Page 3 of Rebel

“Oh wow. Do you really believe all that, Mr. Edwards?” I asked, shocked at some of the things he was telling me.

“Of course I do. I’m a lot more experienced than you are when it comes to relationships, Lacey. I told Sandra that it takes more to keep a man satisfied than being a good cook and housekeeper.”

His gaze turned lecherous as he added, “Things have been dead in the bedroom for years and I’m not going to tolerate that anymore.”

My eyebrows flew up before I could stop myself. Hearing about his sex life just crossed the line for me. He was still blabbing about his personal life when my phone rang. It was the ringtone I assigned to my mother’s number.

Thankful for the interruption, I quickly grabbed my phone and said, “It’s my mother calling. She only calls me during work hours if it’s really important. I’ve got to take this.”

He made a gesture with one hand towards my uneaten food. “Of course. Family comes first. Just be sure to make it short so you can get your lunch down before your hour’s up. Just because I like you doesn’t mean you get to skirt the rules.”

“Yes, sir.” My tone was worlds more docile that I felt when it came to this man.

I excused myself and took the call as I walked outside for some privacy.

“Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”

“We’re doing just fine, dear. We are. Nothing is wrong here in Griffinsford. Nothing at all.” Her panicked voice did not match her words.

“Are you sure?” I asked cautiously. “You sound a little stressed.”

At that, she broke down crying and I rushed to my car so my boss couldn’t overhear our conversation. “Mom, tell me what’s wrong.” At this point my own panic had risen a notch.

“Nothing. I just needed to hear your voice,” she stammered, still tearful.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on but if there is anything I can do to help, you know I’ll drop everything and do it.”

“That’s what’s so painful. We do need you, but I feel terrible asking you to drop everything to help us out. You finally got a job you love and living in the big city has always been your dream.”

My mind was working overtime as I tried to wrap my head around what she was hinting at. I told her cautiously, “Los Angeles isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s expensive, crowded, and everyone here is so superficial that it’s hard to make friends.”

“What about your job? That’s going well, right?”

“When I applied for it, I thought it was the perfect part-time job to hold me over until I could find a full time one. My boss owns an electrical firm, just like Dad.”

“It can’t be that different working for a small business in Los Angeles as opposed to Griffinsford,” she responded, sounding less tearful.

“It’s not the job itself that’s difficult. It’s more that my boss is an arrogant, condescending prick who’s in the process of divorcing his wife and he keeps giving me outrageous over-the-top compliments. It feels like his romantic attention is shifting to me and I don’t want that.”

“Are you sure about that, sweetie? If he’s doing stuff like that, it’s not professional conduct for the workplace, especially for a boss towards his employee.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m pretty sure I’m not misinterpreting the situation because today he started talking to me about his ‘dead bedroom’ and how men have needs.”

“Oh no. No, no, no. Do not put up with that behavior! Quit if you have to, but don’t ever let a man put you in a situation you don’t want to be in to keep your job.”

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about putting in my notice and looking for another job.” There was a short pause before I offered something I suspected she would consider a blessing. “I’ve even been thinking about coming back to Griffinsford, where people talk to you when you say hello and things actually make sense.”

Cue the waterworks again, only this time when she spoke, she sounded relieved. “We need you, Lacey. We need you here with us badly.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to pick it out of you?”

In a gush of words she told me everything. “Your father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago. The doctors told us with the new treatments and medications, he could live a normal life for many years.”

Shock roiled through my gut. “He’s okay, right? Tell me he’s okay.”

My mom could hardly get the words out for crying. “He’s fighting it hard, Lacey. But the disease has progressed much faster than the doctors anticipated. He had to give up doing jobs about six months ago because he couldn’t remember certain things. It’s gotten to the point that I have to stay right with him,or he’ll wander off. He tried to make himself eggs one morning when I was asleep and nearly burned the kitchen down.”

Sympathy welled up in my heart for both of them. “So, the two of you tried to fight the good fight together and it’s getting impossible to for care for him on your own, right?”

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