40 Something - Safety (8 page)

“Hello.”

“Hi. It’s
Sophie.”

“Sophie, how
are you?”

“Good. I guess.
It’s a bit overwhelming. Lindsay’s nice and her place is well, I
feel like I’m in a very expensive hotel.”

“It’s
nice?”

I’m curious
about where Lindsay lives.

“Nice. Rose I
wake up to a view of the bay. An uninterrupted view. It’s huge and
gorgeous. She even has this interior designer who came over last
night to set up my room.”

“An interior
designer?”

“Yeah. She is a
snob. She transformed the office space into a luxurious bedroom.
I’ve never had anything this nice, ever.”

“Well you
deserve it.”

“No I don’t. I
mean. I was fine where I was and all. I think maybe I should just
go back and –“

“NO.” Panic.
“No. You can’t. Stay there. You’re safe there. Sophie I had no
idea. I’m so sorry.”

“For what?
What?”

“Craig showed
up while we were finishing up.” Silence. “He’s not right. Sophie.
He’s a bully and abusive. You can’t go back there.”

“No. No. No. I
knew this would happen. I should have just stayed home. I never
should have gone out. I never should have left my suite. He’s going
to be mad. Furious. No. No. No. I have to call him –“

“Why would you
do that?”

“Cause he’s
mad. I have to make it better.”

“No you don’t.
You need to stay there with the kids.”

“He’s gonna be
so mad at me.”

I can hear the
pain in her voice, she’s on the verge of tears. If Gary and Gus
hadn’t been there to save us, I’d hate to think what would have
happened. Sophie will be helpless if she goes back. I don’t know
what to do?

“Look. Sophie.
Stay there. Just for a week. Think of it as a vacation. I’m sure
Charlene will have everything in place to protect you by then and
Craig will have calmed down. How are the kids liking it there?”

“They love it.
Lindsay has been so good to them. She wants to decorate their rooms
up for them. Paint and everything. I mean themed rooms Rose. How
can I let them have that? We aren’t going to be here long enough
for that. It’s too much. We have to go back. How will they adjust
to having nothing after living here?

“Tell them it’s
just a vacation. Ask Lindsay not to.”

“I did. She
won’t listen.”

“I’ll get
Charlene to talk to her. She’s her friend. I’m sure she’ll be able
to make it work out. You can’t come back here Sophie. You can’t.
It’s not safe here for you. Not yet. Charlene will let you know
what to do. Until then what’s wrong with enjoying a luxurious
place?”

“I don’t know.
It just feels like too much. I was struggling to make ends meet two
days ago. Now? Lindsay had the grocery store deliver food. Did you
know grocery stores even did that? There is everything here. She
won’t let me pay her anything or do anything. I feel so bad.”

“You feel
bad?”

“Yeah. I don’t
deserve any of this. It makes me uncomfortable. What will she want
from me? I don’t know what she wants from me.”

“I don’t know
her. I’ll talk to Charlene. Until then, enjoy it Sophie. You need a
break from life. You need this.”

I saw what she
had for food and where she was living. How she was living. I don’t
know how she did it. I couldn’t. I think of how much Gus does for
me. How he’s always here for me and the kids. Our house. Our life.
We can afford a kitchen full of food. We have everything we need.
How did she do it? Alone. How does any single mother do it all?
That’s not my problem. I have enough to worry about without
worrying about other people. My mom is right. Don’t invite trouble
in.

“Rose. Thank
you.”

“No problem.
I’ll call Charlene right now. She’ll sort it out.”

I call
Charlene. Voicemail. That woman never picks up a phone. Or is it
just my calls she doesn’t answer?

“Charlene it’s
Rose. Sophie just called. You need to do something about Lindsay. I
guess she’s moving them in permanently. It’s making Sophie
uncomfortable. She wants to move back to the suite. After meeting
Craig there, she can’t it isn’t safe for her there. Call her and
figure out something.”

There that’s
done. I’m sure they will sort it all out. As long as Craig can’t
find Sophie, she’s safe.

“Mrs. Fischer,
I’m done my assessment.”

“Adam, come
have a cup of tea and tell me how you are going to make my family
safe.”