“Was it fun?”
“Yeah.”
“Everyone nice to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you play a friendly? Score any goals?”
“Four.”
“Good onya! That’s my girl! How did it feel?”
“Normal. What did you do today?” Rainbow asked.
“Nev and I went to a theremin concert. Have you ever seen a theremin?”
Rainbow had never heard of it and didn’t believe it was real. “Can I talk to Nev?
Surprised, Ronnie handed the phone over. It was sweet how much Rainbow liked Nev. “Rainbow wants to talk to you.” Hopefully, Rainbow had gotten over her prudishness and forgiven them for sleeping in the same bed at Reg’s house. Rainbow got upset easily but forgave just as fast.
Nev took the phone without hesitation and put it on speaker. “Hey Gumball.”
A woman’s voice came over the line. “Who is this?”
Nev frowned and shot her a look.
She froze. “It’s Maude,” she mouthed. “Say something or hand me the phone.”
Nev handed the phone back. “She hung up.”
Ronnie stared at the home screen, feeling like she was falling up.
Nev clarified. “She hung up on me, not on you.”
She called Maude back. It rang once, then went to voicemail. She swore. This was not good.She stared at her home screen again, which was a picture of Rainbow as a baby. A shiver ran down her spine.
“Oi,” Nev warned, watching her. “It’s late. Maybe it’s past her bedtime.”
She shook her head. “She’s never hung up on me when I’m talking to Rainbow… She’s never cut me off before…”
Is Rainbow upset? Does she need me? Obviously, she needs me. Do I need to go over there?
“Relax. She’s not upset with you. She doesn’t know who I am. She’s doesn’t want her talking to strangers late at night. You’ll finish your conversation soon. This is not a big deal. It’s not going to change her decision about giving you equal custody.”
Ronnie didn’t know if it was a big deal or not. That was what was so terrifying—she never knew what was a big deal with Maude. One thing Nev was wrong about, though.
“She knows who you are. Rainbow talks about you all the time.”
Nev’s eyebrows rose.
Ronnie called again, no answer.
“Give it a rest.” Nev pulled her laptop onto her lap and opened a website, scrolled down to pictures of sheep. “Look at these gorgeous rams. Let’s make up names for them and rank our top three choices for next year. You love that.”
“What if she’s in trouble? She had something to tell you. What if it’s important? What if something bad happened? What if Maude’s been…giving her a hard time?”
“That’s a lot of what ifs.”
