Read Online A Time to Move On by Karolyn James - Free Book Online Page B

drowned out the
questions as she thought about what Mack had said before.
    I’m a rock star .
    It seemed impossible, but if it was
who Steph thinks it was, Laura definitely wanted to find a way to repay the
favor. And maybe find out the real reason he was on that road.

(7)
     
    The story sounded made up as Laura
told it. Steph’s eyes and mouth were the same size as she explained running out
of gas, blowing off the hot guy, and then accepting a ride after he came back a
second time and insisted on helping her.
    When Laura finished telling the
story, Steph shook her head and grabbed her laptop. With a quick search of
Fallen Tuesday, Laura gasped when she saw the face of the stranger she had just
met.
    “So, let me get this straight,”
Steph said. “You started your day by quitting your job, went gallivanting
around town, ran out of gas, and ended up on the back of a famous musician’s
motorcycle.”
    “Seems that way.”
    “Unbelievable,” Steph said. “I
don’t get why you don’t play the lottery more. You could be rich by now with
the luck you have.”
    “The great luck,” Laura said and
turned her head.
    “Sorry,” Steph whispered.
    Hannah was in the living room in her
walker toy goo -ing and gaa -ing at the cartoons on television.
    “There was something off about Mack
though,” Laura said. “He was on that road for a purpose, but I think I messed
up his day by being there."
    “Who knows? Isn't there something
off with most celebrities?" Steph laughed.
    “True. I need a ride to my car
though,” Laura said. “Unless I can track down Mack again.”
    “Did you get his phone
number?" Steph asked. She walked to the table and sat down.
    "No," Laura said, feeling
like a fool.
    “Ok then. Back to reality here…
what are you going to do for work now?”
    “I don’t know,” Laura said. “I’ll
figure it out when I need to. I’m good at saving and I can survive.”
    “Did you have to quit?”
    “I did. You wouldn’t get it. But I
did.”
    “I don’t get it, sorry,” Steph
said.
    “My boss wanted so much from me. He
even offered me money to go to lunch and clear my head before I officially
quit, but I couldn't do it. I don't want to be depended on. Can’t I just…
exist? Right here? Right now? Do I have to keep looking forward?”
    “Well, most people do,” Steph said.
“That’s how life works. You live right now, sure, but you should plan at least
a little for the future.” Steph paused and reached for the curtain next to the
table in the kitchen. She adjusted it and then said, “Maybe you should talk to
someone again…”
    There it was. The same advice
everyone had been giving her.
    Someone else to talk to. Someone
new for her to relive the tragedy with and still get the same unhelpful advice.
They would either want to give her meds or insist that she visit on a regular
basis indefinitely. That wasn’t what Laura wanted or needed. She wasn’t
depressed. She was… stuck.
    “I have you to talk to,” Laura
said.
    “Laura, I’m not a professional. I
don’t know what any of this means.”
    “How about we just be two sisters
talking? Enjoying each others company. That’s all I need.”
    “I’m worried about you. How are you
going to survive? I mean, if you need anything, you know we’ll help you. Jeff
and I are right here…”
    “I don’t need any help,” Laura
said. “I promise you. I took that job because it was something different. I
enjoyed myself until it got too serious. That’s all. So I’ll move on. I always
do. Right now, what I really need, is to get to my car. I’m pretty sure it
should have gas in it by now. Feel like giving me a ride?”
    “I don’t have much of a choice,”
Steph said, standing from the table. “But it’s no big deal. Hannah could use
the nap. She likes to sleep on the car rides.”
    By the time Laura got her car and
got home, the day was already gone. She walked into her apartment, threw her
keys on the table, and went right for the