I reached across the bed for the phone on my nightstand. The numbers lit up in the darkness. My mother picked up on the fourth ring.
Her voice was drowsy and familiar in a way that made me cry harder. More than anything in the world, I wanted to reach inside the phone and bring her here.
“Mommy,” I said. My voice came out a croak.
“Belly? What’s wrong? Where are you?”
“I’m at Susannah’s. At the summer house.”
“What? What are you doing at the summer house?”
“Mr. Fisher’s gonna sell it. He’s gonna sell it and Conrad is so sad and Mr. Fisher doesn’t even care. He just wants to get rid of it. He wants to get rid of her.”
“Belly, slow down. I can’t hear what you’re saying.”
“Just come, okay? Just please come and fix it.”
And then I hung up, because suddenly the phone felt very heavy in
