Magnolia
Did you snag a man yet?
Rosemary
How have you been feeling?
Violet
Are you coming home this weekend? I need your help with a sewing project.
Iris
Why aren’t you answering us?
Magnolia
Are you still at work?
I groan and use the speech-to-text feature on my phone to send them a reply.
Daisy
I’m fine but I’m still at work and the copy machine’s broken so I can’t answer now but don’t worry because oof oh you son of a mother trucker oh I’m sorry Madame I didn’t mean to stop your copies but it was jammed yes okay I’ll just come in early tomorrow okay thanks have a great afternoon.
I glance down at my message and growl again in frustration. My sisters are going to jump all over that. My phone buzzes again, but I switch toDo Not Disturbmode and tuck it away before I run upstairs to grab the rest of my things. Then I head outside to find Landry’s Jeep parked at the gate with him looking practically irate from his place in the driver’s seat.
“Hi,” I say cheerfully. “Thanks for coming.”
“Where the hell were you? I’ve been waiting almost twenty minutes,” he spits out.
I flinch. “I’m sorry. The copy machine jammed, and I couldn’t just leave it that way.”
“Then why didn’t you answer me?” he grumbles as he turns onto the main road.
“You texted me?” I pull out my phone.
Landry
Hey, I’m here.
Everything okay?
Do I need to come inside to help you?
Daisy, if you don’t answer me soon, I’m calling the school.
Shitake mushroom salad.
There’s also a missed call from him, along with another dozen texts from my sisters.
“I’m so sorry. My sisters put me in a group text and I?—”
“Look, I don’t mind helping you. But I have enough on my plate without needing to worry about whether you’re in there having a freaking seizure on the stairs or getting accosted by a student, so the least you could do is answer the damned phone when I call.”
He’s not yelling, but his stern tone is enough to push me over the edge. I’m powerless to stop the tears from flowing this time, as much as I wish I could hold it together for a few more minutes until I make it to the sanctuary of my own bedroom.
“I’m sorry, Landry,” I choke out.
