“I need caffeine,” Dad states as he goes to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. While he’s in there, I hear him on the phone, scheduling an appointment to have security systems put in at Tyler’s place and mine.
“You okay, honey?” Mom asks softly, and I look over at her. I’m not okay, but I can’t think about that right now. I need to deal with the cops and then start cleaning up my house after they do what they need to do. “I should have come over to check on things while you were gone.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I tell her. “It’s bad enough what they did to my house. I don’t want to think about anyone I care about walking in on them and what could have happened then. I just hope the cops find something and are able to catch the person who did it.” I lean my head back against the couch.
“I hope so too,” she agrees, then lets out a sigh when her cell phone dings. She quickly picks it up and starts typing.
“Is everything okay?”
“Just a client. She’s upset that I canceled her appointment.”
“I’m sorry you’re missing work.”
“I’m not.” She drops her phone to the coffee table and looks at me. “You’re my baby. There is nowhere else I need to be right now. My clients will either understand or they can find a different stylist.”
“Like that’s going to happen.” I roll my eyes at her. People wait months to get an appointment with my mom. No way will they move on to someone else just because of a delay.
“All right, installers will be here in a few hours to put in the security system here, and as soon as the cops say you’re allowed to go back into your house, they’ll put in a system there as well.”
“How much is this going to cost me?” I ask him. I have some money saved, but I’ve been working hard to pay off the student loan I still have from nursing school.
“Nothing.” Dad takes a seat in the chair next to the fireplace. “Consider it a Christmas gift.”
“Oh my, it’s just what I wanted,” I reply sarcastically, and he and Mom laugh. “Let me guess—you’re getting Mom a vacuum for Christmas.”
“If your dad buys me a vacuum for Christmas, he’s moving in with you,” Mom says, and I grin at her.
“I thought you wanted that Roomba thing,” Dad mutters, looking a little worried.
Oh no. He really did buy her a vacuum for Christmas. I was just joking.
“I do want one, but not as a Christmas gift.” She narrows her eyes on him. “Did you buy me that for Christmas?”
“Of course not.”
“Yeah, Mom. Of course not.” I start to laugh, and Dad grumbles under his breath. My cell phone on the table rings, and I pick it up. When I see a local number, I answer, then sigh in relief and look at my dad. “The cops are next door. Can you take them my key so they can go in?”
“Of course, honey,” he says, and I tell the person on the phone that someone will be right over, then hang up. My dad grabs my key off the counter and leaves, returning just a few minutes later. “They said it won’t take long, and they’ll come over to get you when they’re finished to take you over.”
“I should call my insurance company. I need to find out exactly what they’re going to need from me in order for me to file a claim.”
“Do that now. Hopefully, by the time you’re done, they’ll be finished up next door,” Mom says.
“Right.” I get up and take my cell phone with me to the kitchen. I grab a piece of paper and a pen and then lean against the counter to make the call. I explain to the agent on the phone what happened, then write down exactly what I need to do. As I’m getting off the phone, there’s a knock on the door, and my mom goes to answer it. I expect to see the cops, so I’m surprised when I see Chrissie.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” she asks when she spots me in the kitchen. “I just got your message and came right over. I can’t believe this.”
“I’m fine.” I wrap my arms around her. “Who’s working at the shop?” I ask when she lets me go. Most of her employees are high school students, and school is not out for the day.
“I have this fancy little Closed sign and used it.”
I groan, feeling guilty. I hate that everyone is missing work because of this. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I did.” She rests her hands on her hips. “I wanted to see for myself that you were okay and to help clean up.”