Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 25071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Sorry,” Sunny muttered. Never mind that she’d asked her mother countless times to call her Sunny, not Sunshine. “Are you calling to RSVP for the wedding?”
Kind of late to RSVP. But then that was her mother. She probably didn’t even know what day it was.
Be nice, Sunny.
And they were having the wedding and the reception in the backyard, so it wasn’t like they couldn’t add two more guests. Sure, it might take a bit of shuffling and she’d have to speak to the caterers, but she should do it for her parents.
Even if she wasn’t allowed to call them Mom and Dad.
They might have been absent parents who showed little interest in her life, but at least they were calling about her wedding, right?
“What wedding?” her mom asked.
Sunny stood there and took the hit. It could have sent her to her knees. But she wasn’t going to let it happen.
Darn it.
She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath.
Maybe her messages hadn’t gotten through. Her mom was calling on an unknown number, so perhaps she’d lost her phone. It wasn’t like she was very good at checking it.
“My wedding, Serenity.”
“You’re getting married? I thought you were already married to that Jeff guy.”
Seriously? Why had she even bothered her in the first place?
“It was Greg. And we got divorced. I’m marrying Duke. The man I now live with.”
“Oh. I don’t remember you talking about a Duke.”
“That’s because we never talk,” Sunny bit out.
Don’t let her get to you.
“You know that Phoenix and I don’t like to be shackled to technology. The Government is listening to you through your phones and computers and CD players, you know.”
CD players?
Was she for real?
Sunny sighed. “I know, Serenity. So, if you’re not calling me about my wedding, then why are you picking up the Devil’s instrument to call me?”
“Honestly, Sunshine. We didn’t raise you this way. You know we don’t believe in the Devil. Phones are an instrument of the man.”
Nobody said ‘the man’ anymore.
Then again, no one really used CD players either, so . . .
“What do you want?” Sunny asked. She was fast losing patience with the other woman. Why should she give her any of her time, when she obviously never thought about Sunny at all?
“Really, Sunshine, when did you get so snappy? You weren’t like this when you were with us. You were always so serious as a child. So rule-driven.”
“I’m surprised you remember what I was like as a child.”
“Of course, I do. You had the sweetest smile and these huge eyes. And the best hugs.”
Okay, so that’s why she never completely wrote her parents off.
Because sometimes they showed hints of being the parents, she always hoped they would be.
“Why are you calling?” Sunny asked.
“Ah, well. It’s about the RV.”
She frowned. “What about it?”
“It broke down.”
“Oh, no, are you both all right? Are you stranded somewhere?” Why hadn’t her mom led with that?
“No, of course not. We called some friends who didn’t live far away, and they came and got us. They opened up their home to us. Such amazing hospitality.”
Right. Sunny rubbed the top of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. There were a lot of things she could be doing right now that were far more productive than this phone call.
“What happened to the RV?” she asked.
“Some Government officials towed it. Can you believe that? And impounded it.”
“Government officials, huh?”
“Yes, and to get them to release it, you will not believe the hoops they want us to go through. There are forms!”
She was definitely getting a headache. Moving to the sofa, she sat.
With a whine, Hatter hopped up onto her lap. Considering how huge he was now, he was too heavy to be a lap dog, but she appreciated the comfort he was trying to offer.
“There are always forms,” she told her mother.
“I can’t put my name on official documents. Who knows what they’ll do with that information?”
“Probably send it to ‘the man’,” she said dryly.
“Exactly!”
Please, someone save me.
“You’ll have to fill in the forms to get the RV back, Serenity.”
Her mother huffed. “They’ll want details about our lives.”
“I’m sure they will. Is there something I can help with?”
“Well, along with the forms, they’re wanting money. Apparently, there’s a towing fee, impoundment fee, and the sheriff’s office even wants money from us. And that’s before we fix the RV. Who knows what’s wrong with it?”
Sunny closed her eyes. “You want money?”
That’s why her mom was calling. Not to say they’d love to come to the wedding, or that they were sorry they couldn’t make it. Not to have a chat and ask about her life.
Nope. She wanted money.
“I don’t want to ask for money. It’s not our fault. We didn’t ask for it to be towed.”
“How long did you leave it for?” Sunny asked.
“I don’t know. A few weeks, I guess.”