Page 35 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
“Yes.” She nods, but she doesn’t move, so I gently step past her and into the living room.
When I do, I hear heated whispers coming from a room down a short hallway. I glance toward it and see Callie’s back. She’s standing half inside a room, and from the stiffness in her spine, I can tell this discussion isn’t going the way she’d wanted it to go.
“Mom’s pissed.”
I bring my attention to Glory, and she shrugs.
“She doesn’t want Callie to run off again. Thinks she’s being irrational and stupid, which,duh.”
“Again?”
“Yup.”
I glance at her. “Care to elaborate?”
She pops her hand on her hip and arches a brow. “I don’t know you. If she wants to tell you, she will.”
“Okay,” I say with a laugh. “Noted.”
She huffs and walks away, apparently no longer dumbstruck by my presence, and leaves me standing awkwardly in her living room.
I can’t help but look around at the small space. An older model television sits on a stand in the corner. A couch that has seen better days covers the wall to the left. There is a small dining table to my left full of papers, and my eyes scan it on impulse. I see what looks like bills. Electric. Sewer. Internet. Something that I’m pretty sure is an insurance company. I look away, not wanting to invade the family’s privacy any more than I already have.
My eyes find a large dry-erase calendar stuck to the fridge in the kitchen.Callie Workis scribbled on nearly every day in red marker.Glory Workon a few other days in blue. I look away from that, too, but then my attention goes back to it. From the looks of the calendar, Callie works a lot. Two weeks in a row with no days off, with several days addingDOUBLEnext to her name.
She really wasn’t exaggerating when she said she wasn’t in the position to turn down my offer. Part of me feels bad, but another more selfish part feels relieved.
When Callie steps out of the bedroom and starts walking to the living room, her face is twisted with disappointment, and she looks even more exhausted than she did when I saw her a few days ago. I didn’t think that was possible. She stops in her tracks when she sees me and grimaces.
“You’re early.”
I check my watch. “By ten minutes,” I say. “But I’ve been here for five, so fifteen minutes early, I guess.”
She jerks out a nod and steps out of the hallway, toting a carry-on suitcase behind her.
“Let’s go then.” She turns back to the hallway. “Mom, I’m leaving. Just... Just call me, okay?”
Callie waits for a response, but when one doesn’t come, she walks reluctantly to the door. Just before we step into the hallway, her sister comes running back into the living room with her dog trailing behind her. She throws her arms around Callie’s neck in a hug, and Callie must be shocked because it takes her a moment to return the gesture.
They hug for a long time, and Glory whispers something into Callie’s ear before they finally release one another.
“Be good,” Callie says, and her sister nods.
“You, too. Call soon, okay?”
“I’ll call every day.”
After one last sad goodbye and a pat on the dog’s head, Callie follows me out the door and down the stairs.
“That didn’t seem to go well,” I say to her, and she laughs.
“Yeah.”
I glance over my shoulder at her. She has sunglasses on, so I can’t see those light-green eyes of hers, but her body language is all I need to see to know she is less than thrilled to be leaving with me. I consider just asking her—just coming right out and saying it—but I decide against it. Now is not the time, and given just how blank my memory is surrounding her, it’s a conversation that’s probably best had in private after the tension between us has calmed a little. And it has to calm; otherwise, no one is going to believe this relationship is real.
Before stepping out of the stairwell, I stop and turn to face her.
“Okay, there will probably be some photographers outside,” I warn her, and her eyes flare.
