Page 78 of The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth
“Be careful with them.”
“No, I thought I’d get addicted and then get a heroin habit.” He scoffed. “Of course I’m careful. You know me. I don’t like to get high, unlike a certain sibling of mine.”
“It’s nice to hear your voice. I’m so surprised you didn’t call when you did it.”
“I know you’re trying to figure things out. I didn’t want to get you all worried. I was pretty sure it was a straightforward break, and I could let you know later. But I guess Dad got there first.”
“He did. You don’t want to go to Breck?”
“No, Mom. Even before the break. There’s all kinds of drama going on. Fiona barfs every five minutes, and she’s kind of a drama queen, and there’s something wrong with the house, so Dad’s all freaked out, and—I dunno. It would just be better to hang with my friends who aren’t going home for the holidays. We’ll have turkey TV dinners and drink a shit ton of beer.”
She laughed. “Great. Sounds fabulous. I’ll call you on Christmas Day, for sure.”
“Dope.”
“Anything I can do for you from here?”
“Bring me a British movie star. Love that accent.”
Veronica laughed. “I’ll do my best.” She paused, remembering that she hadn’t told her ski-crazy children that she was traveling with Mariah. “By the way, the person I’m traveling with is Mariah Ellsworth, the snowboarder.”
“What? The Olympian? I thought she was killed in the supermarket shooting.”
“No, that was her mom. Mariah was pretty badly injured, which is why I’m helping her.”
“Awesome, Mom. Seriously. Is she nice?”
“Um.” She smiled to herself. “Niceis the wrong word, but I like her. You would, too.”
“All right, I gotta go. Have fun, Mama.”
“I will. I love you, son.”
“Love you, too.”
She sent a text to Amber, who still hadn’t returned her call.Amber, this sucks so much, but I’m trying to figure out things on my end.TheOffer Still Stands, but it’s hard to get things done from this far away. Call me. I’m worried.
Last, she called her landlady, who answered on the third ring. “Nancy speaking,” she said, like the administrative assistant she’d once been. She’d saved every spare penny and bought the building in the early nineties, turning it into five apartments at a moment that turned out to be prime. She’d always been slightly judgmental and nervous.
“Nancy, it’s Veronica Barrington. I heard from my friend that you wouldn’t allow her to share the apartment because she has an ankle bracelet.”
“Well, no, that’s a lie,” she said defensively. “She was not very clean, and she drove a ramshackle wreck of a car. I can’t trust a person like that in my building. This is a nice place.”
“She’s not a criminal,” Veronica said as calmly as she could. More flies with honey, as her mother always said. “She’s just in a hard place right now. She had a bad marriage and is trying to get to a better place.”
“Not my problem. How do you think everybody in the house will feel when they see that house arrest thing on her ankle?”
“It’s illegal for you to refuse her on that condition.”
“Well, it’s not illegal for me to evict you when you haven’t paid the rent.”
“She was going to pay the rent for me until I can get back into the country. I told you this. My husband pulled my alimony, and I’m in Europe on a job. I’ve been a good tenant for a year.”
“I heard through the grapevine that you had a domestic-violence arrest, too. So, two peas in a pod. No, thanks.”
Veronica’s cheeks flamed, and the heat spread to her ears, her scalp, before she could speak. “I didn’t hurt anyone,” she said. “I lost my temper on a very bad day.” She clenched her jaw. “That’s stupid, but hardly criminal, and Amber did even less.” She’d fought back against a husband determined to kill her, but that was none of Nancy’s business.
“I don’t care. You’re out, and if you’re not here to collect your things by the first, I’ll leave them on the lawn.”
