Chapter 3 #2
What was she supposed to do now? There was no way she could leave Gus to fend for herself.
Gus looked at the watch she wore on her slim wrist. “Oh my. It’s ten thirty. That handsome young newscaster is on now.”
She reached out and turned on the TV to the local news.
The male anchor in his suit shifted to an image of a gorgeous reporter with a toothpaste smile.
Her blonde hair had been expertly styled to curl over the shoulders of her dress, and she held the microphone with freshly manicured fingers.
“Thanks, Dan. In downtown Renegade, police are fighting to keep up with a new drug going around. Last month, this drug claimed the lives of nine people, four of them under the age of eighteen. Yesterday, there was another tragedy…”
Mia abruptly stood. She didn’t want to hear another story about a young life cut short by a drug overdose. One of her colleagues had lost a nephew to drugs last year. It had been heart-wrenching to watch.
Her car was full of boxes of supplies she needed to bring to her classroom.
And she needed to finish writing some IEPs, the individualized educational plans for her students with learning disabilities.
She could do that here at home, but Gus didn’t have Wi-Fi, and Mia didn’t want to use her hotspot.
The IEP website often kicked her out when she wasn’t on the school’s internet.
Her phone rang. She recognized Shannon’s ringtone and grabbed the phone. “Hey, Shannon. Hang on for a minute.”
She walked to the back patio. “I’m back. Gus is watching TV, and I didn’t want to disturb her. Matt Stone is the anchor.”
Shannon laughed. “Say no more. He’s a handsome guy.”
“Sure is. What’s up?”
“Well, I wanted to let you know that I’ve called in the situation we talked about.”
“Oh. Thanks. I know you can’t tell me more right now.”
“Truth, girl. I also wanted to know if you got paid.”
Mia sighed. “Nope. The district has never heard of the foundation. And I did some digging last night. I think their website is down.”
“Bummer. Keep me posted.”
Mia didn’t tell her about Anne Marie. While she trusted Shannon, she didn’t feel right telling tales on her cousin. After all, she was family. And Mia didn’t actually know where the woman had gone.
The front door swung open, and Anne Marie’s voice floated through the house.
“I gotta go, Shannon. I’ll call you back.” Mia marched out to meet her cousin.
Anne Marie stood in the living room, her chin lifted in defiance. Gus stared up at her niece, lips pursed.
Mia blinked. She’d never seen that look on Gus’s face before. Then she walked forward, and a cloud of stale cigarette smoke and alcohol enveloped her.
“Anne Marie,” Gus began in a stern voice. “Have you been out all night drinking and smoking?”
Mia’s cousin flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I got bored. Some friends invited me to a party.”
“Your cousin needed to leave for work. You promised you’d be here.”
“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” Anne Marie started to turn away and head toward the back of the three-bedroom house. She was in the guest bedroom next to Mia’s room.
Mia blocked her way. “Don’t be rude. Gus is talking to you.”
“Look, I don’t see what the big deal is. I went out for a few minutes. So you didn’t go in to school today. It won’t start for another week. You don’t get paid to go in and set up your classroom. You can still go in tomorrow. No big deal.”
“The big deal is that you left Gus on her own.”
“So she was alone for a few hours. Nothing happened to her. If it bothered you so much, you should have called.” She smirked, a vicious gleam in her eye.
“Call you? After you blocked me?” Mia folded her arms across her chest.
“Oh, yeah. I did, didn’t I?” Anne Marie shrugged. “You were annoying me.”
Mia held her temper in with effort. “Gus’s grocery money is gone. Did you take it?”
Anne Marie met her glare with a defiant hair toss. She snapped her gum. “I didn’t have enough. I figured it didn’t matter. You said I’d get paid anyway.”
“Anne Marie. I think you need to leave.”
The cousins turned to stare at their great-aunt.
“Gus! You can’t kick me out. I’m your niece!”
Gus pushed herself to her feet.
Mia grabbed Gus’s cane from where it had fallen on the floor and rushed to give it to her aunt.
“This is my house, Anne Marie. I love you, you’re my niece. But I will not tolerate lying, drinking, smoking, stealing, or disrespect.”
For a brief moment, Mia felt sorry for her cousin. But only until she recalled walking into the house and finding Gus alone among the chaos her cousin had left when she’d walked out the night before.
“I don’t want to stay here anyway.” She stormed into her room and threw her belongings into her bags, then lugged them out the front door and stalked to her car.
She tossed the bags into her back seat. Anne Marie spat on the driveway once before getting in and turning the vehicle on.
She revved the engine and sped away, tires squealing as the vehicle whipped around the corner.
“Good riddance,” Mia muttered.
Turning back into the house, hopelessness hit her. She was back in the same situation she’d been in two weeks ago, when the doctor had told her Gus needed full-time care. She needed someone to stay with Gus so she could get her classroom ready before the first day of school.
Gus shuffled over to the door. They both watched the trail of dust left in Anne Marie’s wake. “I feel bad that I had to do that, but it was for the best.”
Mia wrapped an arm around her aunt. “It probably was. She’s my cousin, and I love her. But she wasn’t very reliable. We’ll have to come up with a new plan though.”
Gus sighed. She moved into the living room and sat in her chair. “I hate being so much trouble.”
Mia walked to her aunt and squeezed her shoulder. “You aren’t any trouble. And you know if we needed help, you’d be the first in line. It’s our chance to give you a hand.”
Gus picked up her crossword puzzle book. Mia watched her aunt for a moment before turning back to the problem at hand. Who could she call to stay with Gus?
“You could ask your mother.”
Mia’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t realized she’d asked the question out loud. “Excuse me?”
Gus lowered her puzzle book again and examined Mia over the top of her glasses. “You heard me, Maria. Don’t forget, Carol is my sister Frances’s only child. I know you two haven’t always seen eye to eye, but she’s my niece, and I love her. I don’t get to see her much anymore. She’s always so busy.”
Mia’s cheeks burned. “I know. And I don’t mean to be selfish or petty. The truth is, Mom and I haven’t talked much in the past few years.”
Gus opened her mouth, then shut it. After a couple of false starts, she began, “Honey, I know things weren’t as they seemed in your home.”
“What do you mean?”
Gus quirked an eyebrow. “Your family always presented the perfect picture. But I could tell you weren’t happy. Neither was your mother.”
“I noticed you don’t mention Blaine.”
“Nor will I.”
Okay then. She’d always suspected Gus and Blaine Turner weren’t on good terms. Now she knew it for a fact.
“I don’t even know how I should begin the conversation. The last time we talked, she made it clear she was disappointed in my choices. She threw several mistakes I’d made in my face. As if she’d been keeping score.” Like Jackson. And the pregnancy.
But she should ask, for Gus’s sake.
Her fingers slowly tapped out her mother’s number.
“The number you’ve called has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again.”
“Her number’s changed. Do you have a new one?” Her fingers hovered over the touchscreen, ready to dial.
“Oh dear. No. No, I don’t. Call Jane. Maybe she’ll be available.”
Mia frowned. It felt wrong that her mother had disconnected her phone and neither she nor her aunt had access to her.
She nodded. Jane was Anne Marie’s older sister. She was a year older than Mia. When Jane answered, Mia put the phone on speaker so Gus could hear the conversation.
“I’m not surprised that Anne Marie ditched her responsibility. I’ll come. But I expect to be paid.”
Gus grimaced at that statement but nodded.
“Of course. I wouldn’t suggest otherwise,” Mia assured her.
They talked over the plan, and a few minutes later, Jane hung up. She’d agreed, although without any sort of enthusiasm. At least Gus wouldn’t be alone.
Gus leaned back in her recliner and shut her eyes.
“I’m going outside for a few.”
“That’s fine, dear.”
Mia walked to the back patio and settled into the swing. She used her feet to gently push off. How had life gotten so complicated?
Her thoughts turned to the foundation. She really needed that money so she could sign up for her class.
She straightened. She had brought a box of papers to the school already. The pamphlet about the foundation might be in it. Even if the website was down, she might be able to call them and get the ball rolling.
Excitement stirred. If all went well, she’d make contact and be on her way to getting the money they owed her. The sooner that happened, the sooner she could open the crisis pregnancy center she’d dreamed of opening since the loss of her own baby so long ago.