“Fine? My car is fine?”

Mr. Gravis laughed. “Your car is a total loss.”

Cue lightning, funnel clouds, and Dorothy’s house flying through the air. “That’s not funny.”

“Well, the car was in need of a lot of work.” His voice was flat.

“It’s my only transportation.” Her voice started to rise, panic started to set in.

“Oh, Ms. Mann, please…it’s OK. We here at Toyota are completely responsible and want to invite you over to pick out a replacement vehicle.”

“A replacement vehicle?” She was back to parroting his words.

“Let me start over. I can tell you’re upset.”

Understatement of the year.

“There was a fire, your car is a total loss, but we are offering you a brand-new car in its place. Unless you have some kind of emotional attachment to the early-model Celica, this will turn out to be a good thing for you.”

Thank goodness she was sitting, because when his words sunk in, Jessie felt light-headed.

“A new car to replace my broken-down piece of liability?” Her car had probably caused the fire.

“That’s right. When would be a good day for you to come in?”

This wasn’t happening. She was having a dream and she really needed to wake up.

“Ms. Mann?”

She wasn’t waking up. “Yes?”

“Can you come in tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” She stared at the wall across the room.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you can come in tomorrow?”

Jessie slowly started to nod. “Yes, I can come in tomorrow.” The fog started to lift. “Is nine too early?”

“Nine would be great. Just ask for me.” He sounded amused.

“This isn’t a joke, is it, Mr. Gravis? Because I’ve had a couple of really shitty days, and I can’t take a practical joke right now.”

He laughed. “It’s not a joke, Ms. Mann. Be thinking about what kind of car you’d like to drive. Four doors, two doors, truck, crossover, or maybe you’d like a hybrid? Your choice.”

She thought for a moment about Christmas, Danny, the medical bills that would be coming in. “Can I take the money and pick out a used car?”

“Sorry. I was given specific instructions to offer you any new car we had on the lot.”

“Instructions?” The parrot was back.

He hesitated, coughed, and then said, “From my boss.”

“Oh, OK. That sounded ungrateful of me. I’m very grateful. Really.” She was. It wasn’t the new bike Danny wanted, but a new car might make up for it a little. The money she’d save on repairs would help her afford more for her son in the long run. “I’ll see you at nine.”

They hung up just as the door to the apartment opened.

Monica stepped inside, still bundled in a parka.

The sight of her sister reminded Jessie of Jack.

Monica’s eyes caught hers. She opened her mouth to say something, and then her smile fell. “What happened?”

Tears popped up out of nowhere. “I slept with Jack. He asked me to marry him. I said no. He left and hasn’t called. I think I may have made a huge mistake.”

Monica dropped her bags at the door and walked to Jessie’s side. “Oh, Jessie.”

Her sister’s arms around her brought on a new flood of tears.

Chapter Thirteen

Monica pushed Jessie onto the sofa and let her sob.

“It’s OK,” Monica cooed. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

No! It was worse.

As her tears started to dry up, the words started tumbling from her mouth. “Danny spiked a fever night before last. I called Jack.” Just saying his name brought a physical pain to her chest.

Monica reached over, grabbed a tissue from a box, and handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

“Jack gave you a ride to the doctor?”

Jessie nodded. “Yeah. Danny’s fever was so high. I got scared.”

Monica glanced toward the hall. “Is he OK?”

“The doctor prescribed an antibiotic. He’s sleeping now.”

Jessie grasped a pillow from the sofa and hugged it as she talked. “Jack insisted on staying the night. In case we needed to go back to the hospital.”

“Sounds reasonable. How did the sleeping together fall into place?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I caved. I couldn’t hold off anymore…ya know?”

Mo smiled and lifted her eyebrows. “I would have given in sooner than you. You guys have been sniffing around this attraction since you met.”

Jessie’s eyes filled with a new pool of tears. “It was w-wonderful. P-perfect,” she stuttered. “Everything I ever wanted.” The tears wouldn’t stop. Monica handed her fresh tissues and waited for the sobs to calm again.

“Then what happened?”

“Everything was…”

“Perfect, yeah, I get that,” Monica said. “When did he ask you to marry him?”

“Out of the blue. The next morning. He helped Danny with breakfast, kissed me, then wham. He asked me to marry him.” Even now, the memory shocked her.

“I take it you weren’t happy.”

“I was shocked. I mean, we’d only just slept together. Who goes from sleeping together to marriage overnight?”

“Jack does…apparently.”