Page 44 of The Spy Ring

FIFTEEN

Tiffany

“You’re okay then?” I asked for the third time tonight.

Holding my cell phone up to my ear, I could hear David groan on the other end.

“Yeah. I told you that an hour ago. Mom! Please stop calling. It’s embarrassing. I’ll be home in the morning.”

There were some muffled voices in the background and I could hear laughter.

“All right. I’ll stop. But please, call or text if you need me. Even during the night. I won’t—”

David hung up.

David was at his very first sleepover. I assumed most parents first experience this when their kids were in elementary school, not when their kid was a teenager.

I’m nervous and happy for him. This was everything I dreamed of for David. He had friends and was getting to do fun things with them. But now that he had what he wanted—to be just an average teenager—where did that leave me?

A year ago, I did so much for him and it felt like with a snap of a finger, I did almost nothing now. It’s uncomfortable, like a sweater that looked soft but when you tried it on you realized it was suffocating and itchy.

I’m here, alone in my apartment for the night for the first time since the car accident ten years ago. And even then, I rarely came home, preferring to sleep at the hospital with my son.

I gazed around my living room and discovered a rare thought, I was bored. Weird. I didn’t like it. Boredom was something I hadn’t felt since before David was born.

I chuckled to myself as I sat on my couch remembering how I envied people with nothing to do. Now here I was. I’m sure there’s someone out there envious of my time now.

Still felt scratchy.

My phone lit up next to me on the couch and I grabbed it, answering in a rush.

“David, what’s wrong?” My heart raced so fast I thought it might explode out of my chest.

“Uh, is this Tiffany?” a man’s voice I didn’t recognize responded.

“Yes, who is this?”

“I have a Jagger here who needs to speak to you. Hold one second.”

My heart, which had settled down the moment I realized David wasn’t on the phone, began to pick up the pace again. Why would Jagger be calling me? He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with us on Saturday.

I made sure to keep that information from David until the next day. I wanted him to enjoy his birthday. He was hurt but loved the Ninja Boy comics Jagger bought him for his birthday gift.

As for me, I cried a bit. Like a dork, I put the candy bracelet he got me under my pillow. It kept making weird crunching noises when I moved so I ended up cradling it next to my chest. Succumbing to the sugary smell, I chewed half of it. I fell asleep with bits of candy stuck to my lips and chin. When I woke in the morning, I realized it was too tempting having the thing in my bed.

It now sits on my dresser like a broken dream.

There were loud scraping noises and a boom before I heard Jagger’s voice.

“I got it, Benson. I got it.” There was a pause before he started to speak again, “It’s not Benson, then what’s your name? Leo? I’ve been calling you Benson the whole time!”

Jagger started to laugh. I wondered if he realized I was still on the phone.

“Jagger?” I said.

“Tiffany! Oh, sweet Tiffany. It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“Nice to hear from you. Is there something you needed?”

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