Chapter 6 #2
“She’s not homeless… Anymore. And the point I’m trying to make is that we still do things the old-fashioned way around here, but that doesn’t mean anyone is doing anything wrong.
I knew you wouldn’t see it like that though, so I held off.
I wanted to let Sasha get settled so I could say with complete confidence that she’s not scamming us. Which she’s not.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Callie scoffed. “Because she’s been nothing but an angel! As I already told your sister, if she wanted to steal from us or something, she’s had plenty of chances. She hasn’t taken anything. She’s been a very sweet and generous house guest. And her baby is adorable.”
“But mom, this sounds so strange...”
“That’s probably because I didn’t explain the situation well,” she insisted. “But I promise it will all make sense to you once you come to town and meet Sasha. You’ll see that there’s nothing to worry about, I swear!”
“I want to believe you, but I’m struggling to wrap my head around this. Can you at least give me the name of the social worker? Or the shelter? I want to give them a call and make sure that they’re legit and they have more info about this woman.”
Callie let out a bitter laugh. “You and Mallory are so alike, you know that? Why is Ariel the only one who’s happy about this? She sees the situation for what it is—a win for everyone. But you and Mallory are so focused on the details.”
“I’ve only asked for one or two details,” he corrected her. “I’d hardly call that unreasonable. It’s just something I want to look into for my own peace of mind.”
“And I’m telling you it’s not necessary. Everything is fine, Sasha is not doing anything wrong, and you’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” she said with an edge of finality. “We can talk more about this once you’re in town, but for now, I don’t want to hear anything else about it. We know what we’re doing, we’ve grown quite fond of Sasha, and that’s that.”
Taylor groaned. “Mom, you can’t be serious.”
“As serious as a heart attack,” she said. “I’m done with this conversation. If you want to air your grievances or question what I’ve told you, then call Mallory. I’m sure she’d happily engage in a gossip session with you.”
“I don’t want to gossip! I just want basic answers to basic questions. What does dad think about this?”
Callie scoffed. “Your father is fully on board. He’s fallen completely in love with baby Dorothy, and I think he sees Sasha as his honorary third daughter.
But go ahead and give him a call if you don’t believe me.
But I’m telling you, he’ll probably be even more defensive than me.
He’s really got a soft spot in his heart for them. ”
Taylor took a beat, but she could almost hear his anxiety coming through the phone.
“I don’t mean to be a jerk. I love that you and dad are trying to do something nice for a woman who needs a little help.
.. but it’s just not adding up. I wish we lived in a time where we could take people at face value and not assume we’re all being lied to, but every week there’s a new article about some elaborate scam people are falling for.
I don’t want you and dad to end up being victimized by someone who’s just using you. ”
“And we appreciate that you worry about us,” she said. “We love that you and your siblings are always looking out for our wellbeing, but I also can’t help but feel a little insulted sometimes. We’re not bumbling old idiots, you know? We can take care of ourselves.”
“I’m not suggesting you can’t.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
Taylor was quiet for another moment. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll stop hounding you. I’ll wait until we’re in town and we can assess the situation in person. But if I still have questions after I meet her, will you promise to sit down and talk to me again?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Alright then. I’ll drop this for now. But could you at least send me the woman’s full name so I can double check she’s not a wanted serial killer or something?”
“I did google her, you know,” Callie said. “After your sister also suggested that she might be a serial killer, I decided to prove her wrong by doing a quick search, and nothing came up. Not that I was surprised.”
“Yeah, but I have other ways of looking people up that are a little more in-depth than google,” he said. “And I could send her name to a couple of my friends who work in criminal law, just to make sure it doesn’t set off any alarm bells. That would make me feel a lot better.”
Callie chewed on the inside of her lip as she considered what to do.
On the one hand, she truly didn’t think her son would find anything bad in his more “in-depth” search.
But on the other hand, she wasn’t even sure she had the information he was asking for.
She only knew Sasha’s first and last name, and she hadn’t confirmed that Sasha Sommers was her real name.
As Mallory had pointed out on multiple occasions, Callie never received any official paperwork for this sponsorship, so she only had what Sasha told her was true.
“Uh, yeah, alright. Her name is Sasha Sommers,” she said after a few seconds. “Spelled with an O and two M’s.”
“Middle name?”
“I don’t have that.”
A beat.
“Well, could you ask her what her middle name is?”
“I guess,” Callie said. “But I’m not home right now so you’ll have to wait a few hours.”
“Why not just text her?”
She clicked her tongue. “Because that would be weird. If I texted her out of the blue asking what her middle name is, she’s going to wonder why I suddenly need that information.
And it’s not like I feel comfortable telling her that I need her middle name so my son can do a search for any illegal activity in her past! ”
“But if she has nothing to hide…”
“I’m not going to text her. I’ll try to ask her casually, but that’s all I can promise.
If I don’t get the information by the time you arrive in town, then you can try to figure out her middle name yourself.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have papers to grade before it gets too late and the cafe is only open till two. ”
Callie had a feeling Taylor wanted to keep talking, but he ended up sighing and letting her go. “Good luck with the papers,” he said in a slightly defeated voice. “I’ll send you the flight info.”
“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to seeing you in just a couple of days!”
“Yeah, me too. Love you, mom.”
“I love you too, sweetie.”
“Take care,” he added at the last second, and she could tell it was more of an honest request than a casual statement. Callie smiled sadly, hating that she’d given her children so much anxiety when all she was trying to do was help someone in her community.
“Will do,” she replied.
They hung up and she set her phone down, utterly deflated after yet another unsuccessful conversation.
She stared down at the papers she had left to grade and then took a sip of her coffee which was growing cold.
Despite the desire to go home and wallow in her stress and sadness, Callie tried to shake off those emotions.
Getting up, she ordered a refill and then got back to work with a topped off cup of coffee in hand.