by Sheri Duff
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
My visit to the phone store takes forever and a day, and then another day. I’m number seventeen billion on the screen that hangs on the wall. My name moves up the list in slow motion. The stupid guy who checked me in spells my name wrong: Massey.
“It’s M-a-s-s-i-e.”
He nods but doesn’t correct it.
Idiot. His name is Jeremy. He’s skinny, boney skinny with very little facial hair. It looks like he’s trying to grow sideburns but there are chunks missing. The next teen heartthrob, he is not.
My phone is busted. There is no way to fix it. Jeremy, who is now helping me, has to call my mother in England for approval to replace the phone. This pisses her off because she’s sleeping. She’s not mad at me. She’s irritated with the cell phone company. She tells Mr. I-Can’t-Grow-Sideburns Jeremy to let me pick out a phone and to leave her alone.
“She’s not usually like that, Jimmy, but it’s the middle of the night in England, and she doesn’t do so well when she’s tired.” It’s true. My mother only flips out when she’s tired or starving. Not hungry—starving.
“Jeremy, the name’s Jeremy, not Jimmy,” he says.
I don’t respond. I stand there looking at his sideburns. If he can’t fix the spelling of my name, I don’t need to get his right, either.
“She said you could purchase any phone you wanted. Do you wanna look at our newest smartphones?” Jeremy rubs a hand along the peach fuzz on his face. He’s not about to pass up an easy sale like this one.
“See, the thing is, Jimmy, she told you I could get whatever I wanted. That was her sleepy talk. Can you give me the closest phone to this?” I point to my useless phone. My mom’s due home in a couple of days. I want the latest and greatest, but I know better.
The store doesn’t have what I need in stock. Jeremy orders my replacement online. It will ship in a couple of days. He agrees to ship it to my dad’s house without another call to my mom. I think he’s scared of her. Now I’m stuck without a phone for at least two days.
After calling Gaby from the phone store to take the day off, I head back to the hospital. Benny’s sleeping now and the nurse informs me that only family can visit. “His daughter and son-in-law just left. They’ll be back later and you can talk to them about the details,” she says.
All I have to do is tell her I’m his granddaughter and I’m sure she’ll let me into see him. But I don’t. Instead I say, “Thank you.”
On my way out of the hospital, I’m attacked by my two best friends. “Hey. What the hell?” Natalie gets up in my grill.
“Personal space.” I back up.
“I texted you a zillion and a half times. You never answered.” Vianna puts one hand on her hip and shakes her phone in her other hand.
“We want details about the attack on Wendy.” Natalie sticks her hand in my face waving me toward her.
“Um, stop!” I wave my hands in front of me. “First, my phone broke. Second, what did Wendy say I did? Third, personal space.” I draw a box in front of me with my fingers.
“That’s what we want to know. What did Wendy say? My dad called my mom. He was pretty upset,” Vianna chuckles.
“How’d that go over?” I ask.
“My mom told that fool to shut his ass and then she hung up on him,” Vianna says. And she does so without whispering and without looking around to see if anyone will hear. She doesn’t care anymore.
The three of us giggle.
“What did he say?” I ask.
“My mom wouldn’t tell me. She said it was a bunch of crap and I didn’t need to worry about it,” Vianna says.
“Well, my mom is now officially concerned that I really want to hurt my baby sister. She has set me up for counseling.” Natalie crosses her arms and glares at me.
“Don’t even go there with me. Wendy’s the crazy one who was spouting off all the crap.”
“I’m kidding. My mom told my dad he better pull his head out of his ass before she takes my brother and I away for good.” Natalie fidgets. As much crap as Natalie talks about her dad, I know she loves him. And I know she misses him. She doesn’t want her mom taking her away from anyone, not her dad and especially not Annabelle Moo-Moo.
Alicia enters through the double doors of the hospital and propels herself toward the elevator. She halts when she sees the three of us. “I texted you last night and this morning. What’s up? You never answered me.”
“My phone broke,” I say. “Jack was supposed to text you and let you know.”
“Wait here. I need to talk to you. I’m pissed and we’re gonna settle this crap once and for all.” She looks at all of us. Her voice is deliberate. I’ve never seen such anger. Not even when she yelled at my dad.
Alicia must see the fear in my eyes because her tone changes. “It’s not you. It’s not me. It’s those crazy women that your friends have to deal with.” Alicia points to Natalie and Vianna.
“The stepmonsters?” Natalie asks.
“I can think more fitting titles, but yes, the stepmonsters. I’ll be right back. I’m going to go up and see my Papi. Can you guys wait for me?”
I nod and my friends follow my lead. Alicia punches the elevator button several times. The door finally opens. I want to go with her but it’s not my place. That’s her dad up there, not mine.