Page 117 of Running
Once I get through these duties, the only thing on my agenda is to relax on my couch until Grace gets home at six.
Grace gets home.I like the sound of that.
I get about an hour of rest in before another plot twist happens. Around four in the afternoon, my mind half-watching the movie I clicked on, my phone rings.
Seeing who is calling, I pick up immediately.
“Mom, hi…”
“Hi Johnson.” Her voice is anxious. “I’m sorry to bug you in the middle of the hurricane recovery.”
“It’s okay, the storm issues are long over here. What’s the matter?”
She sniffles into the phone. “It’s—It’s Lainie. She got let go from her job this morning.”
Shit.
“That sucks. Is she okay? I’ll help with anything she needs while she’s figuring things out.”
“She was upset when she got home, but it wasn’t a great place to work with her new boss, so nottooupset. Except Mark?—”
What did that asshole do?
“Mark, he started screaming at her, how he couldn’t do everything, make all the money, couldn’t stand it anymore. All this nonsense that didn’t even make sense.”
“What? Why would he even say that?” Shit, this guy is such bad news. “Is he still there?”
“He drove off, saying he wasn’t going to stay at the house anymore.”
I click my jaw back and forth. It doesn’t feel like enough to throw money at this problem now. I need to get there.
It only takes me five minutes to decide. I call Lily as soon as I do.
“Can you charter a plane for me to get home to Alabama as quickly as possible?”
Lily doesn’t ask questions, hearing the urgency in my voice. Next, I text Grace, asking her to come early if she can.
Things get more complicated when my doorbell rings, indicating Grace is here.
I open the door for her, ready to apologize for the change in plans I’m about to share.
But she knows something is wrong as soon as she catches my expression.
“What’s happened?” She walks in when I back away to create space for her to enter.
“It’s my sister. She lost her job today, and then her husband had a fit and drove off, threatening not to come back.”
“Oh no.”
“Yeah, with his four-year-old and baby at the house too. He’s a dick.”
“She must be so upset,” she says, empathy filling her voice as we stride into the formal living room and she throws her bag on the couch.
“I’m really sorry, Goldie, but I’m going to have to head to Alabama as soon as Lily finds a plane. Help them deal with the fallout.”
She nods, and I’m happy to see there’s no hurt in her expression. I wish this wasn’t happening and I could spend our last couple of days together.
“I totally understand. Family comes first.”
