All I Want Is Everything

Landing

And a line of thunderstorms was developing in the early morning hours
Ahead of a slow moving cold front, cold-blooded
With tornado watches issued shortly before noon Sunday
For the areas including the western region of my mental health
And the northern portion of my ability to deal rationally
With my disconcerted precarious emotional situation
It's cold out there
Colder than the ticket taker's smile at the Ivar Theatre, on Saturday night

Tom Waits, Emotional Weather Report

Becca set aside the bar exam question she was considering, a contracts topic about whether a parrot was a product--it beat considering the usage of trade in contracts about chickens, she thought--to answer the phone.

"Bec?"

"Ella? Holy shit! Are you ok? You told my mom you'd be in touch after a few days! It's been twelve days, Ella! Twelve!" Becca looked around wildly, but her mom had left for the grocery store five, ten minutes ago. Like she always did. Which Ella also knew.

"I'm fine, Bec," Ella said, sounding tired. "Well, no, I'm not fine, but I have a safe place to live and I'm eating my feelings while I get my next steps figured out."

"Thank god," Becca said, gripping the phone receiver tightly. "Where are you? This sounds like long distance."

"I'm not in New York anymore," Ella said cagily.

"Why won't you tell me where you are?" Becca asked, hurt.

"Because if you know, then your parents will know, and I do not need your mom tearing apart a city to find me. And if your parents know, there's a chance your brother will find out before I'm ready to make my location and plans known, and if I ever see those three again it will be too soon. I love you, Becs, but you don't keep secrets very well." Ella said, managing the ghost of a grin at the last sentence. Becca breathed heavily as she considered this, but Ella was right.

"My parents have been so worried. I'VE been so worried about you. You swear you're safe? Where have you been???"

"It took me awhile to get here, Becs. I'm sorry you've been worried. It took awhile to get my head around what happened and draft the basis of a plan. But yeah, I promise I'm safe. I'm at a hotel. And I promise I'll call back when I've got my plan ready to go."

"When, Ellie?" Becca hadn't called her that in years.

"Within seven days," Ella said. "And I promise that I'll call when your parents are there, even."

"They're going to be mad that they missed you but relieved that you're ok. And I can promise you that nobody's going to be telling that crew anything. I've never seen my folks that mad."

"Sam didn't know what they were planning," Ella said, sounding sad. "Could you let him know just that I'm ok? I'm not ready to talk to anybody but you just yet."

"Jesus, Ella, don't ever scare me like that again," Bec said, wiping her eyes. "You scared the shit out of me. I thought somebody was going to get a call that you were dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Oh, I'm not self-destructive, Bec. Where's the revenge in that? But you can believe that I'm going to make them pay one way or another. Not physically or illegally, but they are going to regret the day we ever met." Her voice was cold.

"Good for you. If you need help with the metaphorical gasoline, I'm your gal. What are you going to do about Steve?"

"I should have eaten him in utero."

"Ew, Ella!" Bec had a laugh startled out of her.

"Vanishing twin syndrome, actually," Ella grudgingly corrected herself. "A fetus is miscarried and the tissues absorbed somewhere. But whatever, he's going to rue the day he was conceived. And getting a lawyer hired so I can force the sale of the house is on my list."