Moose and Goose

Chapter Twenty-five

Her hips and joints pop as she draws her shoulders back to correct her posture, and after a deep breath, she says, "Ladies, head to your rooms."

They all thrust themselves upward and stroll toward the staircase, groaning and mumbling angrily like a swarm of children, leaving Judith, Ethel, and Hailey alone in the room. The housemother watches her and the pale, dark-haired girl as they ascend the stairs, their gleams tinged with familiarity. She turns her head to Judy once she is out of her sight.

"In my office. Your mother called an hour ago," she says as she steps past her with Hailey in tow. Judith's narrowed eyes dart to the older woman as she wobbles to the door as if she'll fall over at any moment.

"My mom called?" She walks up to Hailey and Ethel just as the woman opens the door. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"Shut the door behind you," she orders, not looking at them. Ethel moans in pain as she lowers onto the leather cushion as Hailey sits in the chair to the left. Judith turns on her heels and thrusts forward with the doorknob in hand, only to face her again when the door clicks. Her irises meet the ivy-green ones of Hailey, who's staring at her, watching her stumble toward the other chair.

"Was she reminding me that my dad is coming to pick me up? If so, I already know because we talked this morning." Judith looks over at Hailey as she picks at the black polish on her short nails, then back to the inattentive woman in front of her sifting through papers.

"I saw Mr. Cambridge in the courtyard this morning," Ethel says dismissively, then glances at Judith's reaction over where the top of her glasses would be if she were wearing any. Judy has her mouth barely open, each breath slowly suffocating her. "Care to explain why he's on our campus, or should I run with my own assumptions?"

"His parents have a lot of money and great lawyers, apparently." She fakes a smile and looks down at the hems of her dolphin shorts as the room falls silent. Ethel's shoulders lift and then drop as she draws a calming breath into her lungs. She stares at the stacks of papers on her desk, and Judith asks, "Is that what she called me for?"

"No, I was checking on you." Hailey looks at Judith out of the corner of her eye and notices how her facial expression changes to reflect the turmoil of emotions upsetting her stomach.

"So, did she call me or not? You're confusing and scaring me right now." They watch Ethel lift the phone to her ear and dial three numbers, resting her right arm on the surface of her desk.

"Hi, Mrs. Jefferson, this is Ethel Rogers calling from The University of Darlington. I have your daughter in my office." When the housemother doesn't speak, Judith's heart races, her fingernails graze the sides of her knees horizontally, and her feet bounce on the floor. "Okay, I'll put her on."

Ethel clears her throat and extends the phone. Judith exhales the trapped breath in her lungs as she leaps forward to accept the phone from her grasp and place it against her ear.

"Hell-Hello," she stammers, her feet still tapping. "Is everything okay? Where's Dad?"

"Honey," Sheryl pauses after her voice cracks. She feels nausea wash over her as she listens to her mother's shaky breaths vibrate against her skin.

"Mom, I'm gonna pass out. What's wrong," she asks, her tone hostile. Sheryl sniffles and Judith freezes in place. "Where's Dad?"

"Honey, Walter is - gone. He passed away when he came home." For a brief moment, Judith narrows her eyes and drags her trembling left hand toward her brow.

"You're lying," she softly says, but it comes out in the form of a question. Sheryl doesn't respond. Judith lightly scratches her eyebrow as her eyes begin to burn. When she feels tears pricking her eyes, she averts her head to the right to keep them from seeing her cry. "Why did he go home? How did he, um - how?"