Downstairs, Margie and Dad were sitting on the living room sofa, watching a movie about vampires. I stepped around the corner, blinking as Dad actually sat there and watched the flick, eyes intense as he ran his hands over his peppery hair.
I entered the living room, snickering while folding my arms, and they both looked my way. “You guys are really watching this?”
Margie gave a helpless shrug, and Dad nodded. “I’ve always wondered what you liked so much about it.” He scratched his head. “Gotta tell you, baby girl. I still don’t get it. The whole glittery thing, the heavy breathing, and the damn werewolves... I am so lost.”
I laughed. “It’s a girl thing. You have to read the book to understand.”
“Ehh. Seems like soft vampire porn to me. I’ll pass.” Apparently, this was one of his good days. Weird, it seemed on and off now, switching sporadically.
Margie shook her head with a laugh, and then she stood from the sofa. I turned for the kitchen, and only seconds later, she appeared. “Um… Chloe?”
I spun around, meeting her warm grey eyes. “Yes?”
Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Margie came my way, brows puckered. Immediately, I noticed the look of worry on her face, the questions running rampant in her eyes. “The man across the street— the one you’re interested in— how long have you known him again?”
“About ten years now.”
“Ten. Wow.” Her eyes expanded. “Was he married once before?”
“Yes.” I crossed my arms, stepping towards her. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.” She put on a smile. “I see why you fell for him. That’s a handsome man.”
I chewed on a smile, uncrossing my arms and going for the fridge. After pulling out a cup of strawberry yogurt, I turned for the table in front of the bay window and sat. “He is pretty good looking.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. Margie’s fingers twisted in front of her. There was something wrong. She seemed nervous, like something was bothering her. Before I opened my yogurt, I dropped the cup and narrowed my brows in her direction. “Margie? What is it? What’s wrong?”
She looked towards me, stepping forward. She was hesitant at first. “My son is…” She started but quickly waved a hand, dismissing the idea. “Never mind.”
When she began to turn, I called for her, hopping out of my chair. Glancing back, she looked from the countertops she’d wiped spotless to me. “Margie, you can talk to me,” I assured her.
She inhaled, releasing a puff of breath as her shoulders visibly relaxed. “Okay… well, it’s just my son. He wants to spend some time in Bristle with me. He said he’d get a hotel, but I would hate for him to go through the trouble. I know you aren’t used to strangers and I would hate for you or even Mr. Knight to think I’m trying to take advantage of my stay here, but—”
I stepped forward, holding my hand up. Her words stopped flowing in an instant, eyes glossy. Damn, I don’t know what it was about Margie, but this woman had deep-rooted issues. It seemed she was afraid of asking for things, like someone had punished her before for asking for anything at all. I was truly sympathetic for the humble woman, but I needed her to know that everything was fine. “Margie,” I murmured. “It’s okay. He can stay here. We have another guest room and he’s more than welcome to use it. I don’t mind at all.”
“Oh, God.” She cupped her mouth. I was about to consider her dramatic, until she continued. “Oh my goodness, Chloe, thank you! Last night was my first time seeing him in three years. I truly, honestly, need this.”
Oh. I felt bad for my previous thought. Three years?! Wow.
I dropped my hands, watching as two stray tears fell down her cheeks. I went back for the roll of paper towels, ripping one off and handing it to her. She accepted it, wiping her face clean. “Three freaking years?! Margie! Why has it been so long?”
She shrugged. “He has been very busy with his life. He’s an orchestrator for a high school in Arizona. He hardly ever comes home because he’s so swamped. And me… well, I happen to move a lot too. By the time he can actually come visit me, I’m booked for another caregiving job or working late hours as a nurse. We still keep in touch—he calls every day—but it has been hard not seeing my only child. Mi hijo.” My son.
“Was he raised here?”
“We lived in L.A.” she smiled. “I was born in Mexico but raised here in the U.S.”
“Oh. How neat. It’s insane for him not to see you for three years, though. As a teacher, there’s really not that many excuses.”
“He has his reasons. He wanted to stay away from California to grow as a person—escape certain… things. He called me last week, told me his band had entered the finals and was traveling to Bristle Wave High for a performance. He took that as a sign of God telling him he was ready to come back this way.”
“That’s great!” I beamed. “So when will he be here?”
“Tomorrow morning, if that is okay.” She looked at me for reassurance, grey eyes bright. I nodded. Her happiness was contagious. How her son could abandon his sweet mother, I did not know. If my mom were anything like Margie, I would have come home more often.
“I was thinking of making a big breakfast, and I promise you I will still be giving Mr. Knight the best care. He will never leave my sight. Let’s just hope that he cooperates with Sterling around. He isn’t very fond of people he doesn’t know.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, he’s always been that way. He doesn’t like to get to know people unless he has to, but I’m sure Dad will be fine. He’ll live. Breakfast sounds great! I’ll be sure to come down for it and meet your son. He sounds like a nice guy.”
“He is a great man. He’s accomplished so much when I didn’t think he would. He’s made me one proud mama!”
“I bet.”
“Margie, the remote please!” Dad called from the living room.
Margie glanced over her shoulder and then looked at me. Laughing, she said, “Let me go get that. Thank you again, lovely. I swear, you are the sweetest girl.” She patted my arm and then turned around, hurrying out of the kitchen.
I went back to the table for my yogurt. Unlike Dad, I loved to meet new people. Margie was a great person, and I was sure her son would be too, so there would be no worries about leaving them home alone.
After going for a run, coming back home to shower, and eating lunch, I took a nap but wasn’t quite sure when I’d fallen asleep. By the time I awoke, it was dark outside, nothing but the streetlights glowing outside my window.
I scrambled out of bed, going for my cellphone on the desk. I snatched it up, seeing two missed calls from Theo and one from Izzy. A text accompanied Izzy’s call.
Izzy: My dad is acting weird. He seems happier….
I blinked at her message. No smiley face. No big, fat LOL. No second text message, harassing me about what I was doing or why I wasn’t replying (which was normally the case.)
Was she onto us? Onto me? He seemed happier how? Since when? So many questions ran through my mind. I felt my heart racing, palms becoming clammy.
I disregarded her message, plugging the thought in the back of my head to make sure I returned her text. I went to my call log and saw Mr. Black(2). Two missed calls.
Walking towards my window, I saw that his driveway was empty, his home dark. Only the porch light illuminated. Picking my phone back up, I pressed the call button, and the phone rang twice before he responded. “Hello?” His voice was heavy, the way he sounded when he’d had a few drinks.
“Theo? Are you back?”
“Got back about two hours ago. What happened earlier? Called you twice. Wanted to see if you wanted to catch drinks with me somewhere?”