Just Business

It was hot today, one of the hottest this summer and this jacket I wore to the office wasn’t working for me. I was supposed to meet Ethan for lunch around three after I had gotten out of work. This office was like the Sahara Desert.

I was meeting Ethan at our favorite café down the street from my apartment. One of my favorite things about my favorite things of living here in Chicago was not being as homesick- only because Ethan lived on the other side of town with his girlfriend Meadow.

When the café came into view, Ethan was sitting at a table loosening his tie and observing the menu. He looked up and smiled when he saw me.

“It’s about time El, I’m starving.” He said passing me a menu.

I smiled taking my blazer off and out it on the back of my chair.

Ethan was the opposite of my sisters and I, he had my father’s dark brown hair and brown eyes and was an inch taller than him at six foot one. Ethan was a lady’s man but wasn’t a womanizer. He had class, that’s what I loved about him.

“Shut up Ethan, you’re always hungry.”

He grinned from ear to ear looking back down at his menu and then back up at me.

“How’s Meadow?” I asked him sipping the water the waitress had left for me. You could tell that Ethan really had adored Meadow. Not just by the way he treated her- it was the way he looked at her.

“She’s good, she says Hello. Have you spoken to Dad recently?”

I always keep in touch with my father, especially when I send them money. Apart of me always misses home, I miss the way the pine trees smelt and the way how the area around our house smelt like Christmas. I miss my mother’s cooking especially, the way she would make her famous cinnamon buns and how her tea kettle whistled when she was boiling water.

The way my father used to sit at the table with his face in his newspaper trying to do the crossword puzzle section-the way he used to mumble to himself while he tapped the end of his pen on the table. I just missed everything about home.

“Yeah, I just spoke to him last night, I just sent him some money.”

“Yeah, I did too. I was thinking about taking some time off from work and going home for a few days I was thinking maybe you would want to come?”

As much as I would love to go home, I really can’t afford to miss work. My rent was due next week and I need to get some extra hours in.

“I really can’t miss work right now, I was planning on just waiting to go home for Thanksgiving.”

He nodded then smiled at the waitress who set down our food down in front of us.

We talked more about home and about our Mom, she had been really sick the past three years, right after my sister Adeline graduated college she was diagnosed with Lymphoma. She would have her good days, but then she had her bad and those were the hardest for all of us.

“I spoke to Mom the other day.” Ethan said stuffing a piece of grilled chicken into his mouth.

“How is she doing?”

“She was really alert and she understood me well. Wasn’t talkative much- small words and phrases ‘mhm yes no love you and alright’ and when I told her something she gasped then giggled. I couldn’t help but smile.”

I smiled and felt my heart sink in my chest. I missed my mother so much, I was going to move home knowing she was ill. I pressed and pressed but my Father told me not to worry and to do what I had to do.

Ethan works as a journalist for The Chicago Tribune and he loves what he does. I have never seen someone who was so passionate about what he did for a living. He would sit and talk about stories and interviews that he would do and he always had a smile on his face.

He looked at his watch and took out his wallet leaving the money in the black booklet for the waitress standing up.

“Baby sister, I have to run. Going to surprise my lady at work.”

I smiled as I ruffled his hair. “Aw, such a cheese ball.”

He grinned. “Hey, she loves me. That’s all that counts. Call you later.”

As he disappeared down the street I gathered my belongings and headed back to my apartment. Walking home I couldn’t help but think about my mom. My heart wanted to jump up through my throat and my stomach churned. I felt like I wanted to throw up everything I just ate, I was going to call as soon as I got in.

When I got home, my roommates were still probably at work so I took the time to call my Dad. I sat on the couch and picked up the phone dialing the house. It rang three times before he picked up.

“Hello?”

I smiled “Hi Daddy, its Eloise.”

“Ellie baby, how are you? How’s everything?”

I twirled a strand of my blonde hair around my finger and smiled.

“I’m alright, I’ve been putting in the extra hours at work.”

“You sound tired El, have you been sleeping alright?” he asked. I sensed the worry in his tone and I sighed because my father always knew what was going on before you even said a word.

“I’m fine Daddy, I’ve just been worried about Momma lately. How is she today?”

“She had a rough night last night, didn’t really sleep much. But she’s doing a lot better today. Want to say hi to her?”

“Yeah sure.”

In the background, you could hear him speaking to her softly.

“Dear, its Eloise, she wants to say hello.”

Followed by “Oh!” that was filled with so much joy it made Eloise’s heart do a backflip. She took the phone and breathed calmly into the receiver.

“Hi, Eloise.” The way she said my name sounded like she strained to get it all out. Poor thing.

“Hi Momma, I miss you! How are you feeling today?” I asked.

“Okay- Tired.”

“Aw, the treatments tire you out?”

“Yeah.”

“I had lunch with Ethan today. He told me he was coming home in a few weeks.”

“Oh yes.” She said with excitement.

“I’m going to try, I have a lot going on with work.”

“Alright.”

“Okay Momma, I love you.”

“Me too.”

At that moment, I felt my heart sink down into my stomach. I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life.