Page 63 of Love & Other Disasters

“Or who you’re doing differently,” Bonnie said with a sly giggle. Her bleached blonde hair concealed what should be a head full of gray hair, reminding Violet of a grandmother who shouldn’t have a thought like that in her head.

“Do you have a new boyfriend?” Monique asked, giddy.

“No, that’s not… I don’t consider… no,” Violet stammered.

“Dating, then?” Bonnie asked. “Perhaps it’s too soon to call him a boyfriend?”

“Or girlfriend?” Monique asked. “That’s okay, too.”

“I’m not gay,” she snapped.

“It’s fine if you are,” Monique said.

“Well, I know that. If I were, I would say so.”

“So you’re not seeing anyone,” Monique asked.

Violet sighed, “It’s very new, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

J.P. paced his office, his mom’s voice in his earbuds. He didn’t need more stress, but he didn’t have a choice. Their last few phone calls had him concerned. He doubted his brother was looking in on their mom. He lived in Chicago, but it was a quick train ride to their mom’s in Glencoe. Much closer than him.

“When was the last time you saw Ethan?”

“Oh, the other day,” she replied. “Did you know that Celeste is expecting again?”

He wiped a hand over his face. “Yeah, we’ve talked about it.”

“We?” she began, then recovered, “Yes, we did. It’s such a miracle.”

“A veritable miracle,” he muttered, staring out the window at the overcast gray sky. It mirrored his current mood. He’d arrived at work, happy after leaving Violet’s home. The contentment came crashing to a halt when he received a call from Bob then his mom in quick succession.

“It is,” his mom cut into his thoughts. “You’d be better off if you had someone in your life.”

Staring down into the parking lot at the rows of cars, he picked out Violet’s car. Did he dare tell his mom about Violet? But if he brought her up, there would be expectations.

“Did Ethan change the lightbulb in the hallway?” he asked changing the subject.

“He did.”

“How are you on groceries? Getting everything you need?”

“Don’t worry about me, darling, I can take care of myself,” she insisted. But he wasn’t so sure. She seemed to forget a lot of things in recent months. He wasn’t able to be there, and had to rely on Ethan, the guy he couldn’t count on to do anything except get his wife pregnant.

“I know; I’m worried that I can’t be there right now.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m doing just fine. Now, you’re the one that needs to get out and meet a nice girl.”

His office phone buzzed with a call on line two. Saved by the bell, even if it was Bob.

“Mom, I have to take this call. Let me know if you need anything. Love you. Bye.” He clicked over to the other call.

“Jordan,” Bob began. “I just spoke with that investigator I told you about, from the fraud unit of the TBI, and they want to talk to us.”

“Why is the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation involved?” J.P. had to sit.

“Because we deal in health insurance claims, the crime falls under healthcare fraud.”

How had that never occurred to him? “When?”

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