Chapter 3
Kendra sat at the lunch table alone, as she did most days. A table full of blond cheerleader types sat diagonally from her. She tried not to look up or make eye contact because she knew they were staring at her. She could hear the giggling—more like snickering—and it was taking everything in her not to stand up and throw her tray full of spaghetti at them.
Instead, she stared down at her food. She felt like a leper at this school. Everybody had tons of money, drove nice cars, and had the latest designer clothing. Her clothes were decent enough, but nothing she owned had a designer tag, and she certainly didn’t have a fancy car. She didn’t have a car at all.
It wasn’t that her mother was poor, but they certainly weren’t rolling dough. That fact made her a target at school, and she spent every day passing the time, waiting for the next bell to ring.
At her old school, she’d had a best friend for a time. Her name was Angie, and the two of them had been like peas in a pod. That was, until Angie’s dad got transferred across the country for work, and Kendra suddenly found herself alone. All the little cliques of friends had been formed as they headed into high school, and Kendra was left out completely. Moving had made everything even worse, and now she hated school.
The sad part of it all was she felt like she was pretty smart. Maybe even smart enough to get into college. But did she want to put herself through the misery of school for another four years after she escaped the prison of high school?
“Can I sit here?” She knew the girl standing in front of her from gym class because she wore all black. Her clothes were black. Her gym clothes were black. Her hair was black. Her lipstick was black. Kendra’s mom would’ve called her “goth.”
“Whatever,” Kendra said, looking back down at her food.
“I’m Slash. What’s your name?” Her voice was low and growly, like some kind of punk-rock icon. Kendra found herself wishing for a cooler voice.
“Kendra. Is Slash really your name?”
The girl stared at her for a minute. “It’s real in that I won’t answer if you call me something else.”
“Got it.” Kendra looked back down at her food.
“You wanna do something with me later?”
“You mean like hang out after school? Can’t. I’m in big trouble with my mom.”
Slash shook her head. “No, I mean after lunch.”
“I can’t skip school again. My mom would kill me. Like literally.”
“No skipping required. Look, I hate this place. These morons think they’re so cool, but they’re just a bunch of tools. I figure the only way to get out of here is to get kicked out since my stupid parents won’t let me quit.”
“You’re trying to get kicked out?”
“Yep. I can’t even take another day in this wasteland of a school.”
“What are you proposing?”
“I totally hate the TA in our math class. I have to get out of his class pronto.”
“You mean Mr. Tryton?”
“The dude is a freak. What’s with that long ponytail?”
“I guess he thinks it’s cool.”
“Well, it’s not.”
Kendra didn’t really have a problem with it, but she wasn’t going to argue with a girl who called herself Slash. Plus, she was the closest chance at a friend Kendra’d had at this school.
“So, I have an idea...” Slash leaned over and whispered the rest.
“Are you crazy?”
Slash leaned back and smiled. “Some people say so. I take it as a compliment.”
“I can’t get into that kind of trouble.”
“Look, I see how people treat you around here. Just like they treat me. It’s because we’re cooler than them. Think of how awesome it’d be to have the rest of the year off. I play in a rock band, and everybody’s older. I could practice with them all day down by the abandoned barn. You can come too.”
Boring classes and mean girls, or go with crazy Slash to hang out by the abandoned barn and listen to subpar rock music. She thought for a moment, wondering how these were her only two options.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
* * *
“So, you’re saying you were fired?” The man, whose name she’d already forgotten, eyed her from across his expansive desk. This marketing firm, the third she’d interviewed at this week, was at the bottom of her list. Two others had already said no thanks, so she was willing to take pretty much anything at this point.
“I was let go,” Josie repeated, pasting a fake smile on her face. “But, as you can see, I’ve got years of experience. My clients were always pleased with my work, and the growth I’ve shown on those accounts is huge. I’ve included some charts to show you?—”
He put down her résumé. “Look, I know Sandra, and she wouldn’t let someone go unless they really did something bad.”
She sighed. “Ted, I’ll level with you. I’m tough. That can turn some fellow employees off, and that’s the long and short of it.”
He smiled. “My name is Todd.”
“Oh, sorry. I normally have great attention to detail, but it’s been a bit of a long week for me, as you can imagine.”
He stood up and stepped around his desk. “Thank you for applying, but I don’t think you’d be the right fit for us at this time. I do wish you the best, Josie. I hope you land somewhere great.”
There was a long pause as she decided whether to stand up and leave, or fall to the floor, grab the cuffs of his cheap slacks, and beg for a job. Any job. Receptionist. Trash taker-outer. She didn’t care at this point, as long as she could pay her rent in a few weeks. Finally, she stood. It was so quiet in the office, she swore she could hear crickets.
“I want you to know that I would’ve done a great job here. I could’ve taken you to the top, even above Sandra. I guess you’ll never know.” Without another word, she walked out of his office and onto the sidewalk outside.
The air was crisp today as the end of winter floated into spring. Soon, yellow pollen would fill the air, and Josie would sneeze her head off for a few months before the hot, humid Atlanta summer kicked in. She loved summer with the clear blue skies and sun beating down on her skin. But today it was still pretty cold, so she pulled her cardigan around her tightly and started walking toward her car.
Rejection was something she was used to in her life. For most people, the idea of getting shot down for three jobs in one week would be devastating. For her, it was familiar. Most of her life had been about getting rejected by her degenerate mother, and when your own mother rejects you, nothing else in life really gets you down. At least she could thank her for that.
Still, she needed a job, and quick. As she walked, she noticed a couple of help wanted signs at places like the bank and the dry cleaners, but she wasn’t ready to give up on her career just yet. Somebody had to need a marketing specialist. Some business that was failing had to need her special set of skills.
Her stomach growled, so she stopped at her favorite food truck overlooking an urban park area. It was quite the tableau of busy hipsters on their lunch breaks and homeless people taking naps or asking for money. The city was an amazing environment where everyone had a place. Well, except the homeless people. They didn’t technically have a place.
“What’ll you have?” the portly and severely sweaty man asked. It wasn’t like it was hot outside, but he was still sweating like he’d just run a marathon in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
“I’ll have a Philly cheesesteak with extra onions and a side of fries. Oh, and a sweet tea.” Today she was drowning her sorrows in carbs and trans fats.
“Coming right up.” He handed her a receipt with a number on it, and she walked to an empty picnic table at the edge of the park.
Something about this place comforted her. Maybe it was because there was so little nature in the city, and this small sliver of grass reminded her of her grandmother’s backyard in Happy Harbor. They used to sit on her swing under the Spanish moss–covered trees and talk about life and the future. Nana would regale her with stories of her youth, and Josie would talk about boys, school, and sometimes her mother. Her grandmother had done everything she could to make Josie’s life better.
“Order thirty-eight!” the sweaty man yelled as he hung his head out the truck’s window. Josie took her basket full of artery-clogging goodness and sat back down at the picnic table.
She took her first bite and moaned. Why was bad food so incredibly good? Why didn’t God make broccoli taste like this? There was something inherently unfair about the whole thing.
Just as she was finally relaxing and letting her mind wander, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She put down her sandwich, wiped her greasy hands, and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mrs. Campbell?”
“Miss Campbell,” she corrected the woman for some unknown reason.
“Miss Campbell, this is Cheryl over at your daughter’s school. We’re going to need you to come pick her up.”
“Why?”
“She’s gotten into some trouble, and the principal has suspended her and a few other kids. Can you come now?” The woman seemed quite frantic, like Kendra had smallpox and the whole place needed to be quarantined.
“I’m across town, so it’ll take me a good half hour...”
“Great. We’ll see you soon.” She abruptly hung up, and Josie looked down at her sandwich. She couldn’t even take a moment to eat a sandwich without her daughter wreaking havoc in her life.
* * *
Josie sat in the principal’s office, tapping her foot and waiting to find out what her daughter had done. She didn’t even have to ask if Kendra was actually guilty of whatever it was, but she sure hoped it was something as simple as pulling the fire alarm.
Finally, Principal Dowden walked into the office and sat down behind his desk. He was as big around as he was tall, balding on the top, pointy nose, and had a foul look on his face most of the time. He was what one would refer to as a blowhard. Definitely not someone she would invite to parties.
“Miss Campbell,” he said with enough authority that she wanted to put herself in the corner.
“Mr. Dowden. Where’s my daughter?”
“She’s in the security office. I trust you have come here to take her home?”
“Well, someone called and told me to do just that. What did she do?”
He put his hands on the desk in front of him, fingers interlaced like he was about to start a prayer service. “Miss Campbell, your daughter is a consistent problem at our school. We just can’t have it anymore. Today she cut off the ponytail of one of the teaching assistants.”
“What? Why would she do that?”
He stared at her for a moment. “Is there ever a logical reason to cut off someone’s ponytail, Miss Campbell?” She was getting really tired of the way he was using her proper name.
“Of course not. And I understand she needs to be suspended for a few days...”
“No, not a few days. The rest of the school year. You’re lucky the teaching assistant isn’t pressing charges for assault.”
“Assault? Was she physically harmed?”
“No, but he obviously suffered emotional distress. He had very long hair. Halfway down his back.”
“He?”
“It’s not my style, but we don’t discriminate at this school. If a male teacher wants to have a long ponytail, so be it. That’s not what we’re here to discuss. Your daughter, along with another student, snuck up behind him while he was reading and cut off his ponytail. I don’t understand how you’re not disgusted by your daughter’s behavior.”
“I am,” she said, as calmly as possible. “I don’t know what’s going on with Kendra lately, and I understand she’s been a nuisance at the school. But kicking her out for the rest of the school year just seems excessive.”
“Well, that is our decision. She is not allowed back on campus, but she can complete her work virtually.”
“I can’t monitor her every day. I work.” She wasn’t exactly lying, but she felt her face flush at the memory of today’s rejections.
“That’s not our concern, Miss Campbell. She’s your daughter and your responsibility. And, frankly, it seems you’ve been falling down on your job of parenting her.”
Anger. It always came back. It was never far away. Just underneath her skin, it percolated, ready to pounce at any time. And right now, she felt like pouncing right across his desk.
Nobody understood how hard it was to parent Kendra alone. Kendra’s father had never been in the picture, and Josie had worked as hard as anyone could to make a life for them both. She hadn’t expected her daughter to become the world’s worst teenager.
“I’m a single mother, Mr. Dowden. I do the best I can.”
“Well—and pardon me for saying so—your best just isn’t good enough. I would suggest that you get some counseling for your daughter. At this rate, she’s going to end up in prison.”
Josie stood up, unwilling to listen to any more criticism about her parenting skills. How is a person supposed to know how to parent when their own mother never taught them? It was a cycle that had continued in her family. She didn’t have a father, and Kendra didn’t have a father. Josie’s dad had been a passing flame for her mother, but Kendra’s father was someone Josie had actually loved. The problem was, he’d loved several other girls at school Josie didn’t know about at the time. When she left to give birth, he took off on a van trip with some of his friends and never contacted her again. Regardless, Kendra had a mother, even if Josie wasn’t perfect.
“Thanks for your advice,” she said, trying not to actually bite her tongue in half. “Where can I pick up my daughter?”
* * *
They rode home in silence. Josie didn’t know what else to say. Her daughter was coming off the rails, and she didn’t know how to fix it. She didn’t even know how to fix herself. Everything in her life had fallen apart, and she just wanted to curl up in the fetal position until it was over.
When she got home, she unlocked the door and Kendra went straight upstairs, obviously expecting her mother would explode and give her a big lecture. But right now, Josie just wanted to be alone to think about her life. Something had to change.
She poured herself a cup of coffee and went out to the back patio. She enjoyed sitting out there, listening to the birds and watching the neighbors’ crazy beagle run around the yard with a half-inflated soccer ball in his mouth.
Josie leaned back in her lounge chair, staring up at the blue sky. It had always amazed her that the sky could look so beautiful, yet the people below it were going through trials and tribulations all the time. Life was just a constant ebbing and flowing of happiness and sadness.
She closed her eyes and tried to think about happier times, but yet again her phone interrupted her relaxation. She was almost afraid to answer it, but given that her daughter was at home, there couldn’t be much that would upset her now. Maybe one of the places she’d interviewed at had changed their mind about hiring her.
“Hello?”
“I’m looking for Josie Campbell.” The man on the other end of the line sounded familiar. His voice was that of an older man, supremely Southern and almost apologetic.
“Who’s asking?”
“This is Joe Strand from Happy Harbor. I don’t know if you remember me, Josie. I’ve been your grandmother’s attorney for many years now. I think I saw you when you visited a few years back.”
That reminded her, she really did need to visit her nana soon.
“Oh, yes. I remember you. What can I do for you?”
There was a long pause. It was one of those quiet moments when you know in your soul that something is coming you will not like. “Well, Josie, I don’t rightly know how to tell you this, so I suppose it’s better if I just say it. Your grandmother passed away this morning.”
It felt like all the air in her lungs was stuck in her throat, squeezing the life out of her. Josie put her hand up to her neck as if she was trying to massage words out of her mouth.
“What?” It was the only thing she could manage. Of course, she knew exactly what he’d said. She just didn’t want to believe it.
“Honey, I’m so sorry. Adeline was the best woman I’ve ever known. She did so much for the people of this community, and she went through so many hardships. We surely didn’t expect to lose her this soon.”
Josie didn’t expect it either. Her grandmother was in her late seventies, but she was youthful and spry. She always had more energy than Josie did. Not only did she run a restaurant on the harbor, but she also owned one of the most beautiful historic homes in the area and often gave tours through the historical society. She belonged to the garden club, hosted a book club, and was super involved in her church. Nana had always seemed immortal.
How could Josie have waited so long to go home for a visit?
“I just can’t believe this. I spoke to her last week, and I was going to call her tomorrow.”
“I’m so sorry.” He paused. “I know this is a shock. But I am going to need you to come into town for the reading of the will. Your grandmother has left you some things, and she asked that I tell you in person.”
“When did she ask you that?”
“Well, we did some work on her will about a year ago. You see, your grandmother passed away from advanced heart failure. She didn’t want anybody to know she was sick.”
Josie was devastated. She couldn’t believe her grandmother didn’t tell her, but that was the way she was. She never wanted to be a burden on anyone.
“And you can’t tell me what she left me?” Long ago, Nana had explained her house would go to the historical society upon her passing. They’d never really discussed her restaurant, but Josie assumed it would be sold off since Nana had no other family, really. “I’m sure it’s just her Bible and maybe some jewelry?”
“I wish I could tell you more, but I’m really going to need you to come here. Do you think you could come next week?”
Josie knew she had to go. But a part of her still didn’t want to ever step foot in Happy Harbor again. She had wonderful memories of Nana, but then there was her mother and all that surrounded her. Of course, she knew her mother wasn’t there. She hadn’t heard from her in many years. But the memories were there, and they were strong and fresh, like they happened yesterday.
“We really need to get things squared away,” Joe was saying. “Plus, I’m sure you’ll be coming for your grandmother’s service?”
Her service. Her funeral. She hadn’t even considered that part.
“Yes. I guess I need to handle her service?”
“Oh, Adeline had everything laid out. She put money aside for it, and her friends at the church are handling everything. She was very specific that she didn’t want you to have to take time away from your job to plan a funeral.”
“That sounds like her,” Josie said, tears streaming down her face.
“So I can expect you? On Monday?”
“Of course. I’ll be there. Thanks for calling.”
She pressed end on the call before she broke into a million pieces. She hadn’t sobbed that hard in her entire life. Her grandmother was the one person she could always count on, and now she was gone. She wouldn’t be there for a weekly phone call or video chat. She wouldn’t be there to write sweet Christmas cards and send birthday flowers. The one person that she could always rely on, the one who would love her no matter what happened, was gone.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Kendra was standing behind her. “I heard you crying from upstairs. Is this about what I did?” For the first time in a long time, she heard empathy in her daughter’s voice.
Josie cleared her throat and stood up to face Kendra. “No, honey. That call was from someone in Happy Harbor.”
“Where Nana lives?”
The tears welled again. Josie nodded. “Yes, where Nana lives.”
“What happened?”
Without warning, her sobs returned, and Josie could hardly form words. “She’s gone. Nana’s gone...”
She felt the warmth of Kendra’s arms around her as her face pressed into her daughter’s shoulder. How was she ever going to survive this world without the one person who believed she could do anything?