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Esther
Esther sat in the darkness, staring at the windows of the common room. She wasn’t sure Zoe would come in through one of these windows, but she didn’t know how else she would do it. The windows in the hallway were locked—Esther had made sure of it—and she hoped Zoe wouldn’t break into some poor individual’s apartment.
Maybe she would. What did Esther know? She hadn’t thought she’d sneak out on a Monday night either. She hadn’t thought she’d be gone for hours and not answer her phone.
Esther squeezed her phone in her hand. Every few minutes, she tried Zoe’s number again. And every few minutes, she considered calling the cops. She wasn’t sure how that would play out. Esther didn’t want her granddaughter thrown in jail. She wanted her home safe and sound. She’d considered calling Christy to ask for advice, but she didn’t want to admit to her daughter that she’d managed to lose Zoe in less than a week.
So she simply sat there. Crying. Praying. Shaking with alternating fear and fury.
And then she heard her.
Zoe was crying.
Most of her wanted to run toward the sound, let her inside, make sure she was all right, but a small part of Esther forced her to stay put and wait. She shouldn’t make this easy on Zoe. Zoe should have to struggle to get back inside.
She saw her. Zoe cupped her hands against the window and looked inside. Esther didn’t think she could see anything, as the streetlight over her head was mightily bright compared to the darkness inside the common room. Esther took a deep breath and tried to be patient.
And then Zoe was pushing the window open. Esther had left it unlocked for this purpose. Esther relaxed as she watched her struggle to climb through the relatively small window. She looked healthy. She was all right.
Zoe got the window open and then stuck her head inside. Then she pulled herself in so that she looked like a seesaw, her belly the fulcrum. She stayed like this for a moment, and Esther wondered what her plan was, but then she lost her balance and spilled inside, headfirst. She smashed into a hard wooden chair, which skidded out of the way, and then her head hit the floor. Good thing for the chair; it had broken her fall. Still, she cried out at the contact.
Esther almost got up and went to help her. Hadn’t Christy said that Zoe had only recently suffered a head injury? How many head injuries could a teenager get before there was real damage done?
Zoe had stopped moving. Had she knocked herself unconscious, or had she simply fallen asleep? Her head, shoulders, and arms were on the floor, and her feet still stuck out through the window.
Esther was just about to get up when Zoe rolled over, and her feet slid inside. Again, she lay still, and Esther thought maybe she planned to sleep there.
But slowly, Zoe got up, looked at the corner of the room, and screamed.
Apparently, she’d seen Milton.
“Hi, there,” Milton said, unbothered by the scream.
Without saying anything to Milton, Zoe tiptoed toward the door. Esther found this tiptoeing especially annoying. She’d made a huge crash, then screamed, and now she was going to tiptoe?
“Zoe,” Esther said, flicking on the light.
Zoe screamed again and spun toward her. She wobbled on one heel and then found her footing.
Esther gasped at the sight of her. She was filthy, and her right knee was a bloody mess.
“What are you guys doing?” Zoe asked.
Esther took a breath, trying not to lose her cool. “It is four o’clock in the morning, and you have the gall to ask us what we’re doing?”
Milton got up, tightened his bathrobe, and then stepped forward and stuck out the hand that wasn’t holding onto his cane. “I’m Milton.”
Zoe, looking confused, accepted his handshake.
“I live across the hall. Felt bad for your Gramma here having to wait for you, so I joined her. I don’t sleep much.” He looked at Esther. “Good night, friend.” Then he looked at Zoe. “Good night, youngster. Glad you are all right.”
Zoe watched him go, open-mouthed.
“I’ve been sitting here for hours, Zoe. Milton was worried about me, so he joined me in worrying about you.”
Her head fell. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure you are.” She paused, wondering what she should do next. “What happened to your knee?”
As if she hadn’t realized she had knees, Zoe looked down at hers. “Oh. I have no idea.”
Esther exhaled slowly and then, with difficulty, got herself out of her rocking chair. “Let’s go upstairs and get you cleaned up.”
