No one was there yet, so Sloan decided to take her up on her offer. Donna shut the door behind her and led her into the living room down the hall. Donna’s house looked like time had stopped inside it in the 1950s. The floors were linoleum with green-and-brown patterns on them. The woman even had a rotary-dial phone. Probably the only person left on the planet who did. It felt like walking through a time portal every time she went into Donna’s house. In a good way. Back to the good ole days when times were simpler, or that’s how they implied it on TV.
Donna had told her once that times hadn’t been any different back then. Sin was sin and evil was evil, even in those days, but then they hadn’t had the Internet to let them know all the bad things going on twenty-four-seven. She’d said it had been nice living in the dark.
Sloan went into the living room and sat on the couch with plastic on it. It squeaked when her bottom hit and Sloan smiled. Nothing like plastic to keep one’s couch looking awesome.
“Something to drink? Water perhaps?” Donna offered.
“No ma’am. Thank you.” Donna hadn’t been out of the nursing home long. She didn’t need to be entertaining her.
Donna nodded and sat in the matching brown chair across from the couch. It squeaked too when she sat down. “So. What’s troubling you?”
So many things, Sloan didn’t know where to start. She decided the beginning was the best part. She told Donna about the roses and notes, threats and headaches, Ray and Aaron.
Donna’s eyes got especially large during the Ray and Aaron part. “He kissed you!”
“You care about that more than the roses and notes?” Sloan teased, knowing it wasn’t true. Still, it was fun to kid with her.
Donna’s face reddened. “You know that’s not true. Your safety is my number one concern, but he kissed you!”
Sloan laughed. It felt good to laugh. “Yeah.” She melted like a fangirl.
“And?” Donna crossed her legs and propped her chin on her fist.
Sloan couldn’t stop the huge grin from spreading over her face. “It was awesome!” She sighed and giggled.
Donna laughed and slapped her knee. “Figured it would be. That boy has the hots for you.”
“You knew?”
Donna stared. “I’m old, not dead. Anyone with eyes can see how he looks at you when you aren’t looking. Ray knows too. He usually glares at Aaron when Aaron’s gawking at you.”
Where had she been that she didn’t know this? “Why didn’t you tell me? You said not to pick.”
“I didn’t want you to feel pressure because of what you’ve been through, but I think you’ve made your mind up, right? You’re going to pick Aaron. My late husband was a tall, dark, and handsome man too.” Donna smiled at the memory.
Sloan had to think about it. Was she picking Aaron? And would Aaron even want her if he thought she was crazy? Did he believe her about the notes, or was he just confused? None of it mattered at the moment anyway. It sure wasn’t the time to choose.
“I’m going to the prom with Ray on Friday,” Sloan said.
“Good for you. He’s a nice young man. Would you go with Aaron if you could?”
It didn’t take long to think about that. “Yeah. I think I would. I do love Ray. I do. I love him, but…”
“But…”
Sloan’s phone vibrated, and she grabbed it from her pocket. It was her mom.
Where are you?
Where are you? Sloan answered back. She’d been the one home first.
Home. You aren’t here. Worried.
Sloan checked the time and sure enough it was after three. Time flew with Donna.
At Donna’s be home in a second.
Good. Ray and Aaron are here. So is Mackenzie. Waiting on you. I got some food.
K.
Sloan put her phone in her pocket. Her mom always had to feed the guests. Guess it was smart. Harder to think on an empty stomach.
“I think I’d better go,” she told Donna as she stood. “Mom’s waiting for me at home. Time to talk about this and figure out what’s going on.”
Donna stood too and gave Sloan a big hug. Why couldn’t she just stay with Donna while all this blew over? It was a nice place, and she and Donna could chat about boys. For an eighty year old, she liked chatting about the boys.
After patting her on the back, Donna kissed Sloan on her forehead. “I know this is hard for you. It would be hard for me. It’s scary and confusing. But know that it’ll be okay. God will take care of you. He’ll let you figure it out.”
Sloan knew it was true, but it still scared her. Bad things happened to church-going people all the time. Just because she believed in God and Jesus didn’t mean she was immune from bad things or psychos. She already had proof of that. Instead of telling her doubts to Donna, she smiled warmly and kissed her on the cheek. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“You’d better,” Donna ordered. “I need to know the answer to the mystery. It’s like a crime novel or an episode of that older lady detective. You know… the writer? Mrs.… something? Angela?”