Page 21 of Voice to Raise
My phone buzzed.
Okay, six-thirty in the evening.
Probably.
I made my way over to my nightstand as the phone buzzed again. I held the thing at a distance where I could read it.Should’ve grabbed my reading glasses. Oh well. Then the name on the call display registered.
Mom.
Fuck.
I swiped to accept the call as I dropped onto the side of the bed. “Hello, Mother.”
“Hello, Spencer. We need to talk.”
I tried to suppress the yawn. Yep, in the evening. I’d only had a couple hours’ rest. “About what?”
“About your appearance on CNC last night.”
More confirmation. This time, I let the yawn happen. Man, I was going to sleep tonight.
“Am I boring you?”
“Of course not, Mother. Just…I had a bad migraine earlier today, and I’m still recovering and—”
“Did you try those essential oils my naturopath recommended?”
I rolled my eyes. I was all for alternative medicines, and I held naturopaths in great respect.
The exception being my mother’s. That guy was just a quack. With several complaints lodged against him. To Mother, that was a badge of honor—that the establishment was pushing him to conform and he was resisting the order to change his ways.
I saw the well-founded complaints as a sign that the guy really shouldn’t be practicing medicine. Of any kind. “I didn’t get an opportunity.”
She clucked her tongue. “Spencer, if these things are as bad as you claim, you really should be trying his remedies. They work—”
“Ifthey are as bad as I claim?” I held in the annoyance—but barely. “Mother, they’re debilitating. And since that’s not why you called, why don’t you get to the point so I can move on with my life?”
“Is that any way to speak to your mother?”
I thought I’d been quite polite. Given how angry she was making me. “Yes, Mother.”
“You were very harsh and rude to Malik.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. “I spoke the truth, Mother. You taught me to always be honest.”
“That boy was making a point. He was willing to risk himself. When have you ever done anything so daring? When your father and I were protesting Reagan…”
This, too, shall pass. She’ll eventually wear herself out. You just have to—
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, Mother. Ballistic missiles and submarines.”
Which made me think of Sean Connery inThe Hunt for Red October.
Yummy.
“I’m just saying that Malik’s heart is in the right place.”
