Page 100 of Plan Interrupted

Nick nodded. “Nick here. You’re on speaker, and Elizabeth and Joe are here as well.”

“Okay, I just wanted to let you know that Mr. James called here several times today and left messages in my voicemail system. His main concern this morning was that Elizabeth hasn’t been returning his calls. And this afternoon, he wanted to know what the family emergency was that caused her to miss work. I found this quite odd because I never actually talked to him today, so I don’t know how he knew she wasn’t at work. I guess he must have talked to Darcy at some point.”

“For now, just keep ignoring him. And if you can, find out if Darcy told anyone about Elizabeth’s absence, and if so, who did she speak with. Also, what time did the first call come through?”

“Give me a second, I’ll check.”

Over the air, Joe could hear the clicking of keys.

“I’m scrolling through the call-log right now. Here it is. His first call came in about 8:00 a.m. from his New York office number.”

“Okay, thanks. We’ll be in touch.” Nick replied as he pulled into the driveway.

Joe slid out of the truck. Nick rounded the front of the vehicle and gripped his arm to help steady him. The pain and dizziness made it difficult to stand up straight. His head was throbbing from the blow, and every time he took a breath he was reminded of his bruised torso.

His heavy feet carried him sluggishly through the garage and into the utility room. Knowing there was nothing he could do about his dreadful appearance, he hesitated before entering the kitchen, taking a minute to concentrate his efforts on tucking aside his pain and anguish, hoping his daughter wouldn’t see through him and become scared, or worried for him. He could hear his dad and daughter talking in the kitchen. It sounded like they were playing a game at the table. Still needing a second to prepare himself, he sent Elizabeth into the kitchen first. He leaned against the wall and listened.

“Hi, Elizabeth, where’s Daddy.”

“He’s coming, sweetie. He’s really sore from the fall he took, so it takes him a while to walk.”

“Hi, Molly. What are you and Grandpa playing?” Joe asked as he tried to get his daughter to focus on anything but his bruised, swollen face. The horrified look on her face told him it didn’t work.

Tears swelled in her eyes. He took a step toward her and she gasped, jumped off her chair, and backed away from him.

All the pain in his body shot to his heart.

“Would you like to play with me in your room for a while?” Elizabeth asked as she extended her hand toward Molly.

His daughter nodded and took her hand. They played in Molly’s room until Max arrived home from school.

* * * *

While Elizabeth attempted to distract Molly, she could hear the men in the kitchen discussing, over and over again, what had happened. Nick was like a freaking bloodhound, questioning Joe about his assailants, asking him to describe their physical features, mannerisms, voices, anything. But poor Joe seemed to be drawing a blank.

On occasion, Nick’s cell phone would ring, and she tried desperately to hear what he was saying, but it was difficult because she was also focused on distracting Molly so she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

A short time later, she heard Max come through the front door. Tony and Max’s muffled voices trailed from the living room, but she couldn’t make out anything they said. She imagined Grandpa Tony was preparing the child for his dad’s condition.

The shuffling of Max and Tony’s feet told her they were headed toward the kitchen.

“Holy smokes, Dad. Does that hurt?” Max’s tone was more curious than alarmed. An entirely different reaction than what his sister’s had been.

“It’s not too bad. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you go play with your sister for a bit before dinner?”

“Okay.”

Max bounded into the bedroom. “Wow, did you guys see dad’s face?”

Elizabeth shot a glance at Molly, her bottom lip was already quivering. Any ground the little girl had gained regarding getting used to her dad’s condition was probably lost by her brother’s enthusiastic question.

Max bounced his gaze between his sister and Elizabeth. He was now looking a little panicked. She could only assume he noticed the look of terror in Molly’s eyes at the mention of her dad’s bruised face.

“Max, your sister is a little nervous and scared about your dad’s accident.”

The young man knelt by his sister on the floor and patted her on the leg. “Dad’s going to be okay. He just took a fall, and he’ll be better in no time, you’ll see.”

It was so sweet and heartwarming to watch Max console his sister. Elizabeth smiled. A mini Joe. Mr. Responsible. Mr. Fix It.

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