The familiar face came around the corner with a smile. He nodded at Ms. Austin as he passed her while he headed in my direction. I gave Gregory a hug. “Okay. Now tell me what happened in that meeting and how quick this is going to be over.”
He turned around to walk with me up the street.“I’m not supposed to talk about what goes on inside a meeting like that.”
“Why? We’re friends.”
That caused Gregory to chuckle.“We’re friends? Wouldn’t that be a good ploy to suck information from lawyers.‘Oh, but sir’”— he made a pathetic attempt to mimic my voice—“‘we’re friends.’”
“Okay, smart aleck. I don’t want to know anyway.”
“Well, just be careful.”
“Be careful with what.”
“That woman there.” He pointed to Ms. Austin’s disappearing back.“She’s got no shortage of venom underneath that sweetness.”
“Oh please. She’s obviously very talented. She wouldn’t be here representing an entire organization and body of people without being good at what she does.”
“She’s good all right . Which is why I’m just warning you.”
“Whatever. How long are you here?”
“We’re heading back now.”
“Now? I thought we could grab dinner and talk.”
“Sorry, no time . The judge needs to make it back for a Sunday-afternoon nap.”
“You won’t get back before evening.”
“So he’ll have to forgo the nap and just go to bed early. I’ll talk to you this week.”
“Okay. But if I need you, I’m going to be calling you.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He started to walk off and I grabbed his arm.
“Ooh, don’t turn around. I don’t want him to see us.”
He turned around of course.“You don’t want who to see us?”
I jerked him back.“That curly-headed guy, Joshua.”
He turned around again.
I slapped him.“Would you stop that?”
“The guy with the golden retriever?”
“Yes,” I said, pulling him back up the street toward where we had just been.“He works with me, and he is rude and annoying.”
“Oh, he is?”
“Yes. He’s condescending and has a dog who can do tricks.”
“Oh my word,” he said, stopping dead in his tracks.“Savannah Phillips . You’re crazy about him.”
I stared at him in wide-eyed wonder.“I’m what?!”
His white smile beneath his chocolate skin was just too pleased, as if his ridiculous revelation was some kind of epiphany for the world.“You’re crazy about him.”
“I am in love”—I straightened my chest—“with a man I have loved since I was a child. And I will get him back. Don’t you have to leave?”
He laughed a caustic laugh.“Yeah, I’ve got to go. And you,my friend, need to come to grips with reality. Fantasy only exists in beauty pageants.” He winked and sauntered away. “Just remember to send me an invitation.”
“I’ll send you an invitation all right, mister!” I yelled at the back of his head.“An invitation to . . . to a therapist who helps the delusional!!”
He raised his hand but never turned around.
I gave him a good hand raise myself.
As I sat in the house alone, again, going another night without food, again, I knew I had to move. I mean, it was coming eventually, so why not this week? I had to take charge of my world. Construct my chaos . Tailor my tune. Okay, that was stretching it, but one would rather starve and be alone in her own place than die a slow, drawn-out death in a home where a family should be. And because I had a pretty good week in which Victoria would be preoccupied with other matters, it might be wise to make the most of it. I was fortunate enough that my soon-to-be-home was already vacated and waiting. And my anonymous landlord had made it so affordable that as few as three paychecks would at least get me moved in.
One week. One good week to move out while my mother was, shall we say, tied up and unlikely to come up with any campaigns to keep me at her home.
Only one problem: I had only one paycheck. So two more long pay periods stood between me and my first month of freedom. But I knew someone who had money. And she must have known I was thinking about her. Because after waiting on her all day, she finally called.
“Okay, I’ve got it. It’s perfect.” Paige’s excited voice came on the other end.
“Tell me; I need to know.”
“I can’t. I’m still working out details. I’ll tell you at lunch tomorrow.”
Monday was our standing lunch-date day. “Oh, my Lord! Tomorrow is Monday!”
“Yes, Savannah. It’s Sunday . . . then Monday . . . then Tuesday.”
“Paige, please. I have a story due by Tuesday and I don’t have a clue what I’m going to say.”
“Nothing odd about that. But I would think you’ll be writing on what is happening down there at the square. My word, you can’t get any more human interest than that.”
“Well, yes, but I haven’t even formulated my thoughts, interviewed anyone . Well, basically I haven’t done a thing.”
“Just voice both opinions. Make clear the controversy. Let the people decide. Just make the humans interested, and the rest will take care of itself.”
“Hmm .. . I’ll think on that. Anyway, are you crazy? I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“Well, you’ll have to. Just trust me, it will be perfect .Now sleep tight, precious.”
“I’ll have to take something.”
“No, you just rest knowing that your man’s coming home to mama.”
“You think?”
“I know. Now, good night.”
“Good night. Oh, wait, one more thing. How is your bank account looking these days?”
“Why, Savannah? Has my mother been asking you questions?”
“No, I just want to try to get out of here before Mother gets unshackled. It will make for a much more peaceful transition.
Except I don’t have a pot to pee in.”
“Ooh, I don’t need to be informed of all your issues. Plus, I hear you could borrow your mother’s.”
“Nor do I need to be informed of all her issues.”
“How much?”
“A month’s rent and enough to turn on my utilities and the chance to pay you back in installments, no interest. About twelve hundred dollars.”
“Sounds good.”
“You’ll do it?”
“Of course. I’ll even help you move.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“I owe you.”
“That you do . Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
As soon as I hung up, the phone rang again. Thank the Lord for caller ID. Mother obviously needed to say good night before she spent another evening under Moon River. Her message thanked me for coming by yesterday and delivering such wonderful news. She added how she loved her picture in the paper, except for her eye makeup. She left me suggestions on my article for Wednesday’s edition and offered to do an exclusive interview with me if necessary. After all, she had just spent another evening with Rita Cosby and was all warmed up. She felt most people would be interested in her as a human, and as I was a human-interest writer, well, it might look good on my résumé.
I deleted her ideas from my voice mail and ordered my dreams to be sweet. They were. Grant was in them, walking with me through Forsythe Park. Then we were holding hands and kissing on a bench. It was like old times. Except that when he left, he rode his bicycle home.