Prudence
That was fun.Messing with Nate about moving in with him. It gave me the laugh I sorely needed. Now it’s just after midnight and he’s home and settled in bed. He told me to stay, that I could crash on his couch, but I figured that would set a bad precedent.
When I crawl into my own bed, I check my phone for the millionth time today. Laura still hasn’t responded to any of my voice or text messages. She’s worrying me.
I did have a text from Nate, though.
Nate:Thanks for taking care of me. I owe you.
Me:No, you don’t, and you’re welcome. Night.
Nate:Night.
I’m out like a light. Probably due to the exhaustion from the day’s events. Before falling off, I set my alarm for an hour earlier than usual so I could wake up and get a bike ride in before heading into work. Then, I can start work earlier than my scheduled time since I have no idea where Laura is. Better safe than sorry.
Best laid plans and all that because my phone starts dinging and ringing just before three in the morning. Drowsy, I glance at the phone, trying to see who it is. It’s never good news when your phone rings in the middle of the night. Am I right?
This time is no different. I see Laura sent me a text thirty minutes ago telling me to stop worrying, she’s home, and she’ll see me at the store. She’ll explain everything then. At least that’s a relief. Except the other texts are from Travis. His are things like “call me” and “NOW” in all shouty capital letters.
The phone rings in my hand, and Travis’s name appears. I answer it, giving some consideration to my salutation. Should I just snap “What?” or go with a more caring approach like “What’s wrong?” Instead, I stick with “Hello?”
The second he begins, it’s obvious he’s crying. My first thought is they lost the baby, but that’s not it. He wails, “Oh, Prudie.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s my mo-mother.”
“Celeste?” What did she do now? Did she take him out of her will? That’d make him cry, for sure. Celeste is loaded. “What’s wrong with Celeste?”
“Sh-She’s dead.”
“Dead?” Oh, wow. She was in her sixties but in good health. “How?”
“Hi-Hit by a car.”
“Hit by a car?” My voice cracks when I add, “Where?”
“On her street. She was out for a walk with Poochie.”
Poochie is her nasty little dog. He bites. “I don’t understand.”
Travis snaps, “What don’t you understand? She was hit. It was a hit and run.”
“Oh. My. God.”
Laura.
I need to move on because I refuse to even consider that Laura would actually do the thing she threatened. Those were just words one says when they’re angry. She wouldn’t follow through. No way. Except, to be certain, I need to gather up some more information. “What time was this?”
“Around ten.” He sobs. “I’m standing outside of the hospital emergency department. What am I going to do without her?”
Stop being a mama’s boy, for one. Live your life like a grown-ass man, for two. I keep that to myself, though. “You’ll be fine.”
He gasps. “How can you say that?”
Easy. Celeste was the most toxic person I’ve ever known. Nothing that came out of her mouth was kind. She was as manipulative as Travis was, maybe more. At least I recognized that his was a learned behavior, that he came by it naturally. It didn’t make it any easier to thwart, though. Sometimes he’d tell me something and it’d take me days, maybe weeks, to figure out what he was attempting to do. No matter. I get where he’s going, so I add, “I’m sorry for your loss?” Oops, did that sound like a bit of a question at the end? My bad.
“I knew it,” he hisses angrily. “Barbie thought you should know, but Itold heryou wouldn’t care. Youhatedher.”
