65

65


Jane.

My mom’s voice on the phone made me so happy. Even though we lived far apart, hearing her talk felt like getting a warm hug.

When I listened to her, all my worries went away. My mom always made me feel safe, and her voice reminded me that some things never change.

“Jane, what’s wrong?” June asked loudly. “I’ve been talking to you for ten minutes, and you’re just looking at your food. What’s going on?”

I looked up, surprised. “What did you say? Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

June looked worried. “That’s what I mean. Your mind is somewhere else. Are you okay? Is something bothering you?”

“Sorry,” I replied, feeling bad for not listening to my best friend. “I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“Are you thinking about Vishal?” she asked with a smile. “Maybe you should call him. You always get that dreamy look when you think about him.”

I shook my head. “It’s not about him. I’m worried about my mom.” The words felt heavy when I said them. “I think I caused problems between her and Dad when I disappeared.”

June’s smile went away. “That doesn’t make sense. You told me your dad loves her so much. How could he be mean to her?”

My chest felt tight with guilt. “Think about it, June. I left without saying anything. Mom must have been so scared. She probably wanted to look for me everywhere. But dad... he probably told her no, that it was too dangerous.”

My voice started to shake. “She must have been angry with him for not letting her find me. And he’s probably angry that she blames him for me being gone. I ruined their marriage.”

June reached over and held my hand. “Hey, stop that. You can’t blame yourself for everything bad that happens. Your parents love each other. They’ll fix this.”

“But what if they don’t?” All my fears came pouring out. “What if I destroyed their marriage? What if Mom hates Dad now because of what I did?”

“Listen to me,” June said firmly. “Your mom sounded happy when you called her, right? She knows you’re safe now. That’s all she cares about. Parents fight sometimes, but real love doesn’t break that easy.”

I wiped my eyes. I didn’t even know I was crying. “You really think so?”

“I know so. Just keep calling her, okay? Let her hear your voice a lot. It will help both of you feel better.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out,” she said with a big smile. “Now eat your food before it gets cold. I didn’t cook for an hour just to watch you play with it.”

I finally took a bite. Like always, June’s cooking was amazing. She could make even simple food taste great. We ate together and talked about happier things. Slowly, the heavy feeling in my chest started to go away.

Later, I saw June talking quietly on her phone in the corner.

“June, who are you talking to?” I asked, but she held up her finger to tell me to be quiet.

I left her alone and called Vishal. My heart beat fast as the phone rang. He answered right away, like he was waiting for my call.

“Hello, beautiful,” his voice made me feel warm inside. “Do you miss me?”

I tried to act like I didn’t care. “No, I don’t miss you.”

“Oh really?” I could hear him smiling. “Well, if that’s true, maybe I should hang up. I’ll call you later—”

“Wait!” I almost yelled into the phone. “Don’t hang up! Vishal, I miss you so much it hurts.”

“I didn’t hear that very well. Can you say it louder?” He was teasing me, and I loved it and hated it at the same time.

“I miss you, you annoying man. I miss you more than I thought I could miss anyone.”

“There’s my girl,” he said softly. “I miss you too, more than I can say. I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to call.”

My heart melted. “Are you alone right now?”

“Yeah, June’s on the phone with someone. I’m by myself in my room.”

“Good,” his voice got deeper and made my knees weak. “When are you coming to see me? I need to hold you, Jane. Just talking on the phone isn’t enough anymore.”

“Now,” I said, already making plans in my head. “I can come tonight if you want.”

“If I want you to?” He laughed, and the sound made me smile. “Jane, I want you here every second of every day. I can’t wait for tonight.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but it’s already late.” I heard him sigh over the phone. “Maybe tomorrow.”

We talked for over an hour about everything. Just hearing his voice made me feel like I could handle anything. When we hung up, I felt so much better.

The next morning came too fast. I got out of bed tired and got ready for work. I didn’t want to think about how sleepy I was after staying up late with Vishal.

“June!” I called, pulling the blanket off my friend who was still sleeping. “We’re going to be late for work. Get up!”

“Oh no,” she said, looking at the clock. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

“I tried! And don’t blame me - I’m already dressed, I took a shower, and I made breakfast. You’re the one who’s going to make us late.”

She jumped up fast. “Give me five minutes!”

“Make it three!” I called as she ran to the bathroom. “I’m not getting fired because you can’t wake up on time!”

I was finishing breakfast when June finally came out, looking rushed but ready.

“What’s for breakfast?” she asked, grabbing her plate.

“Rice and fish stew. Your favorite. Now eat fast so we can go.”

At the bar, we said hello to Sharon and started our morning work. I got a cloth and began cleaning tables and chairs while June and Sharon did their jobs. We worked fast, trying to finish everything before Mr. Mark came in.

But we weren’t fast enough.

“Good morning, sir,” we all said when our boss walked in.

Mr. Mark stopped walking and stared at me. I felt his eyes looking at my body in a way that made me feel sick. He always did this - he was sixty years old, married with kids, but he still looked at me like I was something he wanted. He didn’t even say good morning back. He just stared and then walked to his office.

“What’s wrong with him today?” Sharon asked after he left. “Why is he acting so weird?”

“Who knows?” June said, but her voice sounded angry. “I’m so tired of the way he looks at Jane. It makes me want to hurt him.”

I tried to laugh. “It’s okay, June. I can handle men like him.”

“No, it’s not okay,” she said angrily. “He’s a creepy old man who should stop staring at you. One day, I’m going to tell him exactly what I think.”

Sharon looked scared. “Let’s stop talking about this before he comes back. I can’t lose this job, and you can’t either.”

She was right. It was hard to find jobs here, and even though Mr. Mark made me feel sick, I needed the money. June and I both did.

The bar phone rang. Sharon answered it and walked away to talk. When she came back, her face was pale and she looked upset.

“What’s wrong?” I asked right away. “You look terrible.”

“It’s Mr. Mark,” she said quietly. “He wants to see you, Jane. In his office. Right now.”

My stomach felt like it dropped to the floor. “Me? Why does he want to see me?”

“I don’t know,” Sharon said, but she wouldn’t look at me. “He just said he needs to talk to you alone.”

June stood up so fast her chair almost fell over. “No way. I’m coming with her.”

“You can’t do that, June,” Sharon said. “He asked for Jane alone. If you get in the way, he’ll fire both of you.”

“I don’t care if he fires me!” June’s voice got louder. “I’m not leaving my best friend alone with that dirty old man. I’d rather have no job than let him hurt her.”

The scared look in Sharon’s eyes told me she knew something she wasn’t telling us. And the way June wanted to protect me told me that whatever was about to happen wouldn’t be good.

“It’ll be okay,” I said, trying to make myself believe it. But deep down, I knew nothing about this was going to be okay.