Calmer Secrets: Calmer Girls 2 (Calmer Girls Series)

by Jennifer Kelland Perry

  “They couldn't fix your old one?”

  He chuckled. “Nah, the chocolate martini took care of that.”

  “But what about your job interview? Do you have a new number now? Will the company try to contact you again before then?”

  “I doubt it. The interview is set for next Friday morning at ten. And when I bought the new phone, I was able to keep the same number, so no harm done.” He pressed the flip-phone into her palm. “Now, go call your mother.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “For not an orphan in the wide world can be so deserted as the child who is an outcast from a living parent’s love.”

  ― Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son

  Samantha stretched her arms over her head, her vision bleary from too much screen time. With Kalen on one end of the sofa and her on the other, they had passed the last few hours with an Eddie Murphy special on VHS, followed by Mitch Hedberg on Letterman, recorded on the VCR. The fire in the fireplace Kalen had lit earlier had burned down to red embers, giving the room a cozy ambience.

  Both shows had done wonders for Samantha’s mood. Her sides still ached from all her laughter. “I so love Hedberg’s little observations.”

  “He’s a riot! If you ask me, that guy is going places in a big way.”

  “I hope so.” Picking up the near-empty bowl of popcorn between them and moving it to the coffee table, she told him she should be heading home. A couple of hours had passed since she’d called her mother, who had repeated her apprehension over Sam getting waylaid or stranded by the impending snowfall.

  “Okay,” Kalen said wistfully, “but let me warm up the car first. It's cold enough to freeze your nips off out there tonight.”

  When he opened the front door, he swore. “Look! It’s mad rough!” he cried.

  Samantha pulled open the drapes behind the sofa. Sure enough, thick swirls of white flakes blustered about outside the window. Already, she could barely make out the outline of the hatchback in the driveway. “The blizzard came early!” she said.

  “Better we stay put than try to go anywhere in this mess,” he told her, joining her at the window. “This was forecast?”

  “It was supposed to hold off until overnight.” She chewed her bottom lip while she watched the storm.

  “I would say you'll have to spend the night here.”

  “Shoot, I’ll need to call home again.” Kalen passed his phone to her, but when she placed the call, no one answered. After waiting for a few more rings, she flipped the phone shut. “Momma must’ve gone to bed.” Someone else had conked out besides Henry, she surmised. Or passed out.

  “Don't worry. If she wakes up, she’ll know we aren’t out driving in this. She knows you're safe with me. Plus, she’s got my phone number, right? When you want to go to sleep, you take the bed. I'll bunk 'er down right here.” He punched a throw cushion and tossed it on the couch on top of another.

  “Thanks.” Though the house had three bedrooms, it had only one bed. She wondered if it would be difficult for him to stick to their return-to-friendship status for the interim, or for however long it took to find her way back to trust. She wondered how difficult it would be for her as well. Crawling into Kalen’s wide queen-size bed alone on a chilly, stormy night and aware of his presence in the house? It wouldn't be the easiest thing she'd ever done, but she needed to nurse her injured pride for a while yet.

  Samantha nodded. “Anything new concerning the trouble you got into?”

  Kalen grabbed his guitar in the corner and fell back on the couch. “Not since Dean got out on bail. But he won’t talk. He knows better. From what I hear, he's gonna take his lumps and keep quiet.” He strummed on the strings while he talked.

  “What do you think he’ll get, when he goes to court? Is he pleading guilty?”

  “They have him dead to rights, so he has to plead guilty, I suppose. As for what he’ll get? Beats me. If it’s his first offence, and I think it is, that might help.”

  “What about your promise to stop, um, dealing?”

  “I meant it. I told you, Samantha. Never, ever again.”

  Plopping down beside him, she peeked at him out of her peripheral vision. “Does that go for smoking the stuff as well? The marijuana, I mean.” She knew it had been a thing with him, sometimes smelling a whiff of the acrid smoke off his jacket when he’d hugged her in the past. Although it had been a while, now that she thought of it.

  He stopped strumming, crossing his arms on top of the guitar. “Sam, have you ever wished you could do something to forget stuff for a spell?”

  “Like, stuff that has happened to you? I’d say we all have those feelings at times.”

  “Yeah, but that isn’t what I mean.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m talking about forgetting who you are, where you came from. Putting a muzzle on the insistent little voice inside you that tells you crap you don’t want to hear. Even if it’s only for a short while.”

  Samantha pondered over his words for a moment.

  “Like, taking mini-vacations for a bit of relief, you know? Weed kind of helps me do that.” His eyes met hers. “A bit of recreation, Sam. Then it’s business as usual. But hey, I’m taking a breather from it, you’ll be glad to know. In case the construction firm runs drug tests on its new hires.”

  “That’s a relief. I’d hate for you to get in any more trouble.”

  “It’s like havin’ a beer, really. Safer than alcohol, truth be known. The darn stuff should be legalized anyway.”

  She thought again of how Kalen didn’t have a father. Or rather, he had no idea where the man who’d fathered him had ended up, or if he was dead or alive. As he’d once told her, his father had shirked any responsibility right from day one, when Rita had revealed her pregnancy. He had turned tail on them and walked out of their lives without as much as a backward glance.

  “I think I understand how you feel. But is any sort of substance the solution? You need to realize you’re blameless for how you came into the world. Other people made the mistakes, not you.”

  “Precisely. I was a mistake.”

  “You’re twisting my words! That isn’t what I meant! I’m sure Rita and your grandparents didn’t see it that way.”

  “Maybe not, but I’ve had to live with the outcome, of only having one parent all my life.”

  Samantha placed her hand over his. “I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t let it define you. You’re much more than your parentage, Kalen. And you have this chance at a new job. A new career! Try to concentrate on that.”

  “I am. Believe me, I’m thinking of little else these days. All I need is this one chance to turn my life around.”

  With renewed optimism, he continued talking of the job he hoped to land next week. The way he used his hands to describe the heavy equipment work made her smile. She still rooted for him, knowing he would be a hard worker and a great employee. He needed only to be given the opportunity. For his sake, she hoped he aced the interview.

  A while later, she yawned. “Guess I'll go on to bed.”

  “Okay. I won't be up much later myself. Sleep well, Sam.”

  “Good night.”

  She had taken off most of her clothes in the bedroom before realizing her nightie was in the bag out in the foyer. Rather than go get it, she decided to sleep in one of Kalen's T-shirts. Pulling open a drawer, she took the one on top with the famous Rolling Stones red lips and tongue logo, one of Kalen’s favourites. She was about to push the drawer closed when something caught her eye, tucked down by the side of his shirts.

  She pulled out the old photograph, the colour faded and the border tattered. Right away, she recognized a much younger, smaller Kalen in the middle of the picture, beaming from ear to ear and holding a child-sized acoustic guitar with the help of a wide, embroidered strap around his neck. He looked around nine or ten. A tinselled Christmas tree behind him, he stood flanked on either side by a kindly-looking, grey-haired couple. His grandparents. The guitar, a Christmas present.
Must have been the beginning of his music apprenticeship right there. She considered suggesting he get the photo enlarged and have it framed, but realized it probably wasn’t any of her business anymore.

  ***

  For a split second the next morning, Samantha wondered where she was and how her bed had gotten so big. The events of the previous night came flooding back as she blinked away the gauzy film of sleep.

  She hadn’t heard Kalen get up. The sound of the shower as it ran and pattered against the tiles of the adjoining bathroom must have woken her. As she rose from the bed, an unfamiliar ringtone twanged from the living room. It sounded like AC/DC. Kalen’s new cell phone.

  Recalling the last occasion she’d answered his phone made her shudder. Yet, the call might be something important regarding Kalen’s job application, so she swallowed her hesitation and ran to answer it.

  Confusion and alarm filled her when she heard her mother’s voice, high, reedy and out of breath. Something terrible had happened. The phone pressed to her ear, she listened with mounting panic as she went back to the bedroom.

  Darlene’s awful news, delivered in a terse and frightened jumble, played over and over in Samantha’s mind after the call ended. She ran to the window and cursed at the spectacle: late spring or not, St. John’s had transformed into a winterland of white since yesterday. From somewhere out of sight, she heard the heavy mechanical sigh of a city snow plow, groaning and creaking its way through the storm's aftermath. She pictured it forcing a path through the snowdrifts, cutting a narrow tunnel through an adjacent street. Growing closer, but hardly fast enough. She knew their side street might remain impassable for hours; the main thoroughfares always took precedence after a major blizzard.

  How in the name of all things holy was she going to make it to Momma and her sister when they needed her the most?

  She dropped the phone on the nightstand. Brilliant white stars bloomed in front of her as she eased herself down on the edge of the bed, dizzy and lightheaded. She hadn’t realized she'd been hyperventilating.

  “Did I hear my phone?”

  She looked up, their recent problems eclipsed from her mind as Kalen walked toward her. Wearing just a thin towel tucked low around his lean hips and a crooked grin, he stood inches from her. Water droplets dripped from the ends of his shaggy hair onto the unmade bed.

  She nodded and tried to form the words, the awful words to tell him what had happened.

  His smile vanished. “Samantha, who called? You're as white as a ghost!” He sat beside her, his cool blue eyes scanning her face. His hand reached for hers. “You're trembling. What the hell happened?”

  “I have to go.” She hoisted herself to her feet and pushed past him. “How will I get to Momma's through all this snow? And how will the ambulance get through? Oh dear God—”

  “The ambulance?!”

  Samantha filled him in while she fumbled through the puddle of clothes on the floor, pulling on the sweater and jeans she'd worn yesterday. Her head whirled with panic. She wished it were a nightmare and she could wake up. She saw his face crumple as she talked.

  “…and Momma said Henry wasn't breathing, and she lost it altogether then. I asked if she called anyone else and she said she called 911. They told her an ambulance was on the way. Then she tried to reach Ronnie at Gina’s but got her answering machine.”

  “Did she give him CPR?” he asked, dressing in haste before following her out of the bedroom.

  She nodded, trying to slow down her gasps of breath. Her head swimming with morbid images, she decided against trying to put in her contact lenses because her hands shook too much, so she dug out her glasses from the bottom of her purse and put them on. She peered out the front window onto Hayward Avenue at the towering peaks and waves of snow in the driveway, the hatchback almost hidden, a vague outline under a huge dollop of whipped cream. “I should call for a taxi. It'll take ages to get the car shovelled out.”

  Kalen hauled on his coat. “Nah, I’ll get ’er out. The taxi might get stuck on its way.” When he opened the door, a heavy gust of bitter wind flew in, covering the floor in a layer of feathery, white snowflakes. He bolted out and slammed the door behind him.

  Feeling helpless, Samantha fidgeted and watched from the window as Kalen, shovel in hand, attacked the mountain of snow. He hadn't paused long enough to zip his parka or put on a cap. Had there been two shovels, she'd have been out there with him, but she knew he would make short work of getting his car out and ready. Aside from all the problems they were having with their relationship lately, she knew she could count on him at a time like this.

  The phone rang once more, making her jump. Blood pounded in her ears as she ran to answer it. Momma again, crying harder than the first time.

  “The paramedics are here and we're taking him to the hospital. Please come, Sam,” she sobbed, her breath hitching. “But you need to get a hold of Ronnie! I keep getting the machine.”

  “Is he breathing now, Momma? Did they get him to breathe?”

  Samantha heard a muffled exchange on the other end before her mother bawled, “Gotta go. Find his mother!” The line went dead.

  Fingers shaking, she punched in Gina and Mandy's number. She swore when the answering service cut in, but left an urgent plea for Veronica to go to the Janeway Hospital emergency room. Her little boy was there.

  There'd been an accident, she added. It was the gentlest explanation Samantha's panicked mind could come up with.

  She ran outdoors. Kalen tossed the shovel aside and cleared the rest of the snow from the car roof and windows with a quick hand.

  “Come on,” he shouted. “I'll get you there, I promise.”

  Samantha pulled hard on the passenger door handle, breaking a wedge of snow and ice around it so it could swing open. The rusty hinges squawked in protest as she jumped in and slammed it shut. She didn’t know if the chattering of her teeth was a reaction to the cold, her mounting trepidation at driving over wintry roads, her fear for Henry's life, or all three combined.

  The car lurched forward out of the driveway, plowing through a snowdrift and onto the street. The sound of muffled crunching filled her ears as the tires gained purchase over the snow-covered pavement. Every muscle in her body tensed and constricted and her insides were a tremulous mess. She held on to the door handle as Kalen conquered drift after drift that threatened to stand in their way, breaking through the waves and peaks of snow crisscrossing the side streets with dogged determination. When they attempted to turn onto Empire Avenue, the hatchback brought up solidly in a major accumulation that blocked their path. The huge drift stretched across in front of them in a white, impassable barrier.

  Kalen swore under his breath. He put the car in reverse and applied the gas, but the front wheels spun on the slippery, packed surface, getting them nowhere. “Gonna size this up,” he said to Samantha. Wasting no time, he hopped out. When he came back from the front of the vehicle, he pulled the rubber mat from the floor on the driver's side. “Give me yours too, Sam,” he ordered. She complied, then hopped out herself to see how he would tackle this obstacle.

  He placed the car mats behind the tires at the front of the vehicle, then climbed back in. Samantha stood away, watching him gain traction on the rubber and reversing the hatchback a few feet back from the mound.

  “Okay, Sam,” he shouted. “I'm gonna need your help. I'll push her out while you take the wheel. It’s alright, she’s automatic.”

  He wanted her to drive? She, who had never driven a vehicle in her life? Adrenaline flooding through her, she ran to jump into the driver's seat and rolled down the window. “How do I do this?”

  Kalen leaned one hand against the car fender near her window. His breath floated in the air as he spoke. “See how they already have the main road cleared? This is good. We only have to get past this last hurdle.”

  “But could you give me a quick lesson how to do this? This is my first time actually driving!”

  Kalen told her what to do.
“But you need to make sure the street is clear of cars when I push, alright? So if I start pushing and you see something, hit the horn so I'll know.”

  Desperate to get off the streets, but frantic to be with Henry, Samantha nodded. She drew a long, deep breath to calm her jangled nerves, while Kalen propped the rubber mats at the foot of the snowdrift where the wheels had gotten stuck before. She waited while he circled around to the rear of the vehicle and braced himself against it. He gave her the signal.

  Gearing the transmission into drive with a shaky hand, she scanned the street in front of the drift from left to right. She spied a minivan approaching from the far right, so she tooted the horn for Kalen. After it passed, she looked again. Seeing it was all clear, she applied a hesitant foot to the accelerator. With Kalen's help, the car's tires bit into the snow-covered road, moved slowly into the drift and onto the rubber, then jumped ahead, plowing through the rest of the accumulation with ease.

  For a couple of seconds after breaking through, she panicked. Sweat popped out all over her body as she drove out into the middle of the street, forgetting how to stop. Before she slammed the car into the bank of plowed snow on the other side, she gave the steering wheel a sharp turn. Her foot found the brake and tramped hard on it, jolting her torso forward into the wheel. In her haste, she'd forgotten all about putting on the seatbelt. Trembling, she managed to push the gearshift into the park position.

  The driver's side door swung open with a creak. “You did great, Sam!” Kalen said, telling her to get back in the passenger seat, while he ran to collect the mats. As he got in beside her, a pickup truck approached from farther up Empire Avenue. The driver put her blinker on, pulled over next to them and rolled down the window. It was Mandy, with an anxious-faced Gina at her side.

  “I got your message, Sam,” she said. “We're on our way now to pick up Veronica.”

  “Why? Where is she?”