“Yes.Sarah had them for the weekend—both the cats and the girls—and it’s all good.”
“Well, thanks again.And thanks for the view of the studio.”
“If you want to take a lesson, there are new courses starting in the fall.”
“I’ll think about it.”Raven took her leave and exited the community center, pausing to order a latte from a kiosk by the door.
She sat down at a nearby table, pulled out her phone, and made notes on what she’d seen on her visit.She couldn’t trust herself to remember anything this week, with all the juggling of volunteers and students.Then she decided to take Lance’s advice and text Wren.
Tentatively she typed out a quick hello.
Raven:Hi, just wanted you to know I’m thinking about you.
She took a sip of her drink and nearly choked when a response came right away.
Wren:Hi Mom.
Grateful to hear from her daughter directly, she thought about what to say next.Something casual.Something friendly.
Raven:What are you up to today?
She stared at her words and wondered, now that she’d sent the text, if Wren might find her question too mundane.Or too intrusive.She wasn’t sure how to read her daughter lately.
Wren didn’t answer, and so, after staring at the screen for a few minutes, Raven sat back and observed the room around her.It was a pleasant place to stop for a coffee.The table where she sat was close to the door, where she could people watch.
A pair of women dressed for a workout came in, stopped their conversation long enough to swipe their membership cards, and headed off in the direction of the gym.A woman in her seventies, sporting blue streaks in her hair that matched her eyes and her long flowing sundress, walked toward the art studio, carrying a tote bag.Others headed in the direction of the swimming pool.In the distance she heard children laughing and runners screeching against the gym floor.She hadn’t heard that sound since Wren had stopped playing basketball.
Why wasn’t Wren texting her back?A shiver went down her spine, the kind often came before bad news arrived.She glanced at the phone again to make sure she hadn’t missed something, then, resigned and disappointed, she downed her latte and headed out into the sunshine.She felt a cool gust of wind as she reached her car but, when she looked at the trees, it was obvious the chill was just in her imagination.No leaves were aflutter.There had been no wind.
She slid into the driver’s seat and buckled up, looking up the directions for the quickest route home.She was about to back out of the parking stall when the phone rang.Wren.
Raven pushed the car back into park and answered the phone before it rang again.
“Hi, how are you?”
“I made a big mistake.”Raven’s chest tightened as she realized Wren sounded frightened.Raven closed her eyes, relieved to finally hear Wren’s voice.She took a deep breath and answered as calmly as she could.
“What do you need to do to fix this mistake?And is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh, Mom, I’m so stupid.”
“Well, that’s not true,” said Raven.No matter what her daughter may have done, it had nothing to do with her intelligence, of that she was convinced.“Making a mistake doesn’t mean you’re stupid.”She sat motionless, fingers so tight on the phone she thought it might break, and waited for Wren to tell her what was going on.She’d never heard her daughter so upset.
“Mom, I really hate to ask you this but…”
Raven waited for Wren to continue, but all she heard was a muffled sob.“But?”she prompted.
“Can I borrow some money?I gave Gavin most of my paycheck for the rent, and I found out he spent it on…” She choked back tears.“On blackjack.And now we’re getting evicted.”
“So you need money to pay your rent?”Raven asked, though in her mind she was calculating.Surely they couldn’t evict them for being a few days late on rent.There had to be more to this story.
“No…” Wren sniffled again.Raven strained to listen.She wanted to reach through the phone and hug her daughter, tell her everything would be okay.Wren rarely cried unless it was over a sick animal.Or the occasional movie about a sick animal.
“How much do you need, and for what?”Raven asked, keeping her voice calm.
“Mom, I need money to come home.I want to come home.Can you give me enough for a ticket?Or at least to Edmonton so I can stay with Mac?I’m at the airport.”
Everything around her vanished but the sound of Wren’s voice.
