“Are you doubting me? Seems to me a person in your…predickerment should be a little nicer.”
“I’m sorry. I know how hard you had to work, and I’m very grateful.”
“I never said it was hard, Frances. I said it was done.”
I took a deep breath. Honey, not vinegar. “Thank you, Rosie. I’ll pick you up at nine tonight.” I hung up the phone and put my hands over my stomach. The church bells down the street rang out six times, sending chills down my arms. I closed my eyes and began to pray.
#
The girls wandered in shortly after seven, and I threw supper together—bacon and eggs again, which caused both girls to roll their eyes. “I really should learn to cook,” Molly said as she scraped eggs onto her plate and slapped the spatula back into the pan.
“I’ll help,” added Mary Grace. “Even I could do better than this.” She held up a piece of bacon I’d blackened to a crisp.
“I’ll eat that one. I like it that way.” I grabbed it from her and took a charred bite. It tasted like ashes.
When the phone rang a minute later, I jumped up from my chair so abruptly it tipped over backward.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“Joey, what the hell? I’ve been looking for you all day!” I didn’t even care if the girls heard me curse.
“Calm down. I had business to take care of. Did you get the money?”
“No, I’m short.” I glanced over my shoulder.
“How much?”
I was silent, the amount stuck in my throat like a wad of chewing gum. I didn’t want to say it in earshot of the girls.
“Are your sisters there?”
Bless you, Joey. “Uh huh.”
“A hundred?”
“More.”
“Three?”
“More.”
“Jesus. Five?”
“Six.”
Joey exhaled. “OK. I can’t pick you up tonight because I have something to do, but I’ll meet you in front of the club at ten with the money.”
Relief cascaded over me like a waterfall. “How are you going to get it?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just be outside at ten.”
“OK. And thanks…I owe you.”
“Owing me is the least of your problems.” He hung up.
#