Chapter Twelve #3
“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. It’s on my phone. I’m supposed to check in for it, but I don’t know how.”
“You have a virtual appointment tomorrow?” Olivia clarified.
“Yes. I was trying to save you a trip, but the office texted me and I can’t follow their instructions. Also, your father did something to the computer.”
Olivia knew from experience that there was no way to talk her mother through the online check-in process over the phone. She looked at her watch. “I’ll be there in an hour.”
“I’m sorry you have to drive down here. Is Sharp there? Can he come with you?”
Olivia closed her eyes for just a few seconds, remembering her mother was the one who’d declared her missing when Olivia didn’t show up to take her to a doctor’s appointment. Was she trying to do virtual appointments because she was afraid to have Olivia drive alone?
She opened her mouth to say she’d be fine driving by herself but changed her mind. “Nicki’s here. She’ll come with me.”
“Oh, good.” Her mother sounded relieved.
“It’s no problem, Mami. See you soon.” Olivia ended the call.
Nicki tapped her phone and read the screen. “We’d better hurry if we’re going to get back in time to follow Wendy.”
Olivia collected her things. “Let’s go.”
In the car, Nicki said, “I’ll bet you ten bucks Abuelo changed the password on the Wi-Fi again.”
Olivia laughed. “No one would take that bet. He does that every week.” Her parents tried to keep up, but technology moved too fast for them.
“I’ll have it fixed in a minute,” Nicki said. “I made myself an administrator on their account.”
“I’m glad they call you for all things digital.”
“And I’m glad you handle all their doctors’ appointments.” Nicki laughed.
Olivia could make the drive to Albany in her sleep. She was at her parents’ house at least once or twice a week. They lived in a senior community of nearly identical single-story homes. She parked at the curb.
As they walked up the driveway, Nicki said, “I’ll take Abuelo. I handle yelling better than tears.”
“Works for me.” Olivia’s mother was easier to help.
She didn’t love technology—except for the ability to have hundreds of photos of her grandchildren at her fingertips—and was content to hand over her phone to be fixed.
Her father still insisted on doing everything himself, and his frustration sometimes took the form of yelling at no one in particular.
They went inside the small house. Her father was in the living room, playing dominoes with Olivia’s youngest nephew, six-year-old Brian. Olivia kissed her father on the cheek. “Why aren’t you in school, Bri?”
Focused on the game, Brian barely looked at her. “I dunno. School’s closed.”
“Teacher in-service day,” Olivia’s father said. “I need to talk to Nicki about my computer. Maybe you can play with your aunt Olivia?”
“No way.” Brian shook his head. “She wins all the time.”
Nicki laughed. “You think she’s good at dominoes. Wait until you’re old enough to play Scrabble with her. Aunt Liv is the Scrabble Queen.”
Olivia had a firm policy of never letting her nieces and nephews win. Everyone needed to learn to lose gracefully. “Maybe another time. I have to help Mami.” She went to find her mother.
As she left the room, she heard her father say, “Nicki, my computer isn’t working. I don’t know what happened to it.”
“I got you, Abuelo,” Nicki said with more patience than she ever had for Olivia.
As usual, her mother was in the kitchen. She stood at the sink, scrubbing a pot. She was a petite woman with a head of forever-brown curls.
“Hola, Mami.” Olivia kissed her on the cheek.
Her mother gestured toward the phone on the counter and waved her hands over it as if she were very done with the device. “Are you hungry?”
“No, Nicki and I just ate.” Olivia picked up the phone and entered her mother’s passcode. She scrolled through her apps. “Where is the app the doctor uses?”
“I don’t know. It was there yesterday. Today, it’s gone.”
How did she delete the entire app?
Olivia knew better than to ask her mother. She simply downloaded the app again, signed her mother into her account, and checked her in for her morning appointment. “You’re all set. Just leave the app open tonight but don’t do anything with it until your appointment time tomorrow, OK?”
“OK,” her mother agreed. “Just put it on the charger.”
Olivia crossed her fingers. Nicki walked into the kitchen and greeted her grandmother with a kiss.
“Are you hungry?” her mother asked.
“No, we have to go anyway. Sorry, Abuela,” Nicki said.
Olivia’s mother looked disappointed. “It’s OK. I appreciate you coming to help.” She turned to the refrigerator. “I made pastelitos today. You take them home for Sharp.”
She set a container in Olivia’s hands. It felt heavy.
“How many are in here?” Olivia asked.
“Not that many.” Her mother shrugged. That meant at least a half dozen of the pastelitos de guayaba, or guava and cream cheese pastries, that Lincoln loved.
“Yum!” Nicki said.
“They’re for Sharp,” her abuela admonished.
“Sharp didn’t help you with your computer today,” Nicki protested.
“Don’t be fresh,” Olivia’s mother corrected with a laugh. “Sharp has done enough for this family.” Olivia’s mother would do anything for the man who had found and saved her daughter.
Her whole family had been affected by her abduction. Would they ever feel secure again? For now, Olivia could only hope her mother never learned of Zoe’s disappearance.
And that they found Zoe alive.