My cheeks burned and I wanted to smash the phone on the ground.
