Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 8

I wake up on November 1st with a hangover. I'd taken the morning off, knowing I would feel like crap. I was going to work late tonight to make up for the couple of hours I'd missed.

I hear my phone buzzing and realize that is what woke me. Picking it up, I see that it's 8:00 AM. My mom is calling. I figure she is calling to see how my birthday was. We'd talked three times yesterday, and my parents had sent a box full of presents. They felt bad that they wouldn't see me until this weekend and were kind of overdoing it.

"Hello," I say groggily.

"Jessica, it's mom. I am so sorry to call you like this, but something's happened."

My blood runs cold. I can tell from her tone that this is bad.

"W-what?"

"Your Nana collapsed in the deli yesterday. It was a heart attack. The hospital tracked us down late last night."

"Oh my god," I gasp. "Is she okay???"

"I'm so sorry, honey. She's gone," my mom says through sobs.

I start crying hysterically. This can't be happening. I saw Nana less than a month ago and she was fine.

"We're driving to New York this morning," my mom says. "We need to finalize arrangements. We are hoping to have her funeral tomorrow. She pre-bought a burial plot and planned everything after your grandpa died."

I am crying too hard to respond.

"Jess, baby, you need to get to New York."

I manage to say okay and get off the phone. There are frequent flights from Toronto to NYC, so I decide to shower, pack a suitcase, and drive to the airport. Surely I will get a flight or will be able to fly stand-by.

Forty-five minutes later I am in the hall locking my door. I hear the elevator ding and out steps Shawn in his gym clothes.

"Hey, Jess!" he says cheerfully, but then he notices my tears and suitcase. "Oh shit, what's wrong?" he says, rushing over to me.

Fresh tears start falling as I blurt out, "My Nana died! My grandmother."

"I'm so sorry," he says, and he envelopes me in a warm hug. "Are you going home?"

"I have to get to New York City," I say.

"You aren't driving there in this condition, are you?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Just to the airport."

He furrows his brow. "You can't even drive there. You are way too distraught. Come inside with me. Let me change and then I'll get you there."

I really want to get to the airport, but he has a point. I can hardly see through my tears.

Ten minutes later he is showered and changed. "Okay, let's go," he says.

We're silent on the drive. I spend the time trying to compose myself enough to speak to a ticket agent.

"Which gate?" Shawn asks when we are ten minutes out from the airport.

"I have no idea," I say. "I'm going to try to catch whichever flight I can."

He looks concerned. "I'm going to park, okay? That way I can walk you in and help you get a ticket."

I just nod. He's being extraordinarily kind.

After parking in the short term lot, we walk through the big sliding doors of the main entrance and he pulls out his phone and makes a call. I stand there waiting, not sure who he is talking to since he's stepped away.

Five minutes later I feel his hand on my arm. "I called my travel agent. She books everything for me and is awesome. She's got you on an 12:05 direct flight on United."

I stare blankly at him. Did he just make my travel arrangements?

"Is that okay, Jessica? The return flight is open-ended. You just need to call them and pick a flight."

New tears form and I rush into his arms and hug him. "Thank you," I whisper.

Author's note: I know I have very few readers, which is ok. I value those who are reading and this is still fun for me to write. This is my first go, so any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

Additional note added much later: I have lots of readers now and am so thankful for that. It's funny to think that at first I was posting chapter after chapter and getting only 1-2 reads.