Read Online Antonia's Choice by Nancy Rue - Free Book Online Page B

he wasn’t well enough to go to school, not with his temp still at 101, a fact I gleaned after much wrestling around with the thermometer. Only when I got him to stop screaming long enough to hear that I wanted to slip it under his tongue, not into his bottom, did he finally relent.
    â€œI haven’t done that since you were six months old,” I said. “And even then I thought it was inhuman. Nana told me to stick it in your armpit—which, by the way, you thought was hilarious. You always were a ticklish little bugger.”
    He shook his head, lips still clamped on the thermometer. As soon as I got him set up with Tylenol, juice, and Johnny Bravos latest episode, I called Jeffrey. He was, as always, in the office at 7:15, but he was less than pleased to hear from me.
    â€œWe agreed on
half
days at home,” he said.
    I closed my eyes to keep from getting defensive with him. I would rather have died, actually. “My child is sick—he’s on the mend—and I will be in tomorrow,” I said. “Meanwhile, I’ll e-mail Ginny and see if there’s anything I need to have immediately, and I’ll work on it here.”
    â€œYou’ll be in for the files, then,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
    â€œI’m sure Reggie will be glad to—”
    â€œWe can’t spare Reggie.”
    I let silence fall. The man could send a courier and he knew it, but I wasn’t going to be the one to suggest it, not even if my entire spinal cord turned to piano wire.
    â€œDetermine first if there’s anything Ginny can’t handle,” he said finally. “We’ll take it from there.”
    â€œI’m certain there will be several things,” I said. “Consider the situation taken care of.”
    After he hung up, I let myself seethe. Interesting how when I’d first gone to work for Faustman Financial, I’d admired Jeffrey’s steely, business-like approach. A month ago I would have found his insinuation that Ginny could do my job a rather clever ploy to get me high-tailing it straight into the office. Now he suddenly had the ability to stiffen my spine as fast as Chris could—and that was saying something.
    I wondered as I made a pot of coffee strong enough to walk across the street by itself if Mama had gotten in touch with Chris. She hadn’t sounded thrilled with the idea when I’d suggested it. Nothing was going to do except me coming up there. It was obvious, in fact, that she wasn’t going to keep me posted on what was going on with Bobbi on her own. I knew how my mother operated. The punishing silence had begun.
    I hiked myself up onto a stool at the snack bar and looked at the phone.
    Bobbi’s my sister, for Pete’s sake. I can’t just sit here and let her rot in jail.
    I peeked in on Ben to make sure he was engrossed in
Johnny Bravo
and used the remote to turn up the volume a little. I held my breath, but he didn’t seem to notice. Then I waited for the first dripsof coffee to fall into the pot so I could fortify myself before I dialed.
    Mama answered on the first ring, rasping out a hello like a cigarette alto.
    â€œMama?” I said. “Are you all right?”
    â€œI’ve been up all night. I’m so glad you called.”
    At least I had one thing going for me. I eked a little more coffee out of the pot as it continued to drip.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” I said. “Is it Bobbi—is she with you?”
    â€œNo.”
    There was a weary silence.
    â€œDid you ask the lawyer about bail?”
    â€œThere is no bail right now,” Mama said.
    I let my mug slam to the counter. “What do you mean no bail? They can’t do that!”
    â€œThe government can apparently do anything it wants. I thought this was a free country—”
    â€œThe government?” I said. And then it dawned on me. “Oh—you’re talking about the FBI.”
    I could almost