Page 36 of Fun and Games
"How is that going?" she asked. "Think you'll stay there?"
"It's a temporary position," I reminded her.
"Hm."
That small noise told me everything I needed to know. Sheila didn't approve of my vagrant ways. Moving apartments every few months, never staying at a job long enough to build any sort of career…
It wasn't the most conventional of lifestyles, I'd give her that. But the last thing I wanted was to be tied down to one tiny hometown, one job, one life.
"I ran into David's mom the other day," Sheila said.
A stab of pain shot through my chest.
"She said she found some things you might want," she continued. "She wasn't sure whether she should reach out or not. I told her I'd ask you myself."
"I see." I couldn't force any other words out of my mouth.
"She didn't tell me what they were," Sheila said. "I thought it was probably something private, just for you. I didn't want to pry."
"Thanks," I said.
There was a moment of silence.
"Are you going to reach out to her?" my sister asked.
"Sure," I said. "I'll reach out."
I myself didn't know whether or not that was a lie.
"How are you doing?" Sheila asked. "It's been so long since I've talked to you."
"I'm doing good." I picked at one of my cuticles, nearly ripping the tiny notch of skin right off my nail bed. I winced and sucked on the tip of my finger. "I went out for a trivia pub night with some friends a few times."
"Really?" Sheila's voice rose in pitch, sounding both excited and astonished. "That's great! You're finally getting back out there."
"Yeah."
"So, um. What kind of trivia was it?"
"Disney," I told her.
"Which means you won?"
"I did."
"That's awesome."
There was a strained sort of silence as my sister floundered for another topic. Now that she'd gotten me on the phone, Sheila was desperate to make conversation. I knew I wasn't making it easy on her. I felt bad, but I couldn't bring myself to summon the energy it took to keep the words flowing.
All my thoughts were stuck on David's mom and what she might have found.
"Listen, I should probably go," I told her. "I've got supper on and I need to keep an eye on it."
If a microwaveable TV dinner counted as supper.
"Right, okay." Sheila's frown was palpable even through the phone. "Let's try to keep in touch better. No more going weeks without speaking to each other."
"Sure. I'll talk to you later."
