“Yes.” The voice is familiar, but it’s definitely not Mrs. Mable. I can’t quite place who it is. It’s like seeing your pastor on the street in a T-shirt and shorts—too out of place to immediately register.
“It’s Nora. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”
I freeze. I want to just slam the phone back into its cradle, but I can’t quite bring myself to be so rude. I bite my lip, and my hands begin to shake.
“I’ve been texting you,” Nora says, “but you haven’t responded.”
“I figured it was Nate again.” I mash my lips together, angry with myself for even uttering his name.
“Yeah, he said he’s texted you a few times.”
“More like a few hundred.” I grit my teeth. Though I do miss Nora—I can’t lie about that—this is the exact conversation I don’t want to have. “I don’t want to talk to you, Nora.”
“I just want to know you’re okay,” Nora insists. “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine. I know Nate isn’t fine.”
“I really don’t care at this point!” I can’t stop the anger from coming out in in my voice. Just talking to Nora brings the memories back, and I’m not prepared for them. “Do you even know what he did? In the middle of all that shit, he brought out a ring and proposed. He fucking proposed!”
“Well, Cherry dear,” Nora says with a sigh, “my brother is an idiot.”
“That’s obvious!”
“But in this case, he’s a sincere idiot.”
“He just used me, Nora! Nothing about our relationship was real!”
“Maybe in the beginning,” she says, “but that changed long before you ran off. He really cares for you, Cherry. He’s getting help, you know. I honestly couldn’t imagine he’d agree to it, but he knew he had to if he was ever going to have a chance.”
“A chance at what?”
“Seeing you again.”
“Not going to happen.”
“He loves you. He hopes if he gets the help he needs, he’ll at least get the chance to make amends. He’s never been like this with anyone else. Maybe it started out as deception, but it isn’t any more.”
“He lied to me.”
“He lied to himself,” Nora grumbles. “He was being manipulated, and I think you know who was behind it all.”
“Who?”
“Pops.”
“Your dead father? That’s the best excuse you can come up with?”
“Nate and Pops had a…tumultuous relationship. Nate always wanted Pops to be proud of him and to treat him with respect, the way Pops treated Micha. He never got that when Pops was alive. I think maybe…maybe he needed that approval so much, he concocted this image of Pops in his head.”
“So, he’s insane as well.”
“We all have our baggage, Cherry,” Nora says. “Does that mean we’re all crazy? Pops’ being a devil on Nataniele’s shoulder actually makes sense. Nate wasn’t behaving like himself at all. Our father was, well, he was not a good person. He ran the family with a patriarchal iron fist ever since mom died. Micha wasn’t much better, but Nate was never like either of them. He’s finally starting to act like my brother again. It’s going to take time, but he’s really trying. He’s trying for you.”
I bite my lip again as images of Nate parade through my head, and tears well in my eyes.
“I’m glad he’s getting help,” I finally say. “I want him to get better, but that doesn’t mean I can be a part of it.”