Crystal Lies - Melody Carlson [78]
Still feeling the afterglow of relief, or that I had missed a bullet, I returned to sorting and opening my mail. It had piled up so badly in my little mailbox that the mailman had hand-delivered it to my door a couple of days ago. “Just wanted to make sure these were being forwarded to the right address,” he had said as he handed me the stack. “Everything okay?” I had forced a smile and attempted to assure him that I was perfectly fine, holding my door closed behind me to hide my slovenly housekeeping.
I would do my best to heed Sherry’s advice today. Thankful that God had spared Jacob one more time, I would respond by cleaning up my act and acting like a seminormal person. Even so, I felt slow and dull, as if I was emotionally impaired and unable to think completely clearly. But I did remove my running shoes from the freezer. I set them by the baseboard heater to thaw, promising myself that I’d put them on and take a run before the day was over.
It was midmorning when the ringing of my phone made me jump and spill a cup of coffee down my sweats and onto the kitchen floor. I used a towel to sop it up as I said hello and discovered it was Marsha Bennett. I’d only met this woman a few times, but I remembered she was a church friend of Sherry’s. I suspected she was calling to invite me to some Bible study or women’s function at their church. Sherry wouldn’t waste any time getting me plugged in.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now,” said Marsha in a sober voice.
“What news?” I asked.
“About Sherry’s son.”
“What do you mean? Which son?”
“Matthew.”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, glancing at my calendar. “It’s Matthew’s twenty-first birthday today. Goodness, I almost forgot.” Still, I wondered about the serious tone.
She cleared her throat. “I guess you didn’t hear about the accident.”
“Accident?”
“Well, maybe accident isn’t the right word. Oh, Glennis, it was terrible. Matthew died early this morning of what they are calling alcohol poisoning.”
I felt my knees giving way as I sank to the floor in shock. “That young man on the news? That was Matthew?” I said.
“Yes. And you’re right, it would’ve been his twenty-first birthday today He’d come home yesterday to spend the weekend with his family and to celebrate his birthday. Then it seems some old high school buddies invited him to go to a bar to celebrate last night.”
“No…”
“Yes. It’s so sad. Pastor Allen said that the kids have this game or challenge or something. It seems they buy the one who’s having a birthday twenty-one shots of liquor.”
“Twenty-one shots?” I repeated in a whisper.
“Unbelievable, isn’t it, what kids will do for kicks nowadays?”
“Oh, poor, dear, sweet Matthew.” I remembered those big blue eyes, the sweet shy smile. I’d known the boy since diapers. He and Sarah had gone through school together. Tears were pouring down my face.
“Yes, it’s incredibly tragic.” She sighed. “Anyway, I’m calling you, since I know you’re a good friend of Sherry’s, to see if you might bring a hot dish over to the family. We’re setting up food for them for the next several days—until after the memorial service, which Pastor Allen says will be on Tuesday. Do you think you could help out?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How about Sunday then?”
“Sunday is fine.”
“Thank you. And sorry to be the bearer of such sad news.”
“I appreciate your calling.”
I felt numb as I hung up the phone. As if something inside of me was dead. And then I went into my bedroom, climbed into my still-unmade bed, and just sobbed. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to get up again.
I must’ve fallen asleep, but I woke up to a pounding on the door. Shaken and disoriented, I stumbled through my apartment to see who it was. I was hoping it was Jacob, coming home to show me that he was alive and well and ready to go into rehab now. I couldn’t have been more surprised when I discovered it was my estranged husband.
“Geoffrey!” I exclaimed when I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been trying to reach you on your phone all day, Glennis.” He frowned as he looked around my still rather messy