This is what I wanted, isn’t it? To talk to her? That’s why I called her back finally.
“Aspen?”
I jerk my head. “Yeah?”
Kevin frowns at me. “I said you can go ahead and clock out.”
The call goes to voicemail. I slip my phone in my pocket. Quickly tossing my apron under the bar, I grab my bag, wave to the few regulars gathered toward the back, and dip out into the alley.
The night wind slaps me across the face. I inhale the chilled air, letting it fill my lungs with a cool embrace.
Reid’s not here yet, but then again I’m not supposed to be done for another half an hour. I could wait for him. Have him here with me when I try calling her back.
But she beats me to it. My phone buzzes again.
Fuck it. I’ve been sitting with the knowledge of my mumbling voicemail for days now, waiting to see if she’d respond to it. Now it’s time to face the can of worms I opened up again.
My hand shakes as I bring the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Aspen?” The word sounds shrill coming out of her mouth.
“Yes, this—it’s me.”
“Oh, I’m so happy you answered. I’m so sorry. I was on a cruise and didn’t have service on my phone. We like to unplug while we’re away, so I didn’t see your voicemail until we returned to port. I called as soon as I got home.”
She was on vacation. I don’t know if that’s better or worse than me thinking she was ignoring me…
“Oh, uh, I hope you had a nice time.” It sounds more like a question than a sentiment. But if she notices, she doesn’t comment.
“It was lovely. But I can’t tell you how overjoyed I was to see your voicemail when I turned my phone back on. Did you get my calls?”
“I—I did.”
She hums. “Well, I’m happy to hear from you. How are you doing? Are you still in Pennsylvania?” She laughs brightly. “There’s a million questions I want to ask you. I should slow down, I’m sorry.”
That makes two of us. Hearing her voice, so light and positive, rubs me the wrong way. It’s not that I’m unhappy that she clearly seems happy, but I thought she’d maybe speak to me with a little more…trepidation? Instead, she’s talking to me as if we’re old friends catching up.
We’re not.
We’re strangers, even if our blood tells us otherwise.
I kick a loose rock, sending it skittering down the alley. “I don’t live in Pennsylvania anymore.” That’s all I offer her.
“No? We don’t either. Ken and I moved south shortly after we got married. I never cared for the cold.”
“You’re married?”
“Yes.” She clears her throat, speaking a little quieter as she says, “But Ken’s not your father. He and I…his family moved him away after I got pregnant. I haven’t talked to him since. I don’t have his contact information either, so I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that.”
I never had any desire to meet him. My aunt and uncle said he was never around, even for my birth, so even as a child, I was able to accept that he would never be part of my life.
“I don’t want to know about him,” I tell her. “And I…I honestly didn’t ever expect to hear from you again. Not since Aunt Irene and Uncle Peter dropped me off in the system.”
“That wasn’t an easy decision for them.”
I blink, unsure if I heard her correctly. It wasn’t an easy decision forthem? What the actual hell… “Why did you call me?”Why after all these years? Why, when I have a good life, did you contact me and try to disrupt it?
She takes a deep breath. “I finally opened up to a few of the women in my bible study about my…past.”
