She wiggled the phone.“I have another chocolate bar in my backpack.If you call them, I’ll give it to you.”
“Bribery?”
Her smile softened into understanding.“I know how hard it is to make the first move.Even if you don’t say much, at least they’ll know you’re all right.”
With a pounding heart, Theo took his phone out of his pocket.“You can put your phone away.”
Barbara led him across to the fence.“Sit beside me.”
Having solid wood beneath him was comforting.But it was the light touch of Barbara’s arm resting against his that gave him courage.He hadn’t spoken to his parents in so long that he wondered if he’d remember what their voices sounded like.
With a trembling hand, he called his mom’s cell phone number.By now, they should be home from work.They were probably in their offices, ploughing through a mountain of patient files and planning tomorrow’s schedule.
“Hello.Audrey Montgomery speaking.”
“Hi, Mom.It’s me.Theo.”
“Oh, my goodness.It’s so good to hear from you.Where are you?”
“In Montana.”He took a deep breath, trying to control his racing heart.
“Are you there?”His mom’s voice sounded far away.
“I’m here.”He could only just make out his mom’s voice from whatever was happening in the background.“How are you?”
A thump and then a lot of excited yelling made him pull the phone away from his ear.
“I’m fine.I’ll move away from our noisy team.Your dad just got his third strike in a row.”
Theo listened more closely.“You’re at a bowling alley?”
Barbara’s head turned toward him.The confusion on her face matched his.
“We joined the local league.”Suddenly, the background noise disappeared and it was only his mom and many months of silence between them.“That’s better.It’s so good to hear from you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you before now.”
“You don’t need to apologize.We reacted badly to the article you wrote.I’m sorry we didn’t talk more rationally about what you’d said.”
“It doesn’t matter, Mom.”Somewhere, deep inside, Theo felt the truth in his words.A year was too long to hold a grudge, to make his parents accountable for what everyone else was saying.
“We called your cell phone, but it wasn’t in service.Why didn’t you give anyone your new number or tell us where you’re living?”
“I needed some time to sort out my life.”He didn’t want to tell his mom about the new evidence Anne had given him.Not yet.What had happened between him and his parents was too raw.They could easily slip back into a series of pointless arguments that would do no one any good.
“David and Vicki let us know you were okay.”
“That’s good.”Guilt sat heavily on his shoulders.He’d talked to his brother and sister a couple of times since he’d left New York.Vicki had pleaded with him to call his parents, but he wasn’t ready to face another round of heated arguments about why he’d wrongly accused one of their friends of tax evasion.
His mom sighed.“Is there anything you need?”
“I’m okay.How’s Dad?”
“Looking forward to retirement.”
Theo nearly dropped the phone.“When did he decide to retire?”
“About a month ago.His cardiologist has been telling him to cut back his hours for years, but he never listened.When one of his friends had a heart attack, it frightened him.He’s not accepting any new clients and only working two days a week at the hospital.I’ll get your dad.He’ll tell you about his plans.”
