Page 29 of Gift of Hope
Okay, there are two answers.
“I love her.”
Josey’s eyes widen in shock, while her mouth opens and closes, losing all means of speech.
I look at my watch and see ten minutes of silence have passed when I choose to tell her she’s being ridiculous. “Why are you so surprised?”
“I’m not. Well, I am, but I’m not. Argh, ok, we have to do something about this. We have to go to her or get her to come back. We need her here with us, Uncle Harvey. She has made this place shine since she arrived—aside from her meltdowns at the start, of course. Let’s get her back.” The way certainty shines in Josey’s whole being, warms me. After the tragedy we’ve had to face and fulfilling their shoes, I’m proud to see her excited.
I watch as she excitedly gets her phone out and bashes at the screen. “What are you doing?” I ask. She’s giving me whiplash with her actions.
“I’m stalking her.” She shrugs.
I stand from my chair, suddenly outraged. “You can’t do that. It’s an invasion of privacy.”
“Calm down, Harvey. It’s only a quick online search to see if her name comes up—bingo!” She throws her arms in the air, waving her phone. “I found her. There’s an article about how she’s, o-oh,” she gasps leaving me guessing.
“Josey, just tell me?” Right now, I’m not a patient man.
“She’s leaving her dancing career. The article says ‘Miss Evelyn Jackson is hanging up her professional dancing shoes. Miss Jackson went on to say her time at the FORT Center not only helped her own recovery, but showed her there are more rewarding possibilities out there for her. When asked about the FORT Center, more specifically Doctor Harvey Fort, she wouldn’t comment. Ladies and gentlemen, I smell a scandal brewing.’ Can you believe them? They’ll twist anything around for a good story.” Now Josey’s fuming.
“What did it say she was going to do? Does it say?” I need to know why she’s giving it all up mere days after telling me her career was important. What changed her mind?
“It only says that your center is to thank for her change of direction and she can’t wait to help people as we helped her. Does that mean she’s going to become a psychiatrist or physiotherapist? Maybe I should reach out to her and apologize for the way I acted. Do you think she’ll think I’m being nosey?” She rolls her lip between her teeth, contemplating her decision.
“Ithink you’re being nosey, but I know Eve would love to hear from you. Message her, Josey. It’ll do you both some good. I have one request. Please don’t tell her what’s happening back here. I have a plan on how to get her back, but I need your help.”
Her eyes open wide, and she has a crazed look on her face. “It’s good to have you back, Josey.” I quietly tell her.
“Ditto.” She smirks.
“I’m going to head into work. I need to sort a few things out. But I need you to keep out of trouble, alright. Maybe you could work on the foundation for a while. Call Preston. Do anything but sit around the house. I’ll be back later for dinner.” I smile as I push away from the table. No more words are needed. We both know what needs to be done.
Operationget our little dancer backcommences now.
** Josey **
I stay at the house despite Uncle requesting I get a change of scenery. Preston is busy with the horses today, too, so I use my time to do a little more social stalking.
I type Eve’s name in the search engine to see what else comes up. There are photos of her and Harvey from the charity dinner, some of her accident and many more of her in her prime. There’re some with other people, friends I’m guessing, where she looks incredibly happy. I only ever saw her like that when she and Harvey were together.
Guilt washes over me at my reaction to her conversation with Hazel. I never should have eavesdropped and then lashed out at her the way I did. She had every right to have her qualms about a long-distance relationship and I went and made things worse.
I stop looking through the photos, then find Eve’s name in my messages. When I tap on her name, I become nervous. Since my own accident, I’ve learned to block out all the voices in my head. I only let the distracting ones through, the ones who joke, hence my bubbly personality.
I type out the first message and hit send. Then I type out another, and another, then a little icon to indicate I literally just message bombed her. I’m hoping she understands what I’m trying to do.
Moments later, much sooner than expected, my phone pings with a new message. I open it straight away and laugh so hard I’m out of breath.
Eve: You just blew up my phone, lol. It’s nice to hear from you, Josey. How are you?
Me: Glad you still get my sense of humor. *Pokes tongue out* I’m doing alright. It’s quiet here without you. Asher misses you.
My phone then rings in my hand.
“Hey, Eve,” I answer, almost too eager.
“You’re avoiding my question, Josey. How are you really? And don’t lie to me.” Her demanding mom tone makes me miss my parents. She reminds me a lot of my mom.