Page 87 of Moonstruck at Midnight
William took his phone out of his pocket and gave it to me unlocked.
Does it end in 33 or 43?
“Everything okay?” William asked.
“Uh, yeah.” I was having trouble remembering Aaron’s number. I looked away from him, hoping it would help me concentrate.
I dialed the one ending in 33, but a woman picked up the phone, so I hung up.Shit! If I didn’t call them, this was going to end badly. I dialed the one ending in 43, hoping for the best.
“Hirsch,” answered a man with a deep voice.
“Aaron, hi. It’s Billie.” Aaron cursed in Hebrew. I could hear him talking to Caleb in the background, but I couldn’t understand any of it. Caleb took the call.
“Red, we’ve been worried sick. I’ve called you a hundred times. You’re not answering your texts. David left fifteen minutes ago for Long Island. He was going to check on you physically.”Shit,shit,shit.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine. I accidentally dropped my phone in the pool. That’s why I’m calling you right now to let you know I’m phoneless.”
“Your father wasn’t pleased about us leaving you there. I shouldn’t have listened to you. We have direct orders from him to pick you up tomorrow first thing in the morning. We were trying to call you to let you know about this, but we couldn’t get a hold of you. Fuck!” he yelled over the phone.
“Caleb, calm down. I’ll take care of it. I’ll talk to my father.”
William sat next to me on the edge of the bed.
“Whose phone are you calling me from right now?”
“That’s none of your business.” I felt William’s grasp on my shoulder.
Caleb dictated William’s phone to Aaron and said, “Run it.”
“Caleb!” I couldn’t believe him. He was going to track down the number and see who it belonged to. What the hell? “It’s William’s phone, okay? Don’t waste your time. If you need to reach me, call this number. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I hung up and exhaled slowly out through my mouth before I could even listen to his response.
“I just realized how big of a deal it is that you’re alone without those guys,” William said.
“I know. It’s strange. Like something’s missing, but I don’t miss it. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like I can breathe,” I said, throwing myself back on the bed.
“So, what’s up with this—Caleb guy? He seems intense.” He laid on his belly beside me.
“He’s—overprotective. They all are. It’s theirjob. They’ve taken care of me since I was young. Sometimes I think they still see me as a child. I’m so tired of people wanting to control me. When I sent them away earlier, I just … I wish it could always be like this.”
“I don’t think you’ll live like this forever.”
I hoped.
“So, what was your mother like?” he asked out of nowhere.What?
“Um, well, she—” I trailed off. I wasn’t expecting him to ask me that.
“I’m sorry. I’m just curious to know more about her, but I understand if you don’t want to talk about your mother,” he said, his impossibly blue eyes looking into mine—working their hypnotic thing on me.
“No, it’s fine. It’s—it’s just that no one’s ever asked me that question before. But I’d love to tell you about her,” I replied. He nodded, as in,go ahead,I’m listening. “Well, she had light brown hair and brown eyes.” I smiled. “She was just the sweetest but would speak her mind when something didn’t sit right with her. She was frank and straightforward like that.”
“Who does that remind me of?” He smiled with a raised brow. I poked his nose with my finger and smiled back. He jerked his chin up and down once, prompting me to continue. “She was Catholic and liked to celebrate Easter eating paella—her favorite dish ever. It became one of my favorite meals, too. My father and I try to keep the tradition alive every year and eat paella on Easter Sunday.”
“You’re in luck because I make onemeanpaella.” He laughed.
“I’ll have to try it sometime.” Having tried William’s food before, I was sure it would be amazing. It’s as if he poured his entire heart into his cooking.How is he not a chef?
“I promise to cook next year’s Easter paella for you. Come rain or shine.”
