Back to Where We Started From (Miracle)

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning, Julie sat in Herb's office while the boys practiced. She stared down at the little piece of paper in her hands, feeling a knot in her stomach. She had spent the last ten minutes arguing with herself, but she couldn't put this off any longer. How bad could one phone call be?

717-326-5555

You can do this, Julia. Just dial the number.

After taking a few deep breaths, Julie finally picked up the phone on Herb's desk, punching in the number. She listened as it rang a few times, thinking maybe they wouldn't pick up. Hoping that they wouldn't pick up, more likely.

"Brown residence, Francis speaking."

"Hi, uh....it's, um, it's Julia," she managed to sputter out. It was silent for a moment before her grandfather spoke again.

"Oh, Julia! We were beginning to think you weren't going to call."

Why ever would you think that? It's only been two whole weeks.

"Yeah, sorry, I just got kinda caught up," she lied.

I was totally ignoring you.

"We were almost worried your aunt hadn't passed along the message."

Julia took another deep breath, trying to ignore the subtle dig at her aunt. Before she could speak, she heard her grandfather call to his wife, letting her know Julia was on the line. Before long, her grandmother was greeting her and asking what she had been up to.

"I've actually been in California for the last few years."

"California?" Her grandmother repeated.

"Yes, in Los Angeles."

"Isn't that where all the beatniks go?" Her grandfather asked. They must've both been listening in. She could hear the judgment in their voices, and she suddenly remembered very clearly the way her grandmother's eyes would narrow in disapproval. She was sure that's what her grandmother's eyes looked like now. 

"Kinda. I'm in a band," she looked around at the pictures in Herb's office, noticing one of him and her dad with their younger brother, Dave. All of them were in hockey gear at the house where Herb Sr. and Pauline Brooks still lived. It made her miss her dad, but she tried to put those feelings aside. She could only deal with one problematic family relationship at a time.

"A band? What kind of band?" Her grandmother questioned. Julia could hear the shock in her voice. Like they cared about the band, or the music. 

"A rock band."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"But you're not in California right now."

Clearly they were going to ignore the band part. That was probably for the best, if this conversation was to continue.

"Oh, well, at the moment I'm staying in Minnesota. I'm spending a lot of time with Herb's hockey team. He's coaching the Olympic team. My best friend is on the team, and I've made lots of new friends on the team. I travel with them a lot. We're actually getting ready to leave here in a few minutes."

That's a lie, it'll be at least an hour or two. Whatever it takes to cut this short.

"Where are you headed?"

"Washington D.C."

Julia realized her mistake the moment the words left her mouth.

"D.C?!"