Love’s Suicide(30)
Author: Jennifer Foor

The number to Melissa rang five times before she answered it, and when she did she was giggling uncontrollably. “Hello?”

“Melissa, it’s me, Katy. How are you?”

Even through the phone I could sense that she was shocked to hear from me. “Katy, oh my God.” She put her hand over the phone so I couldn’t hear her asking whoever she was with to give her a second. “Sorry, I have company and didn’t want to be disturbed. So, how are you? Where are you? You told me you were going to call me once a month. What happened?”

I let out an air-filled sigh and looked down at my belly. I had so many reasons why I hadn’t kept in touch. “I’ve just been busy. Starting over can be a little overwhelming at times. So tell me, how are you? Did you finish school?”

She hesitated to answer. “School is over, finally. I’ve started job hunting, which isn’t going very well. I moved into a new apartment and happened to get a new boyfriend in the shuffle of it all.”

“That’s awesome.” I was so happy for her. “Anyone I know?”

“No!” she answered quickly. “You don’t know him at all.”

It was weird how defensive she was, but I wondered if it was because of my actions the day I left town. Maybe she thought I had a habit of sleeping with men that I wasn’t engaged to. “Wow, it’s been a long time coming. You did so good not settling down so you could keep your focus on school. Had I done that, I wouldn’t have had to give up everything.”

I could hear her moving around as she spoke. “So tell me, where exactly are you?”

Of all the questions she could be asking me, she wanted to know my exact location. I felt reluctant about it, like she was fishing. “Florida. I’m living in Florida now and I have a roommate. Her name is Sarah,” I kept going with the lies. “I work at a large manufacturer of oranges. It’s nothing fancy, but it pays the bills.”

“So, you’re doing okay for yourself?”

“Yeah. I am.” I rubbed my stomach and smiled. “I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. I’ve got a lot to look forward to and good people around me that have helped me tremendously.”

“Good for you.”

The line got quiet and I didn’t understand why she didn’t want to chat about everything under the sun. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to call, Mel. I know you’re probably mad at me.”

Finally, she seemed to calm down. “It’s fine. I guess I just expected something. For all these months I didn’t even know if you were alive. It’s really good to hear your voice. Is this your number? Do you mind if I keep it?”

I got excited thinking that enough time had gone by that she could keep my number. “Yes, of course. Call me whenever you want.”

“Great. Listen, I’ve got to run out, but you take care of yourself and keep in touch.”

“I will. Talk to you again soon.”

“Okay, bye.”

When I hung up I napped for the rest of the afternoon. The windows were all open and a cool spring breeze was coming inside. South Carolina was such an amazing place to live and I was somehow glad that I’d lied to Melissa about where I’d settled down at. Something about that call made me feel very uneasy. I wondered if maybe she’s promised Branch to tell him if I was ever in contact with her again.

When I finally woke, feeling well rested, I found Sarah outside hanging up some clean clothes on the line. They smelled like fabric softener and bleach and I loved how it was the first thing that popped in my nose when I walked out my door.

“Hey there. Did you have a nice nap?”

I smiled, realizing she’d come in to check on me. “Yes. This weather feels amazing.”

“Just wait a couple of months when your belly is double in size and you feel like you’re goin’ to melt. Our summers are hot. I reckon one weekend we can all go to the beach. It’s not a far drive from here. Myrtle Beach has lots of families at it. The kids love it.”

I helped her hang a shirt and walked over wrapping my arms around her. “I love you, Sarah. You’ve given me hope when I thought I had nothing to live for. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

She hugged me back and started patting my shoulder. “Don’t talk like that. You’d be fine. Besides, everything happens for a reason. I’ve always believed that. Helping you was the Christian thing to do. Us being friends was an added bonus.”

“Yes, but you welcomed me into your family. I could never begin to repay you.”

“Your money is no good here.”

I looked down at the ground when we separated. “Actually, there’s something I should probably tell you.”

A look of concern washed over her face. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

I shook my head, immediately reassuring her that everything was fine. “No, it’s nothing like that. You see, when my parents died, they left me a lot of money. I’ve never been allowed to touch it, well, not until I’m a certain age. Anyway, my birthday is next June, and I was just thinking that maybe I could give you and Dave some of it, to help fix things in your house and such. It’s the least I can do and the baby and I aren’t going to need much. I’d have plenty of money to build us a house around here and bring her up right.”

Sarah sat down on the grass and I followed her. She helped me get my footing to sit and we looked out at the green pasture. “I’ve never had someone offer anything like that for my family. I’m not real sure I could take it.”

I placed my hand on top of hers. “It’s a gift, Sarah. When I get it, I want it to be a gift.”

“So, are we talkin’ like a grand? Dave would crap his pants if we had a grand.”

I laughed, realizing how much different money was from where I was from. “I’m talking like twenty-five grand.”

Sarah started to cry. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Yes, you can.”

She wept in my lap for the longest time and it was the first time I’d ever felt someone being grateful for something I was going to do. It made me feel so good to be able to offer something to them. After all, they were all I had and I wanted my daughter to always know she could count on them if something happened to me. That’s what led me to my next statement. “Sarah, before the baby is born, I wanted to ask you something. You can talk to Dave about it, but it’s important to me to have it in order.”