A short while later, she left the family to catch up while she returned to her newly renovated apartment. She had the next three days off, and she planned to enjoy the leisure time. It would be nice to be responsible for no one but herself for the long weekend.
Her apartment smelled like new, cheap carpet and adhesive, but she saw at a glance that the work had been adequately done. What few possessions she’d left there were still intact. The new flooring and a few new furnishings made the inexpensive furnished rental look a little more updated than when she’d first moved in. There was even a new laminate countertop in the tiny galley kitchen, she noted in satisfaction. The old one had been in pretty bad shape.
Her rent would probably go up when the lease came up for renewal, she thought resignedly. She hoped it would still be reasonable. This was a decent place to live until she found a house she could afford, which would be at least one more lease cycle.
She unpacked and put everything away, then settled onto the new plaid couch with her knitting. Her TV was small and she had only very basic cable, so she didn’t bother trying to find anything to watch. It was nice to just enjoy the quiet for a while.
It felt good to be back in her own place, she assured herself. Now that Seth and Meagan were home, everything could get back to normal. School would be starting again soon, and her days would settle back into a predictable routine of cleaning and shopping and laundry, picking up Alice after school, then cooking dinner for the family before returning here to her apartment. A comfortable, pleasant, generally stress-free schedule. Exactly the way she liked it.
Her sigh echoed in the silent room, making her frown in response to the plaintive sound.
“Stop being an idiot, Jacqui,” she muttered, forcing herself to concentrate on the intricate pattern taking shape between her rapidly moving knitting needles.
Her phone rang a couple of times that afternoon. Her friend Alexis called to reschedule their previous lunch plans for the coming Saturday. “I promise I won’t cancel on you this time. No matter what comes up, I’ll tell everyone I already have plans.”
Jacqui chuckled. “I’ll look forward to it. It’s been too long since we’ve managed to get together.”
“I know. I want to hear everything you’ve been up to lately.”
That wouldn’t take long, Jacqui thought, wincing a little as she disconnected the call. She could tell Alexis a little about the past two weeks, but she wouldn’t be comfortable sharing too much of the Llewellyn’s personal business. As for anything that had happened between her and Mitch—well, she wasn’t prepared to talk about that with her casual friend, either. She wasn’t actually close enough to anyone with whom to discuss her complicated feelings for Mitch, she thought wistfully. That was the sort of intimate discussion best held between the very dearest of friends—or sisters, perhaps, she thought with a pang.
Oddly enough, she thought she could talk to LaDonna about her confused feelings, had the circumstances been a bit different. LaDonna always seemed so caring, so levelheaded and accepting. Jacqui wished she could feel as comfortable turning to her own mother as she would be to her employer’s mom, if the current dilemma didn’t involve LaDonna’s own adored son.
Almost as if fate had intercepted that thought, the second call she received that afternoon was from her mother. Jacqui glanced at the caller ID screen with a wince, realizing that it had been almost two months since they’d last talked. “Hi, Mom. How are you and Dad?”
“We’re doing well, thanks, sweetie. We’re in Denver. We moved here last month and your dad has already found a good job doing maintenance for an apartment complex. I’m going to be helping out part-time in the rental office. In exchange, we get a free apartment and enough pay to provide the necessities. I think we’ll be staying here for a while.”
Jacqui had heard that before. She wondered exactly how long it would be before her father decided another pasture sounded greener. “That’s great, Mom. I’ve heard Denver is a nice place to live. I hope you’ll be happy there.”
“You’re still in Little Rock?”
“Yes. Still working for the same family. It’s going well.”
“I’m glad for you, sweetie. I know how you like your routines.”
Jacqui frowned a little, wondering if she’d just been subtly patronized, but she decided to let it go. There was no reason for her to take offense by anything her long-distance parent said. “Yes, I’m quite content here,” she said simply.
“Maybe you could take a vacation soon? Come to Denver to see your Dad and me? It’s been a long time since we’ve been together, you know.”
“I have got some vacation time coming. I’ll try to get out there for a few days.”
Assuming, of course, her parents were still in Denver when she took her planned two-week vacation time in October, a month she had chosen because it was a fairly slow time in the Llewellyn household. She wasn’t enthusiastic about digging into her savings for airfare, but she supposed she should make an effort to see her parents at least once every year or so, and it had been more than a year since the last visit.
“Oh, that would be wonderful. I know your dad will be happy to see you. And so will I.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Our apartment is only one bedroom, but we have a nice couch. You won’t mind sleeping on that, will you?”
“Of course not.” It wouldn’t be the first time she’d slept on a couch—or a pallet on the floor, for that matter. Her parents hadn’t always been able to provide enough beds for the four of them.
“So, what’s been going on with you? Are you seeing anyone special?”
“Not really. But I have friends. And I stay busy. It’s a good life.”
“Well—I’m glad. You, um, you know next week is—”
Her mother’s voice faded, but Jacqui was able to finish the sentence in her head. Next week was the anniversary of her sister’s death. She hadn’t needed that reminder. “Yes, I know.”