The Favor
Delaney
When my phone rang from across the cabin, I nearly jumped out of my skin. My phone never rang – not unless it was Walt, who rarely called. I mean, why bother when he could holler out his cabin window?
I had my phone set to silent unless the caller was someone in my contacts, and the list was scarily short.
At the rustic kitchen table, I pushed away from my laptop and mentally ran through the list. Tessa? Maisie? Mom? Dad?
Good grief.
Not Janet?
Before leaving Chicago, she'd been oddly persistent about getting my number. And of course, I'd felt too awkward to decline, so I'd given it to her in spite of my reservations.
But she had never called, much less shown up on my cabin doorstep, which made me feel kind of stupid for being freaked out. Then again, I never did tell her where I was going.
By now, I'd been at the cabin for nearly two weeks, and I was finally settling in. I felt more relaxed than I had in ages. And yet, my breath caught when I snatched up the phone and saw the name on the display.
Maisie.
By now, it had been over a year since we'd actually talked. My stomach clenched at the memory of our very last conversation, which had turned out to be one of the hardest of my life.
I'd been trying not to panic, even as I told her as nicely as I could that I needed space to think. I'd asked her not to call me until I reached out first.
She'd been hurt. I could tell. I couldn't even blame her, since I knew exactly how I'd feel if our roles were reversed.
She'd asked why, but I didn't dare tell her. I knew Maisie. She was the nicest person I knew. She thought about everyone but herself. And the way I saw it, it was better to have her think I was a horrible friend than to put her in any danger.
But now, looking back, the whole thing felt slightly ridiculous.
I mean, here I was, safe and sound, over a year later. I hadn't been roughed up, run off the road, or cornered in some dark alley this whole time, and neither had anyone I loved.
My pulse jumped as I answered with an anxious, "Hello?"
"Delaney?" She sounded a little breathless. "I'm surprised you answered."
It was no surprise to me. Dozens of times I'd picked up the phone to call, only to stop before pressing that final button.
I smiled as I said, "It's really good to hear your voice. It's been way too long."
"Uh, yeah. I know." She wasn't smiling. "Listen, I'm really sorry to bother you…"
"It's no bother. Honest."
"Well, that's good. I mean…because I need a favor."
"Sure, anything." By now, Maisie could've asked me to drop everything and head straight to Mackinac Island, and I would've done it gladly. Plus, whatever this favor was, she was asking me, not Tessa.
That had to mean something, right?
She hesitated. "Are you sure? Because I don't want to be any trouble."
"It's not trouble," I assured her. "Whatever it is, I'm happy to do it."
She gave a shaky laugh. "I'm so glad to hear it, because honestly, I was a little nervous."
My smile faltered. "Really? Why?"
"Well…you know. I don't want to be a bother. And honestly, I wouldn't be calling you at all if I hadn't seen your number from the other day." She said it like I'd called yesterday instead of weeks ago.
I was still processing that when she added, "If you want the truth, I was sure you'd changed it."
"My number? Why would you think that?"
"Well…for starters, because you didn't want me to call you. Remember?"
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that." My heart was already in my throat. "Maybe the next time I see you, I can explain?"
"Sure. I mean…only if you want to."
I couldn't decide if she was brushing me off or trying too hard to be nice. "And the whole not-talking thing, that was just temporary – or at least, it was supposed to be."
"Oh. Well…I'm glad you're working things out. Tessa said you get like that sometimes, where you need space to yourself."
What the hell? "She did?"
"Yeah." She paused. "So, I'm really glad you're getting it."
I wasn't glad. Mostly I was confused. "And I didn't change my number. You do see it's the same one, right?"
"Yeah…but your voicemail…it's not even you."
I frowned. "It's not?"
"No. It's this robotic thing, totally generic. What, you didn't know?"
Finally, it hit me. "Oh, my God. I changed my cell provider last fall. I even got a new phone."
"Oh. That's nice." She said it like she was talking to a stranger while waiting in line. Or maybe she didn't believe me.
I hated that. "I guess I never reset it."
She said nothing.
I tried again. "But I never saw you called. Did you leave a message?"
"No. Because it wasn't your voice, remember?"
"Oh. Right. But I never saw your number."
"Uh…yeah. I might've used the phone at the shop."
This didn't make sense. But then I understood. She'd probably called from the bike shop so I wouldn't recognize her cell. But I still would've noticed the area code – except I got so many spam calls, I mass-deleted them all the time.
Shit.
But she had reached out. And I'd missed it. Lamely, I said, "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be. It's fine. Anyway…I don't want to take up a bunch of time, but I really do need that favor. It's kind of important."
Whose time?
Mine or hers?
Still, I said it again. "Sure, anything."
"And I wouldn't even ask, except it's not for me."
I tensed. "Oh?"
"Yeah. It's for Tessa."
I swallowed. "Tessa?"
"Yeah, there's this big thing planned for her – it's kind of a parade – and it would be really super nice if you could help out."
A parade?
For Tessa?
I clutched the phone tighter. "So…you'd like me to come to the island?"
"What?" She laughed. "No. It's not that big of a favor. I just need you to make a phone call, that's all."
My heart sank. "Oh."
"It doesn't have to be a long phone call," she explained. "And it's only to Tessa."
Stupidly, I repeated my sister's name. "Tessa."
"Right. In fact, short and sweet is probably for the best. This thing has a lot of moving parts. The whole town's getting involved."
The whole town?
I couldn't seem to stop blinking. This should've been hilarious. Only Tessa would be getting her own parade – organized, apparently, by my former best friend.
Trying to hide my hurt, I quietly asked, "And you want me involved, too?"
"Absolutely." But then, just as my heart was starting to unclench, she added, "It would mean the world to Tessa. I just know it."
Tessa.
Again.
As my stomach churned, Maisie went on to explain that Tessa had felt conflicted about this guy she was dating because she was worried I wouldn't approve.
None of it made any sense.
Maisie even told me the guy's name, Ryder Vaughn, which was no surprise, considering that receipt for Tessa's rent.
How any of this involved me, I had no idea.
But what else could I do?
Of course, I agreed to the favor. If nothing else, I owed Maisie that much.
I was even a decent sport about it, too. Or at least I tried to be, despite the sting.
It helped to think of myself as an actor in a play. All I had to do was deliver a line or two at the appointed time.
I would be saying these lines directly to Tessa by calling Maisie's phone. Maisie warned me up front that she wouldn't be the one answering, like she didn't want to hear my voice at all.
Was I reading too much into it?
I honestly didn't know.
But even if I was right – if the sound of my voice bothered her – could I really blame her?
Not really.
Maisie sounded so happy when I agreed that my own sadness faded just a little – until she'd ended the call barely a minute later.
It wasn't until the line went dead that I realized I'd never told her how sorry I was about her dad.
Damn it.
Somehow, some way, I would need to make it right.
In the meantime, there was at least one thing I could do. On the allotted day and time, I made the call, borrowing Walt's cellphone to keep who was calling a surprise.
It rang twice before I heard Tessa's voice, sounding thoroughly confused. "Hello?"
I took a deep breath and said what needed saying. "I just want you to know, it's okay."
Sounding flabbergasted, Tessa asked, "What's okay?"
I almost smiled. Score one for Maisie. This was definitely a surprise. Trying to sound mysterious, I said, "You'll see."
"When?"
"Any minute now." Or at least, I was pretty sure it would be any minute. Maisie had been very specific about the time. And finally I said it, the important line I'd been rehearsing in my head. "Don't say no to anything because of me."
And then I hung up, just like I was supposed to do, with my part officially over.
Even so, I would've given just about anything to be there.
Not for Tessa's parade.
But for Maisie.