Chapter 10

My cell phone rang. I looked at the number and wasn't surprised. It was my parents.

"Is it Mom, or Dad?" I said as soon as I connected.

"It's your mother. Now what's been going on? I called your work and you don't work there any longer. They said something about an accident. Why didn't you tell us?"

Jessica had walked into the room. I hadn't quite got used to having no privacy yet. I mouthed to her, 'My Mom.'

"Good luck!" she said and walked away.

I was sure she'd still be listening. Their place wasn't that big, and I would have been listening, if I was her.

"Mom," I said when she paused, "do you want to continually ask me questions, or do you want any answers?"

"Stop being like that. I'm in a state. We arrive home and find out that my little boy had an accident."

I rolled my eyes at the drama my mother was trying to play out.

"Maybe you need to calm down and call me back," I suggested.

"There must be something wrong. Maybe we should drive up and see you."

I chuckled; that I could tell didn't set well with my mother.

"Unless you let me get a word in, and stop going on and on, you will find it very hard to do anything of the sort," I said.

"Just what are you talking about?"

"I don't live in my apartment any longer. Almost all of my belongings are in boxes at a storage yard."

"Would you stop making me more worried than I already am, and tell me what is going on!"

My mother was almost in hysterics at that point.

"Mom, is Dad home?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"A simple one. If you don't calm down, I'm hanging up. Mom, this is getting ridiculous."

"I never!" [I could see that ending with an ellipse rather than an exclamation point.]

"Is Dad home?"

"Yes, he is."

"Good. I don't want to repeat all of this, so get him to pick up another phone, so he can hear this too."

"Oh. All right, then. Hold on just a moment."

I let out a sigh. Apparently that was a signal Jessica had been waiting for. She came in with a mug of tea for me.

"It sounded like you might need this," she said with a big grin on her face.

I shook my head, and said to her, "I knew this call would happen, but my Mom is being very strange. Maybe it's the jet lag."

"Jet lag?"

"They were in remote parts of China. It's why they didn't know, and I had no cards, flowers, calls."

"But now they're home?" Jessica said in a slightly panicked voice. [They are home.]

"Hold on, and don't worry," I said to Jessica.

My parents were back on the line.

"Hold on to what?" my father said.

"It's a little late not to worry," my mother said.