Free Must Wait by Ginger Sharp Page A

phone’s
speaker. I hear a man’s deep calm voice, “Katie, honey, it
is Grandpa. Please call me right away. I want to talk to
you about what you said to your father. He is raging mad.
Please call me and also have your mother call me. I am
worried, Katie.” The phone beeps then the second
voicemail plays, “Katie, it is Daddy. Please tell me where
your mother is. This is not fair to me. I know you want to
hurt me. I get it, but please I want to talk to her. Please,
Katie, call me back.”
She stares forward looking ahead. “Time to get this
over with.”
I nod. “He sounds really upset, Katie.”
She dials her phone and places it to her ear. “Hi,
Daddy. Yes, I understand that. But she doesn’t love you
anymore.”
In shock by what Katie just said I blurt out, “Katie,
that is not right.”
She puts up her hand to silence me as she pulls the
phone away from her ear. I hear him yelling into the
phone, “Katie, who is that? Is that him? Katie, what the
fuck is going on down there?”
She pulls the phone back to her ear. “Are you
finished? Listen to me, no it is not him. I am hanging out
and there are guys around. Stop, I will let whoever I want
to touch me. You do not control me like you had
Mommy. You were fucking rotten to her for years.
Daddy, please just let her go and be happy with someone
who loves her. I know you love her, Daddy, but you hurt
her too. Odd way of showing your love. No, she is not
here. Yes, she is with him. When you pick Noelia and I
up from the airport on Saturday. I will give you the
mailing address to the school that she works at for you to
send her records. No, it is not a good idea for you to
come down here. It will
only hurt you, Daddy. I
understand, fine. When I come home. No, not now.
Because I am having fun with Mommy, and I do not want
you to ruin it for me. When I get home, I think you can
hold out for a few more days. Listen to me, Daddy.
Mommy has many new friends here. If you dare hurt her
in any way, they will hurt you. They care about her very
much. Yes, I am threatening you because I can’t sit by
and watch you belittle her anymore. Just let her go, please.
Move on, Daddy, she has. I know, I know. Saturday, I
promise. Bye, I love you too.” She hangs up the phone.
I look at her in shock. “You are horrible, Katie.”
She turns to look at me. “I think he was crying.” She
pauses, breathing in deeply. “Pedro, listen to me, and you
cannot say anything to anyone. When I get back home, I
have to give him the address. He has very important
paperwork that she must sign immediately.
Mommy
wiped out her bank account when she left. He wants to
stop her from accessing anything else. I think he may be
getting ready to file for divorce. This is good. Anyway, he
has to come down for the day to have her sign the
paperwork. Please, promise me that you and your
brothers will protect her from him. Just watch that he
does not touch her.”
I shake my head. “I will make sure Olivia is safe.”
She smiles. “Good! I will come down next break and
see you.”
I grin. “When is that, Katie?”
She looks at her phone again. “End of May until end
of June. I have summer classes. I will see if my mom will
let me stay for a month.”
I smile as I lean over to start the truck. I keep
thinking about the wedge she is driving between her
parents. I have to trust her since she is adamant that they
are better apart. She wants the abusiveness to stop. I have
to say though, I was very taken back when I heard the
way she spoke to her parents. I would never speak to my
parents in that manner ever. I am just happy that she
wants to see me on her break from school. I can wait for
her. I have waited this long to meet someone else, and
here she finally is, all for me. I pull up to her mother’s
house.
My eyes dart to hers. “Can I come in for a minute? I
would love to see the old house. It was my grandmother’s
house before she got married to my grandfather.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Yea,