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At the thought it could be Banks calling me, I quickly flipped over in the bed, reached my hand out, and swiped up the phone to look at the display.
So, maybe I wouldn’t be getting the call I wanted, but at least I was getting a call I’d be happy to take. I could use the distraction right now, anyway. I’d just have to be sure not to reveal anything about the uncertainty surrounding my job. As far as I knew, I hadn’t been fired.
I slid my finger across the screen, held the phone to my ear, and murmured, “Hello?”
“Are you still in bed, Lamise?” Jolene scoffed.
Just hearing her voice helped to improve my mood. “I am.”
She let out a laugh. “Oh, I wish I could sleep in. I’d give anything.”
“Are you suggesting my niece is making that impossible for you to do?” I countered.
Jolene didn’t miss a beat. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m flat-out telling you that’s how it is.
“Well, I think you’re making it sound worse than it is,” I reasoned. “She’s delightful.”
“Of course, she is. I just wish she’d be delightful at eleven in the morning instead of six,” my sister explained.
I got it.
Though I didn’t expect she’d ever be the kind of woman who’d keep herself in bed until eleven, Jolene still deserved the option to be able to sleep in and do that on occasion, if she wished.
Rolling to my opposite side, I asked, “So, to what do I owe my appreciation for this phone call?”
“It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to be nosy and see how things went for you this week at your new job. I still can’t believe you’re a nanny.”
In an instant, my whole mood shifted. Granted, I’d chosen to ignore the one glaring thing that had gone bad during my first week on the job, but I wouldn’t burden my sister with those details now. She’d already supported me through some of the worst days of my life. The last thing I needed to do was share more devastating news with her.
After I’d called and cried with her over the phone about the video I’d found on Graham’s cell, I took the first opportunity I had to give her some good news. So, no sooner had I left his place that Saturday when I first went over to meet Rhys, I got in my car and immediately called my sister.
She’d been thrilled to hear the news, which was likely the result of two things. First, being my sister, it was just in her nature to be happy for me whenever anything good happened. But beyond that, I knew it came as a big relief to her that I was doing something to move forward. I hadn’t forgotten about Graham, and I didn’t intend to just let this whole thing go, but I did need to continue to press on and find some happiness. And finally, knowing I’d handed off Graham’s phone to the police to have them investigate his death instead of attempting to figure things out on myown had helped with her excitement. Maybe it was more about relief than anything else, but the result was the same.
“It was honestly one of the best weeks of my life,” I revealed. “Certainly, the absolute best in months.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I loved it.”
There was an extended silence before my sister returned, “I’m so happy to hear that, Lamise. And I’m so proud of you.”
I secretly wondered if she’d be saying the same thing if I had shared the full truth about my week with her, or more specifically, how my week had ended. Of course, Jolene being proud of me likely had more to do with the fact that I’d gotten myself to the point where I put in enough effort to find myself a job and less to do with what the actual job was.
“You know nobody will ever take the place in my heart that’s just for Ruby. I love my niece like nothing else in this world. But when I tell you that this little boy has stolen my heart, I’m not joking,” I revealed.
“Oh, this is so sweet.”
“I’m not kidding, Jolene. Maybe it shouldn’t be this way, and maybe it’s not healthy. I have no clue. I’m not sure there are words to tell you how much Rhys has changed my life in just one week. I’m happier. So much happier. And I look forward to getting up in the morning, just to go to work. That never happened at my old job.”
There was no missing the giddiness in my sister’s voice when she replied, “I love this for you. I’m so happy that you’re happy. Tell me more.”
So, that’s what I did.
I told my sister all about my week with Rhys—what wedid, how he laughed, the way I felt when he cuddled with me.
When I finished, she said, “I’m so glad you found this family that needed you. I think, in a way, maybe you needed them just as much, because I can hear it.”
“Hear what?”
