52. Ana
CHAPTER 52
ANA
I text Stella again just before we arrive at the bookstore, and she meets us in the parking lot.
Jessie throws herself into my arms, in what is definitely the highlight of my day. “We’re coming to stay with you, Auntie Ana!”
“I know! I’m so excited!”
“Look! I got two new books.” Jessie climbs into the backseat of their car and shows me a book with a pink cover that’s about a ballerina, and a classic rhyming story from Dr. Seuss.
“Those look great. Can we read those together sometime soon?”
“You bet!” She climbs into her carseat and starts looking at one of the books while I finally get a chance to give Stella a hug. My friend’s eyes are red, but she looks better than I’d feared. I’m sure she’s been putting on a brave face for Jessie .
“You okay?”
Stella shrugs.
I introduce her to Derek and Jansen, who give her nods that are serious, but not unfriendly. I texted Stella on the way to let her know they were coming with me. She was full of questions, but I told her we’d talk later.
“Where are all of your things?” I ask. “In the trunk?”
“There isn’t much,” Stella says in a low voice so Jessie can’t overhear. “I tried to go back inside to get the rest of our stuff, but my mom locked the door and wouldn’t let us in.”
“What?”
“At least I got Jessie’s favorite stuffed animals and a few of her toys.”
“We’ll go get your things,” Jansen says gravely.
“No, don’t do that,” Stella says quickly and quietly. “They’ve both been drinking. Who knows what they’ll be like. It’s not worth it.”
“We can get the police involved,” Derek suggests, but again, Stella shakes her head.
I look at the men and give them a shrug. It’s nice that they’re offering to help, and I also appreciate that they’re not trying to impose their will on her.
“I brought a bag in case you want to spend the night at a hotel before we make the drive,” I tell Stella .
“We should be able to drive straight through, if it’s okay with you. Jessie will probably fall asleep after a little while.”
“Does anyone need snacks for the road?” Derek asks, gesturing with a nod of his head toward the convenience store that’s across the parking lot.
“Snacks!” Jessie cries from the backseat. “I could use snacks!”
“Any allergies?” Derek asks Stella, who shakes her head. “We’ll be right back,” he says as he and Jansen start toward the store.
“Does he have kids?” Stella asks after they’re a distance away. When I tell her he doesn’t, she looks surprised. “I’ve met several parents who don’t think to ask about allergies.”
“They’re full of surprises today,” I say grimly before quickly changing the subject. “So what happened with your mom and stepdad?”
She shakes her head, looking about as angry as I was for a good part of the day. “Things have been escalating for weeks. There’ve been a lot of arguments—about my parenting, about money, about shit from ten years ago—and today something just snapped. There was no reasoning with them.”
No reasoning with someone? That sounds familiar, but I don’t say anything about the arguments I’m in the middle of.
As we’re talking, the men reappear with several bags in hand. As Jansen hands one to me, Derek says, “Snacks plus coffee, to help you stay awake on the road.”
I reach in and pull out a bottle from that huge national brand that was part of our fake acquisition story to catch Charles. “Starlight coffee?”
Derek shrugs. “It was the best we could do.”
“Maybe you should look into getting your coffee bottled,” I say, though I’m not sure why I’m still trying to help their business. “Anyway, thanks.”
“We’ll follow you,” Jansen says. “Text or call if you need anything or you plan to stop.”
Stella offers Jessie a choice between two of the non-sugary snacks, makes sure she’s strapped in properly, and then we’re ready to go. We listen to lively kids music as Jessie munches on pretzels and hummus, and when she’s done, she sings along.
I smile both at her adorable singing voice, and the way the song reminds me of Rob singing “Baby Shark” at the office.
Gradually, Jessie’s singing grows quieter, until it stops completely, and I look back to find her head lolled against the carseat and her stuffed toy tucked against her chest.
“She’s asleep,” I tell Stella, who nods and takes a sip of coffee.
“So, who exactly are those guys?” she asks.
“They’re my bosses. I mean, they were my bosses. Until today. I quit, but I don’t really want to get into it right now.”
“They’re obviously more than your bosses.” When I give her a look, she says, “Typical bosses wouldn’t drive you all the way here when you’re perfectly capable of driving yourself. Typical bosses wouldn’t look at you the way those two do.”
I look again to make sure Jessie is definitely asleep. “What, like they want to tear my clothes off?”
“No, like they’re in love with you.”
“What?” That’s not at all what I expected her to say.
“You can’t tell?” When I shake my head, she says, “You were always the wisest among us. How are you missing this?”
“If you’re right and they love me, they have a horrible way of showing it.”
“Why? What did they do?”
I fill her in on what happened today, adding all the backstory necessary to get her up to speed. When I tell her why and how I quit, she shakes her head from side to side, looking sympathetic.
“Wow, that sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“So why did they come up here with you? Did you ask them to bring you here?”
“No, I don’t know. Maybe they’re feeling guilty about today—which they should. And they were worried about how things would go with your parents, even though I told them I probably wasn’t going to see them.”
“They’re very protective of you.”
“I suppose.” My mind is spinning about the men, especially after recounting my history with them, but my focus should be on Stella and Jessie right now. My own problems can wait.
“There’s an elementary school two blocks from our house. We can go get Jessie enrolled there tomorrow. And I’m sure we can find a dance class somewhere nearby.”
Stella’s voice goes soft. “You don’t need to do all that, but thank you for helping us tonight. I didn’t know what we were going to do.”