Chapter 7 Annabelle #2
An impatient sigh. “She denies doing it but come on. She was caught in the bathroom with a bunch of other girls. She’s been hanging out with new people since the rift with Zoe.”
“I’ll talk to her when I get back. One more day.”
“You need to come home now. She needs you. You’re gone all the time, and I think this is her way of rebelling.”
“I can’t miss my meeting tomorrow. You know that.
You’ll have to handle things until I get home.
I’m not her only parent, you know! And it’s not like I haven’t had to do plenty on my own.
I never asked you to come home when you were on call all night.
How many nights have I spent with sick kids by myself? ”
His voice softens. “I know. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty for working. I’m worried about her, Annabelle. I wish I could get through to her on my own, but she needs you.”
“I’ll try to book a red-eye for tomorrow night instead of waiting until the next day. But that’s the best I can do.”
“If you say so.”
I end the call and throw the phone on the bed.
It’s then that I notice the television is on and an emergency announcement interrupts the program.
A plane crash over Atlanta. Flight 108. I grab the remote and turn the volume up.
Everyone is feared dead. A chill runs through me.
There’s a loud blaring, and I look around to try to find where it’s coming from.
Is the smoke alarm going off in the hotel?
The man is still standing on the balcony, his back to me.
“Hey, do you hear that?” I shout.
“Annabelle, wake up,” James says, gently shaking her. “You must have been dreaming. You were yelling.”
She sat up with a start. “Um, yeah. I thought there was a fire. Only a dream,” she mumbled, still half-asleep. He held her phone in his hand. “Your alarm was going off. You should change it to music. I’ve told you these harsh noises are not good to wake up to.”
She fell back against the pillow, still tired. “Yeah. I’ll do that. I need a few more minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll get the girls’ breakfast going.”
She closed her eyes, reliving the dream, trying to make sense of it.
Who was the man on the balcony? She would never cheat on James, especially given what had happened to her in the past, but the dream seemed to indicate that she was.
She could still feel the sense of completeness she’d felt in his arms.
Annabelle had never met her grandmother, but her mother had told her that she used to have elaborate dreams. Dreams that sometimes came true, and that scared her mother.
Annabelle hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now she wished she could ask her mother more about it.
Lately, it was as though she was living in another dimension.
She wasn’t doing anything different. No new medications or diet changes.
Although she was doing that gratitude thing.
Maybe she was tapping into her subconscious more.
She didn’t like it. She’d have to google it and see if that was even a thing.
One thing was for sure, her subconscious was screaming at her not to take the job.
Her reservations about not being available if her children needed her weighed heavily on her. She would tell Madelineno.
When she got downstairs, James handed her a cup of coffee.
“Morning, everyone,” she said.
“Morning, Mommy,” Olivia replied, giving her a big smile. Scarlett mumbled a hello without looking up from her phone.
Annabelle arched an eyebrow, turning to James. “I’m not going to take it.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, okay. What made you decide?”
She gave a slight nod of her head in the direction of Scarlett and Olivia. “I don’t want to be traveling so much right now.”
He smiled. “Can’t say I’m not glad. I kinda like having you around.”
“That’s nice to hear,” she said. She clapped her hands. “All right, kiddos. Time to get going.”
“You didn’t eat anything,” James said.
“I’ll grab something at the office later. Not hungry.”
He handed her a banana. “At least have this. You know your blood pressure gets low if you wait too long to eat.”
“Yes, Doctor. Go see your actual patients.”
He didn’t move, still looking at her.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Annabelle peeled it and took a bite. “Happy?”
“Good girl.” He kissed her on the top of her head and left.
She gave the rest of the banana to Parker. Good girl. What, was she a dog?
On the way to school, Scarlett took her AirPods off and turned to her mom. “Oh, by the way, I’m going to the mall after school with my friends.”
“Okay. How are you getting there? Is Zoe’s mom picking you up?”
“Zoe and I aren’t friends anymore.”
This was news to Annabelle, but she flashed back to her dream. Had Scarlett told her, and she’d forgotten? “Since when?”
“Since she stole my crush and turned our friends against me.”
“Who’s your crush?” Olivia piped up from the back seat.
“None of your business,” Scarlett said.
“Who cares anyway,” her sister shot back.
Annabelle pulled up to a stoplight and turned to look at her. “Honey, I’m so sorry. You two were always so close. Why didn’t you tell me?” She put a hand on Scarlett’s arm, but she pulled away.
“It’s no big deal. I’m hanging out with some other girls now.”
Zoe’s mom and Annabelle had always been friendly, if not close. They all belonged to the same yacht club, and the girls had taken sailing lessons together every summer for the past eight years.
“If you want to talk—”
“I’m good.”
Annabelle pulled up to the school, her stomach now in knots.
“Love you girls. Have a good day.”
She thought about her dream again. Who were these new friends?
Was Scarlett getting in with the wrong crowd?
She would talk to her about it tonight. One of the reasons she had decided to send the girls to the public school was so that they’d form friendships with others close by.
The schools were terrific, and most of their friends sent their kids there as well.
But James’s parents, Charlotte and Art, had been disappointed when they’d learned that she and James weren’t sending them to St. Luke’s, the school James had attended.
But the public schools in Bayport were some of the highest rated in the country.
It was the one thing Annabelle had been firm about.
There was no way they were going to spend in excess of a hundred thousand a year for middle and high school, when their schools were so good.
But it wasn’t only about the money. Annabelle wanted them to have friends in their own community.
It was one of the few times she’d argued with James’s mother.
His parents had offered to pay for the girls.
The four of them had been out to dinner, and Annabelle could see that James was wavering.
“Thank you for the generous offer, but it’s not only about the tuition. We believe it’s better for the girls to be closer. St. Luke’s is a forty-minute drive with traffic; it’s much more convenient for them to go here. And the public schools are excellent.”
Charlotte had frowned. “They’re adequate, but I wouldn’t say they’re excellent—”
“They’re ranked very highly. I don’t wish to debate this, Charlotte. We want our girls to be down-to-earth, not entitled.”
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem to think living in a million-dollar-plus home is entitled, so why are you against private school? St. Luke’s is a quality education and will better prepare them for their futures,” Charlotte said. “It certainly helped James get into medical school.”
It had taken every bit of Annabelle’s self-control not to lose her temper. “And that’s what’s so great about having your own children: You get to make your own choices.”
James finally spoke up. “Mom, the matter’s settled. Please respect our decision.”
To her credit, Charlotte never brought it up again, and she was right there cheering at all the girls’ plays, sporting events, and school activities.
Annabelle turned the radio on and tried to quiet her thoughts. A few minutes later, her phone rang. James. She pushed answer on her steering wheel.
“Miss me already?” she teased.
“Did you hear about the plane crash?”
Her heart stopped. “No, what crash?”
“Over Atlanta. Early this morning. Over two hundred people dead.”