Crossroads || Mike Faist

7|| Phone Call

I sighed and rubbed my forehead before swiping upwards on my phone and bringing it to my ear.

"Hey, Mom!" I said, trying my best to sound cheery.

"Hello, Julianna." She replied shortly.

H..how are you?" I asked politely, ignoring the anxious tug in my chest that seemed to occur anytime I had to contact my parents, which recently, was as little as possible.

"We're fine, dear." She said, her cold voice unsuited to the use of pet names.

I knew what was coming next.

"How's work?"

With my parents, it was always "how's work".

Never "how's life in the big apple kiddo?"

"Have you made any new friends?"

"What's weighing you down recently?"

I take a deep breath. This was gonna be tough.

"Well, Mom, I- I.. I actually- well what happened was I-"

"Pronounce your words properly dear, I can't understand a thing you say when you mumble like that." She interrupted me, her voice sharp.

I turned towards Mike, who gave me a reassuring smile and nod.

"I- well basically... I don't know how to say this. ...I quit my job. Just now." I blurted out.

Silence.

"Mom?"

A couple more moments passed.

"Why in the world would you do that?" She asked, her voice rid with confusion.

I tried my best to keep my voice level.

"Well, you know, my boss Nick, I've told you about how inappropriate he is sometimes. Most times. He rang me drunk again and I just wasn't having it anymore. I was sick of him not appreciating any of the work I did, so I quit."

I held my breath as I awaited her response.

"You weren't having it anymore?" Her voice rang through the speaker, sharper now. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

A lump was beginning to form in my throat. This was not going the way I wanted it to.

"My boss Nick. I've told you about him. He's really inappropriate, and he's mean and-"

"Mean?!" Her voice sliced through the phone. "Mean?"

"Yeah, mean Mom. He's constantly-"

She cut across me again, her harsh tone lashing at me.

"Jesus Christ, Julianna, do you think you're the first person to have a boss they didn't like? The first person to think their boss was mean?"

I tried to steady my breathing.

"No it's not just that Mom, he's shown up drunk to work loads and he's always hitting on-"

"So what? He owns the place doesn't he? If he wants to show up drunk, that's his business. He's still gotta pay you." She stated, as if it was that simple.

"Mom I've tried to tell you loads of times about how uncomfortable he makes me and-"

She cut across me once again, not caring to let me finish my point.

"You know Julianna, your father and I have worked very hard to get you into this position, and if I'm being honest, the lack of appreciation you are showing us right now is really disappointing and disrespectful."