chapter 8
339 Words
It was Perry's turn to be confused. His sister was mad at him. Why? He hadn't done anything wrong!
He'd just checked in on her. He was concerned. That was what family did for each other in hard times, anyway. Check in on each other.
Should he call her back? No. That would probably be the worse thing he could do to her. Bothering Melissa would irritate her even more.
He looked down at his phone. Calling her earlier today....he regretted that. But he had no idea why.
They'd had a fallout a few years ago when their grandmother was still alive. The fight had seemed minor at the time.
It had involved some curse words and hateful names. Only now did Perry finally come to realize how truly awful it really was.
He entered his office. The secretary, Elizabeth, sat at her desk. "Sir, I have a message for you," was her greeting as soon as he came in from the cold.
"What is it? Who's it from?" As long as the message hadn't come from his and Melissa's father, he would be fine. Otherwise, there would be problems to deal with.
"Your father," Elizabeth said. Her voice was weak. It was almost as if she was regretting saying this to him.
"What did he say?"
"That you need to call him. Apparently, it's about your mother."
"She's dead. He should have called before she passed. Why wait so long? It was through a friend that I had to find out about her death."
The schedule the next week would be chaotic. He already knew it - what with the people trying to see him before the holiday season.
This was the last thing Perry wanted to worry about. So why was he so concerned about what his father had left for a message. False hope? That he actually cared?
"Thank you for telling me."
Perry went into his office. He called Melissa and left her a voicemail. He could only hope she would listen to the message.
- Writer
