“What do you want?” I snapped and clutched a hand to my mouth, knowing what was going to come next. She would not let me get away with speaking to her like that.
“Watch your mouth, little girl. You might not live under my roof anymore, but I still own you.”
Don’t answer. Don’t answer. Don’t answer.
“I never want to see you again. I think I made that clear last time.”
Why in the world did you answer, you idiot?
Her cold laugh sounded down the line, mocking me. “Keep telling yourself that. We both know that’s not true. You need me more than I need you. Don’t forget, I know you better than anyone else. You’ll come crawling back, like always. You’re not made for hard work, and you’ll be begging me for money soon enough.”
There was no point in answering, so I hung up.
Instead of going back to sleep, I sat in the dark, brooding and wishing for things that could never be. Nora came back as I was pacing in front of the muted television.
She turned the lights on and yelped when she saw me. “What’s going on? Did something happen?” she asked.
I released my clenched teeth and answered. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Talk to me,” she said and guided me back to the couch. We sat down and I turned toward her.
“It’s nothing. I’m just being dramatic.”
She put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into her side. “I hope you know there is nothing you can’t tell me, and I will always have your back. Always. No matter what.”
“I know. It’s just family stuff. Don’t worry about it.”
I sighed, wishing I could unload on someone. But my problems were not for her to worry about. If there was one person who needed a break in life, it was Nora. That meant not adding to her worries.
“All right, Estrella, I’ll let it go for now. But promise you’ll come to me before you do anything stupid.”
I snorted at the thought. “You’ve met me, right? The most illegal thing I’ve ever done is get a parking ticket.”
She studied me for a few seconds and hugged me close. “How were the kids tonight?”
And there was yet another reason why she was one of my best friends and why I would do anything for her. She read me like nobody else; a topic change was exactly what I needed.
“They were great. Lena took a while to go to sleep, but Luca passed right out the second his head hit the pillow. How was work?”
“Same old shit. Too many drunks, not enough staff.”
“You should really get a job somewhere else. Humptulips is small, but there are a lot of bars. Even if it’s just to get away from creepy Harry.”
“There isn’t anywhere else that pays as well. There might be a lot of bars but only one strip club. And I can handle creepy Harry.”
Nora had been working in the town’s one and only strip club for about a year now. And she was right, it paid much better than anywhere else. If she didn’t have a stalker, it would be a great place to work. But taking a pay cut would be worth it just to get away from him. He was obsessed with her, and it was only made worse by the fact that he was a bouncer at the club. Nora shrugged it off whenever I brought it up, not taking him seriously.
“This is one of the few times I wish I still had money,” I said and sat up again. “Then I could help you out and you could go back to school.”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good. I have a roof over my head, beautiful kids, and food in the house. People are way worse off than I am. And the one thing I would never want you to do is go back home again.”
I suppressed the hysterical laugh that wanted to escape. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
There was nothing left there for me, and the last thing I wanted was to see my mother again.
She got up and smiled. “Enough with the doom and gloom. Let’s have a drink.” Her head disappeared inside the fridge. “I think I still have a few beers somewhere in here.”
Extricating herself from the appliance, she lifted two bottles up in triumph. “I knew it.”
We toasted to the good things in life like wet wipes and James Fraser, and neither one of us mentioned families or work. In just a few months Nora had become one of my best friends and one of the reasons why I was reluctant to leave Humptulips behind.
It was Friday. Beautiful, long-awaited, glorious Friday. The week had been busy, and I was finally settling in. Mason was blissfully absent, and when he needed to place an order he just emailed me a list. I decided to get comfortable and started playing 90s rock anthems, wore warm fuzzy socks when I was at my desk, and brought my teapot to work today.
The guys were booked out every day, so I started a waiting list. It didn’t help that we were one man down with Jameson being away. Word had spread that Drake’s garage did the best rebuilds in the state, and after being in business for two years, all their hard work had started paying off.
It was almost closing time and I was eyeing the clock on my desk. Willing it to turn to 5:00 p.m., I cringed when the door chime sounded, announcing a customer. I only had ten minutes to
