I have so many more questions, but when I open my mouth, Dad gently raises a hand to stop me.
“No more talking, Otis, there will be time enough for that.” He rises to his feet. “Let’s go celebrate your mom’s birthday.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CLEM.
When I wake up, Otis is not beside me.
Maybe he’s preparing breakfast, I think as I amble sleepily into the kitchen, where Amy is making coffee.
“Have you seen Otis?” I ask, pushing my rumpled hair away from my face.
“Not this morning, but he left a message for us.”
I read the note she hands me.
There’s been an issue at work. Be back for the party. Don’t worry, I am safe. With Tony. xxx
“Should we be worried?” Amy asks.
I smile brightly, but yes, I’m worried. “If he says he’s safe, he means it.”
Amy nods, believing my confident tone.
I try to believe it too, and keep myself busy with the morning’s activity. The twins tell me about their work in the mines, not an easy job by the sound of what they do, but it pays well, and Amy chats happily about her blossoming relationship with a satyr. “We’re complete opposites, but we kind of click,”she explains. “Early days and all, but it’s the first relationship I’ve had in a while, so I’m seeing where it goes.”
My anxiety increases as the day marches on and after preparing the cake and wrapping gifts for Sally, there is still no sign or sound of Otis.
The four of us get a cab to the care home.
“Shall we just wait a little longer?” Amy says as we stand outside for what seems like hours but is probably less than fifteen minutes.
We wait, until Dwayne looks at his watch. “It’s past the start time for the party.”
“I guess we should go in,” Amy says.
We go inside and Moe leads the way to the communal living area.
There are balloons hung from the ceiling and a sign that reads, “Happy Birthday, Sally.”
And then I spot Sally
She’s waiting expectantly, dressed in her best dress with her hair braided and looped around her head twice.
“Oh,” Amy’s voice cracks as she gazes at her mom. “She looks happier, than last time we saw her.”
My heart drops. She won’t be if Otis doesn’t come.
I hang back in the doorway.
“You guys go first, I’ll wait for Otis,” I say.
The orcs move forward and I watch as Sally turns her head and sees them.
For a moment she stares blankly, then her whole face lights up with joy.
Tears spill out of her eyes, and she lumbers to her feet.
