Must Love Sandwiches by Janel Gradowski

Author:Janel Gradowski [Gradowski, Janel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Janel Gradowski
Published: 2012-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

Emma rolled onto her side. The aspirin needed to kick in soon or she would never get any sleep. The meeting was supposed to be a pleasant break from sitting at the workbench, but the resulting stress only made her shoulder muscles ache worse. Her muscles felt like rubber bands stretched to their breaking point. The luminescent face of a woman stared at her from the wall beside the refrigerator. Daisy had given her the painting for Christmas. The spooky image was rendered in clear, glow-in-the-dark paint which wasn’t visible on the abstract painting in the light. At first the effect gave her the creeps, but now staring at the diaphanous woman was a kind of ritual. She often fell asleep while looking at it, like a child turning to a night light for comfort.

Her cell phone sprang to life. It vibrated and skittered across the night stand like a giant water bug. She flipped it over to look at the display. Her chest muscles contracted, forcing all of the air out of her lungs. It was her mother.

“Mom, do you realize what time it is? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? What’s wrong?” The questions tumbled out of her mouth while her mind became a tornado of scenarios, none of them good. Her mother hardly ever bothered to call during the daytime. The after midnight attempt at communication was bound to be trouble.

“Emma, honey? I’m sorry I woke you up. I just didn’t know who else to call. Your momma is in a bit of a pickle.”

Her mother was the queen of poor judgment and bad decisions. Situations that would freak most people out, sending them running or into hiding, didn’t even affect her anymore. It was like she had become immune to sketchiness. Something truly awful must have happened to bring on the late night admission. “What? What’s going on? Are you hurt?”

“No…no. The only thing that’s hurt is what little pride I have left. I’m at a hotel in Grantsburg. My date left two hours ago to get a pack of cigarettes and he hasn’t come back. I’m stuck here because I left my car back at a bar in Flint. It should only take you about half an hour to get here, I think. Could you come save your stupid, old momma, sweetie?”

Abandoned at a cheap hotel in the middle of nowhere after a one-night stand. This was a new low for her. Maybe she would learn a lesson if she had to pay for a long cab ride back to her car, but she probably didn’t have enough money to do that. Then she’d end up calling again, asking to borrow money. Emma switched the lamp on and searched for a notepad and pen in the nightstand’s drawer. It would be easier on both of them to just take her back to her car instead of trying to teach her a lesson. She had certainly never learned how to attract decent men, even after hundreds of failed attempts.

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