On the fourteenth floor, room E27, of the O’Linh Apartment complex, there stood a young woman by a telephone on a small table. She tapped her fingers nervously on the side of her leg. She didn’t take her eyes off the red telephone. Suddenly, breaking the silence, the phone rang. The girl reached forward and snatched up the telephone, bringing it to her ear. She held her breath as she waited for a voice to speak on the other end.
“Kathryn Phoenix?” A man’s voice said.
“Yes. Is this the call about-” Kathryn began.
“It is the call you’ve been expecting.” The man said simply.
“Okay. Did they get it? The permission?” Kathryn tried not to get her hopes up. The chief could be stubborn.
“Yes. The chief gave you permission to go back.”
“Yes!” Kathryn celebrated. “Thank you so much, I’ll be there by tomorrow afternoon.” Kathryn threw down the phone and grabbed her travel bag from the closet. She stuffed it with clothes and snapped it shut. Kathryn grabbed her coat and shoved her feet into boots.
“So long, apartment!” She yelled as she ran out of room E27.
The elevator was too slow for her enthusiasm, so she took the stairs. She slowed as she realized what it really meant. It meant her mom was really gone. They wouldn’t need a whole ask-the-chief-for-permission thing if her mom was still alive. The man on the phone, Robert, who worked for Chief Smithstone must’ve tried very hard to get the Chief’s permission.
It made Kathryn angry she needed permission to visit her own mom’s house because the chief thought it was a “crime scene.”
Kathryn argued that if her mom died in a car crash, how could her house be a crime scene? Lost in her thoughts, Kathryn wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking, or who she was walking into, because she bumped into her neighbor, Bryant. He lived in E29.
“Woah, Kathryn!” He laughed. “You must really hate me for those flowers!” Bryant had sent her flowers and cupcakes and had been crushing on her since she moved in last year.
“Sorry, Bryant,” Kathryn sighed. She continued down the stairs.
“Hey, Kathryn, if you’re not busy we can go get dinner tonight!” Bryant called.
“Sorry, I’m flying to California.” She answered vaguely.
“Oh, what’s the occasion?” He started to follow her down.
“Um, family thing. See you later.” Kathryn practically ran down the last steps, leaving Bryant on the third step.
“Good afternoon, Miss. Phoenix.” Lavender, the secretary said. “A little late for work?”
“Um, flying to California for a family thing.” Kathryn said as she rushed by, hoping she didn’t sound too rude.
“Have a nice day!” The secretary smiled. Kathryn quickly walked out and called for a taxi. An old taxi puttered up to the curb. The paint was peeling, and it was so old, instead of ‘Taxi’, it said ‘Taxi’. Kathryn hopped in and told the driver she was headed to the airport.
“Oh, my son used to work there! I’ll tell you a funny story ‘bout that-” The chatty driver, who looked as old as the taxi continued his story about his son Jack and how he changed the world because of his ‘famous’ bagel stand all the way to the airport.
When they finally arrived, Kathryn paid the man, and began walking inside. She wrapped her scarf around her neck tighter, it was very cold and windy.
“One ticket to California!” Kathryn said to the woman at a desk in the front. The woman nodded.
“Where you headed to?”
“Uh, Sacramento.” Kathryn answered. The woman typed on her keyboard.
“Okay. . .” The woman squinted at her screen. “Okay, we can fly you into San Francisco, will you have any trouble finding a ride to where you’re going?”
“No, thank you.” The woman printed the ticket and pointed to where Kathryn would go.
“Number twelve, flight leaves in forty minutes.”
“Thank you!” Kathryn grabbed an iced coffee on her way. The man who made her coffee asked if she was too young to be traveling alone. Kathryn explained, annoyed, as she did to everyone else that she was twenty-three. The man seemed surprised, which annoyed Kathryn even more, but she tried not to show it.
As she walked to door number twelve, Kathryn pulled her curly dark brown hair into a ponytail. She downed her coffee and threw it away. Kathryn sat on a bench to wait the remaining twenty-seven minutes before the flight. She wondered whether she would be able to take anything with her from her mother’s home. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. With excitement, Kathryn picked it up, after reading it was her best friend, Bethany.
“Hey, Beth!” Kathryn said over the phone.
“Kate! It’s so good to hear your voice!” Her voice crackled through. “What are you up to? You weren’t answering your old telephone so I called your other phone. I don’t know how on earth you can work that old thing. But I am surprised you answered your phone, given you practically never use it.” Kathryn laughed.
“I’m flying to California. I finally got permission to go to my mom’s house.”
“Jeez, finally!” Beth answered. “I-hold on. It’s her.” Beth’s parents, who were divorced, had both gotten remarried. Beth liked her step-dad well enough, but despised her step-mom. She complained that her step-mom, Brittany was always bossing her around.
Kathryn met Brittany once. She despises her too. Bethany came back on the phone.
“That woman never stops! I come to visit my dad for one week and this is how I ‘get’ to spend it?!”
“Wait, if you’re visiting your dad. . .” Kathryn murmured.
“It means I am in California!” Bethany announced. Her mom lived in Illinois, a few hours from Kathryn, and her dad in California.
“Maybe I’ll come visit after I go to my mom’s house.” Kathryn suggested.
“Yes!” Beth cheered. “That would be so fun! And my birthday is on Saturday, so maybe we can go out for lunch or something!”
“Yes!” Kathryn sighed with relief. “That’s exactly what I need.”
Kathryn and Bethany continued talking for the remaining twenty minutes before the flight. Kathryn had not heard from Bethany in so long, it was nice to be able to make plans with her.
“They're starting to let people board.” Kathryn said finally. “I should go. I miss you!”
“Bye! See you soon!” Beth’s voice crackled.
Kathryn hurried to the plane and made herself comfortable in a seat by a window. An older woman sat in the aisle seat in the same row as Kathryn.
“First time going to California?” The woman asked, seeing Kathryn’s anxious look.
“It’s been a while.” Kathryn sighed. “I’m going to my mom’s house.” She didn’t want to share too many details or she would be a mess.
“Ah, well, I’m sure she’ll be glad for the company.” The old woman said.
“Yeah.” Kathryn leaned against the window. “I’m sure she will.”