My mother grabbed the remote, apparently getting ready to watch TV while feeding -- hell, I STILL didn't want to think about it.
Then, the doorbell rang. I got up to answer it, happy to have something to take my mind off what was happening. There was a girl there, about my age, real cute,
well-dressed, blonde hair that I was pretty sure was real, and it was tempting to wish to find out.
"Excuse me," she said. "Can I speak to my mother?"
"Your mother?" I said, not clicking on who she was talking about.
"Who is it, Joe?" asked my mother. The girl walked past me into the living room.
"I'm Lily Barnes, the daughter of your boss?" said the girl.
"Oh, yes!" said Mom. "What can I do for you?"
"I've been waiting in the car for almost 20 minutes. My mother said it would just take a few minutes to see if you could come back to work early. I wanted to
know what was taking so long."
"You mean your mother is here?"
"Yes! She came in a few minutes before you got home. Where is she?"
"I haven't seen her, Lily. Joe, do you know where Ms. Barnes is?"