“That’s affirmative, Agent Sue. Now as I was saying, this looks like a job for the Drug Squad!”
When I didn’t react, Mike snapped his fingers in my face. “Hello, Earth to Jenna! The Drug Squad! Don’t you remember?”
“Yeah, I remember when you guys convinced me to smoke weed and then Ross got all pissed at me. How could I forget?” I said.
“That was just one time,” Mike objected. “The Drug Squad is about much more than smoking weed. The Drug Squad has magic powers. We can brighten your day, and even my cranky brother’s, too. Maybe we can help bring you guys closer. It’s obvious you both want it. You just need a little push.”
“I don’t know, I’m grateful for your help, but, uh…” Happily, I didn’t have to keep making excuses, because my phone rang. Unknown number. I usually let those go to voicemail, but I needed an excuse to get away from those two. As I heard them chatting behind my back, I stood and picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Jenny.”
Monty. I don’t know if it’s because I was tired or emotionally drained, but Monty’s voice didn’t even scare me. It was more like an annoyance. I couldn’t believe I was still dealing with him after all this time.
“Are you seriously calling me?” I asked.
“Easy, Jennifer. I don’t want to fight.”
“If you don’t want to fight, leave me alone. Otherwise, I’ll call the cops again.”
“I just wanted to see what was going on,” he said. “A year’s passed. I’m a different person now. I’m starting a new phase of my life, and I don’t want there to be bad blood between us.”
I had the urge to curse at him, to tell him to drop dead, but the most important thing was for our conversation to end as quickly as possible. “Great, bye,” I told him.
“Wait! I wanted to know when you’re coming back.”
“Who said I was coming back?”
“I just figured because of your grandmother…”
“What about my grandmother?” I asked, suddenly consumed with worry. “What happened?”
“I don’t think it’s anything too bad. But you should call your parents. I was hanging out with them yesterday, and you came up. They miss you, Jenny. You shouldn’t be so hard on them. Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know something had happened, and if you need anyone to talk to, no matter what, my door’s always open…”
I hung up. I’d wanted to tell him to shove off, but what was the point? He wasn’t all there, and that would probably never change.
“Is everything OK?” Sue called out.
“I don’t know, I need to talk to my sister.” Thank God, Shannon is one of those people who always have their phone on them. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey there, little sister!”
“Hey,” I said, sounding more upset than I meant to. “What’s up with Grandma? And how come nobody’s told me?”
“Did Mom call you?” she asked.
“No, Monty.” That opened up a can of worms. Shannon screamed about how dare he call me, and she’d sic Spencer on him and he’d beat his ass, and I had to struggle to get her back to what mattered—my grandmother. She told me not to freak out, that it wasn’t as grave as it sounded, but Grandma had just had a heart attack. I started yelling. It probably burst her eardrum, but I didn’t care. I needed every single detail.
“Jenny, it was a scare,” she said. “She’s fine, I promise. Spencer took her tothe hospital and is staying by her side. We got her there on time, and they’re taking great care of her. When he has to go to work, I usually go in to relieve him. Grandma’s complaining about it, but we insisted. She isn’t going to be alone, and when she gets to go home, we’ll look after her, too. I was planning on telling you, but I didn’t want you to drop everything, and…”
I yelled, “Was that shit about water aerobics and her new friends even true?! I thought it was weird that she would never pick up when I called…”
“I’m sorry, Jenny, but that was her idea. She didn’t want you to be scared. Please don’t be mad.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I knew she wanted me to make her feel better, to tell her everything was fine and I understood. But I also remembered what my therapist had told me, that I shouldn’t hold back my feelings just to please others. And it was true. I’d had all that I could take.
“Well, I am mad,” I said. “And I don’t care why you decided not to tell me. She’s my grandmother, too, and if something happens to her, I deserve to know. I’m not a little girl, and if I want to go down there and spend a week with her, I will. I can make my own decisions, and you don’t have the right to do it for me. So from now on, you are not to hideanythingelse from me. Understood?”
