Free Forgotten: Seventeen and Homeless by Melody Carlson Page A

other than bringing her a cup of tea at some point in the evening, she will not want to be disturbed.
    As a result, Jayden and I will have the rest of the condo to ourselves. That's when I notice the place has gotten a little messy. I've kind of let things go, thanks to my job at River Woods. So I do some quick cleaning, and in an attempt to make the living room look more furnished than it really is, I do some quick rearranging. I rob both my room and my mom's for a few more furnishings -a couple of lamps, some pillows, and a throw-which all help to make the place look less stark.
    Then I run down to the market and get some sodas to stock in the fridge. This will stretch my frugal budget a bit, but it'll be worth it. I want Jayden to think I live a somewhat normal life. And I can explain that my mom was too busy with her job and then the sickness to get our condo tricked out just how we wanted it. I think he'll understand. I can also tell him that we decided to wait to get real furniture until we get into a bigger house-in order to get things that fit it better. My make-believe life sounds almost believable to me.
    It's about six thirty when the doorbell rings, and thinking Jayden's here early, I happily open the door. But to my surprise it's a man in an expensive-looking suit.
    "Is Carlene here?"
    I blink and try to figure out who this guy is. The expression on his face is serious. Is he an attorney? A well-dressed cop? Someone from Children's Services perhaps?
    "I'm sorry." He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a business card. "I'm Mark Edmonds. I was Carlene's boss."
    "Oh right. I'm her daughter, Adele."
    Now he blinks in surprise. "Carlene has a daughter?"
    I just nod.
    "Oh ...?" He looks stumped.
    "Anyway, she's gone right now."
    "Well, I've been trying to reach her on her phone, but she must not be checking her voice mail."
    I shrug. "I guess not."
    "When do you expect her back?"
    "I ... uh . . . I'm not sure." Now I feel hopeful. Is Mark here to offer Mom her job back? To say he's sorry? Maybe he wants to marry her.
    "Because I really need to talk to her. It's urgent."
    "Maybe if you tell me, I can get a message to her."
    He seems uncertain. "Yes, I suppose that's a good idea. Here's the deal: I gave your mom an advance on her salary." He shakes his head like he can't believe what a fool he's been. "And I paid her rent for the first two months in the condo. But when your mom walked out on her job, I told her I expected to be recompensed for all the expenses. After all, we had an agreement and I trusted her, but she let me down."
    That old feeling, like there's a brick in the pit of my stomach, returns as I stand there wishing I could say something to smooth this over. I even consider telling him that my mom has a really bad case of the flu, that she'll return to her job as soon as she gets well, but I have a feeling he won't buy that.
    "So, anyway, the property manager called to tell me the rent was overdue on your condo. Naturally, I have no intention of paying it."
    "Naturally."
    "So unless your mom pays her rent, it looks like you'll be evicted."
    "Evicted?"
    He nods glumly. "I'm sorry. It doesn't seem fair to dump all this on you. But you look like you're old enough to handle the truth. Tell your mom that if she doesn't make some kind of an arrangement to pay me -rather the company- back, we'll be forced to hire an attorney."
    "Right. . ."
    "You'll let her know I came by then? Tell her that she needs to take responsibility for these things before it's too late?"
    I just nod, knowing full well it's already too late.
    "Thank you." He forces a smile. "Hopefully you'll learn from your mom's mistakes and never end up in a situation like this yourself."
    "Hopefully." I match his forced smile with one of my own, then he tips his head and leaves. I close and lock the door, replaying his warning. "Never end up in a situation like this myself ... " Is this guy nuts? I'm already in a situation like this! It's my mom who ran