Zoe's life is turned upside down when a devastating house fire leaves her and her family homeless. Forced to move into a tiny one-bedroom apartment that is barely big enough for one person, let alone four, Zoe is certain that things couldn't possibl...
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"Where is she?" Asher whispered, biting hard on his lower lip.
"Is she never coming back?" Alice asked, eyes wide.
As the sky darkened, they'd both abandoned the cartoon they'd been watching on TV. I could understand why they were worried; I was more than a little concerned myself. Mom had never been this late back before.
"Of course she's coming back. She's just been held up somewhere," I told them, a confidence I didn't feel in my voice. Grabbing the remote, I put the volume up. "Look Ribbidy Rabbidy is on."
Successfully distracted by their favourite show, they both turned back to the TV.
"What time did your mom say she'd be back, Zoe?" Elizabeth asked with impeccable timing, poking her head round the corner.
Thankfully, Alice and Asher were absorbed into their cartoon.
"She didn't. I thought she'd be picking me up after school, but..." I looked at the big grandfather clock in the corner of the room, and saw that it was now six pm. School had let out three hours ago.
"I'll try her phone," she said, taking off her apron and picking up the landline. She pressed a few buttons on the phone, and placed it to her ear.
"I've already tried calling a few times," I told her.
She paused, a line appearing between her brows. "Still, no harm in trying her again."
She listened for several moments, fiddling with one of the long beaded necklaces she wore around her neck.
"Answering machine?" I said, as she put the phone down with a sigh. It wasn't really a question.
She nodded. "I'll get back to preparing dinner. She's probably just stuck in traffic. Don't worry so, love."
I tried to listen to her advice, as I stared at the TV screen, not really seeing anything. Where was she? And why wasn't she answering her phone?
Half an hour later, Alice climbed onto my lap, resting her chin on my shoulder like she did whenever she was worried or scared. "I want Mom."
"I–" The doorbell rang then, cutting me off. I jumped up, placing Alice on the ground, and ran for the door. Pulling it open, I saw Mom standing on the porch, smiling - no, she was beaming. "Mom!"
"Mom?"
"Mom."
Alice and Asher ran up behind me, ducking under my arms to get to her.
"I got a job!" she said, her eyes shining. She swooped down, giving Alice and Asher a kiss each. "Let's go inside and get out of this chill, so I can tell you all about it."
Elizabeth came out of the kitchen just as we all trailed inside, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Where've you been, Eve? You've had the little ones right worried."
