Of Love & Regret by S.H. Kolee

Author:S.H. Kolee [Kolee, S.H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

I glanced at my cell phone next to my laptop with a frown. I was knee deep in writing my latest article, and the ringing had broken my concentration. I didn’t recognize the phone number flashing across the screen, and I debated letting it go straight to voicemail, but at the last minute, I answered it.

“Hello?”

“Madison, it’s Cassie’s mother.”

The last person I had expected to hear from was Mrs. Brooks, especially after I had left her house so abruptly on Cassie’s birthday.

“Hi, Mrs. Brooks,” I said, trying to pretend like this was a happy surprise. “It’s good to hear from you.”

“I need to see you. I’m in Chicago. Can you meet me for lunch?”

I had never known Mrs. Brooks to venture into Chicago since I had lived here. She spent most of her life within a small circumference of her home, and her life consisted primarily of a handful of volunteer organizations and spending time with her husband. I wondered if he knew she was in Chicago.

“Sure,” I replied, although meeting up with Mrs. Brooks was the last thing I wanted to do. As much as I wanted to refuse, I felt like I couldn’t, and I thought it best to refrain from asking questions until I saw her in person. I checked my watch and saw that it was almost noon. “Where exactly are you? I can come meet you.”

“I’m in the Loop. I thought we could go to Benson’s.”

“I know where that is. Is one o’clock okay?”

“It’s perfect. I’ll be waiting for you.”

After I hung up the phone, I considered whether I should call Mr. Brooks to see if he knew his wife was in Chicago. Despite being an adult, she wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind, and I knew he kept a close eye on her comings and goings. Ultimately, my last encounter with Mr. Brooks discouraged me from reaching out to him. We hadn’t left on good terms, and I figured I could contact him after meeting with Cassie’s mother if I found out he was unaware of her whereabouts.

I quickly changed clothes and tried to make myself presentable. I was nervous as hell, but I told myself that Mrs. Brooks wanting to meet me for lunch didn’t necessarily mean anything significant. She had sounded fine on the phone, so maybe this was just a social call.

Benson’s was an old school, upscale restaurant with dark paneling and leather-covered booths. By the time I arrived, I was in a calmer state of mind, and was able to smile naturally at Mrs. Brooks when the hostess guided me to the table where she was waiting. She stood and kissed me lightly on the cheek as I breathed in her flowery perfume.

“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, dear,” she said as she sat back down. I followed suit and tried to look cheerful.

“Of course,” I said. “What brings you to Chicago?”

Before she could answer, the waiter came over to take my drink order since Mrs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.