“She always tells me when she’s mad,” Mom said.
“Maybe she’s not mad.”
“That worries me more.”
I tried not to turn concern into panic.
Tina was an adult, after all.
Once, she had mentioned Eric preferred quiet weekends together.
People got busy.
People fell in love and disappeared into relationships for a while.
Still, something felt wrong.
Once, she had mentioned Eric preferred quiet weekends together, and I remember thinking that sounded harmless enough at the time.
Then, on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, my phone rang.
“Can you come get me?”
Tina.
I answered immediately.
“Hey.”
“Can you come get me?”
I sat up.
“That’s forty minutes from your apartment.”
Her voice sounded strange.
Too controlled.
“Where are you?”
She gave me an address.
I pulled it up.
“I’m at a bus stop. Please just come.”
“That’s forty minutes from your apartment.”
“I know.”
“Are you okay?”
Silence.
“Tina?”
In my panicked state, it took me twenty minutes.
“I’m at a bus stop. Please just come.”
I grabbed my keys.
“I’m coming.”
In my panicked state, it took me twenty minutes.
When I turned onto the road, I almost missed her.
At first, I thought it couldn’t be Tina.
