Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [50]
He got up from the table and picked up the phone on the third ring.
“Hello,” he answered. There was nothing. “Hello,” he called out again. And that was when he heard her voice.
“Daddy?”
“Angel?” Roger responded. He glanced over at Malene, who had turned quickly to him.
“Um, hey,” Angel answered. “What are you doing there?” she asked.
“Having supper,” Roger replied. “You okay?” he asked. He could feel his ex-wife’s eyes on him.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I called to wish Alex a happy birthday,” the young woman explained. She hesitated. “You having the party later today?”
“Yesterday,” he answered. “Over at the school. It was real nice.” He kept watching Malene to see if she wanted the phone.
“Oh God, that’s right, it was yesterday,” she said, and then she mumbled something Roger couldn’t make out.
“You play ball?” she asked, clear enough for her dad to understand her.
“Alex hit a home run,” he replied. He heard a sigh or an exhale, he wasn’t sure. “You okay, Angel?” he asked again.
“Me? Oh sure,” she replied.
Roger thought she sounded drunk or high. Her words were a bit slurred, but it was also a bad connection. He figured she must be on a cell phone. Her voice kept coming in and out. “Are you still in Taos?” he asked, hoping to find out she was settled, had made herself a home.
“Nah, I left there almost a year ago. I’m in Denver now.”
“Denver,” he repeated. He blew out a breath. “I didn’t think Colorado worked out too well for you last time,” he commented. Suddenly the thought of his daughter being arrested and serving jail time flashed across his mind. Unlike in New Mexico, his status as an officer of the law had done nothing to help Angel get out of a jail sentence in the neighboring state.
“That was a long time ago, Dad,” she said. “I’m, you know, doing fine.” That was all she said.
“You want to speak to your mother?” Roger asked. He watched as Malene picked up a dish towel and started to dry her hands. She was reaching for the phone.
“Nah, I can’t really talk long. I’m borrowing a friend’s phone. Can I speak to Alex?” she asked.
Roger slid the receiver away from his mouth. “She wants to speak to Alex,” he explained to Malene, knowing the request would not be easy to hear.
Malene quickly understood that her daughter didn’t want to talk to her. She thought about taking the phone anyway. Angel had called her house, after all. But then she thought better of it. They would probably only argue. She turned away from Roger and headed down the hall.
Roger could hear her tell Alex that he had a phone call. He heard the sounds of the boy’s chair moving in his direction. “Well, it’s good to hear your voice, Angel,” he said as a way to say good-bye. And then he handed the phone to Alex.
Malene walked around her grandson and back to the counter to finish slicing the tomatoes. Roger and Malene didn’t look at each other as they listened to the side of the conversation they could hear.
“Hello,” Alex called out and then waited.
“Mom!” he exclaimed. “I knew you’d call.”
There was a pause as he listened to what she said. His eyes lit up, and he had a huge grin on his face.
“No, it’s okay. I understand,” he said to her.
Both Malene and Roger knew Angel was apologizing about why she hadn’t come home and why she hadn’t sent a gift or a card and why she was a day late. They were used to these conversations, used to her always having to explain herself, the boy always excusing her. Malene stared down at her task at hand, while Roger moved back to the table, took his seat, and watched Alex as he talked on the phone.
“Yeah, and I got a guitar from Grandma and Granddad, a computer game from Papa Oris. I got lots of books and cards and a couple of nice shirts.” He stopped. He nodded his head. “Yeah, okay, it’s okay.” He waited. “I’ll talk to you again sometime,” he called out. And then, “Good-bye to you too. I love you, Mom.”
He handed the receiver to Roger. “She couldn’t talk because her friend told her to