Moose and Goose

Chapter Thirty

The grandfather clock strikes six, and Sheryl's beef casserole is already in the oven. Judith's perched on the countertop between the stove and their Galanz fridge.

As her mother stated, her father mounted a bright yellow rotary phone on the wall, and with Jerome's number on a slip of paper next to her, the handset between her left shoulder and ear, she spins the plastic disk.

Judith listens to the faint buzz, her back slouched and her fingers picking at the hem of her left pant leg.

"Hello?" Judy furrows her brows at the unfamiliar voice.

"Um, hello. Is Jerome there," she asks. "I'm a friend of his from the University of Darlington."

"Yeah, hold on." She hears rustling as he sets the phone down. Rembrandt descends the stairs in a white t-shirt and grey boxer briefs. When she hears the last step creak, Judith turns her head to him, and her eyes grow wide with shock. He stands under the frame.

"Girl, what're you doing on the phone at this hour?" She doesn't respond, and when the rustling presumes, she looks ahead. He flicks the switch to his right, and she squints at the bright light above.

"Hello?" The sound of his voice puts a smile on her face. Rembrandt strolls toward the refrigerator with his gaze on her.

"Hey! It's Judy from school," she cheerfully reminds him, and he chuckles dryly. Her Uncle stands in front of the fridge, and he yanks the door open. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time. I've just been thinking about what you said and all the stuff I'm currently dealing with. I guess I needed to talk to you."

"It makes me happy knowing that you feel comfortable talking to me, and no, you didn't catch me at a bad time. If anything, you pulled me away from tutoring my stubborn little brother," he assures her. She chuckles, and Rembrandt glances at her with his brows creased. "But what's going on? How're you feeling?"

"I'm – okay right now, but earlier I was a little heated." He shuts the door when he doesn't see anything he wants, and with disgust, she watches him return to the stairs. "I kinda took it out on my sister, and I felt bad afterward. In my defense, her recklessness was just another extra pound added to the emotional overload I have."

"What'd she do that was reckless," he asks, and before she answers, she waits for her uncle to return upstairs.

"She has a condition that makes her – you know – unable to push a baby out without extra help," Judith tells him. "That coupled with her bleeding disorder and heart problems is like a death wish. After her third child, she was told not to have anymore, and she didn't listen. I found out today that she's due near the end of this month."

"I'm sorry to hear that." His voice is softer and sympathetic. Though she can't see him, by the sound of his sigh, she can tell he's frowning. "How do your parents feel about it?"

"My Mom doesn't care anymore. We haven't talked about it in maybe a week when she broke the news to me." Judy sighs and runs her fingertips against the back of her neck.

"She's probably just struggling to process it; That's her daughter, so I'm sure she cares. What about your Dad?" Her hand freezes in place, and her eyes dart onto the fridge. She'd forgotten again that she hadn't told him about his death. "What does he think?"

"He's – been quiet lately. I guess he's trying to come to terms with it also," Judy lies, then pulls her dry lips inward and licks them. Her heart begins to race when he doesn't respond. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just not sure what to say," Jerome admits. "Do you have any other siblings, and do you know who your sister's pregnant by?"

"I have a thirteen-year-old brother and sister. I told you about Michael, and I have another older brother, but he's on the road. He's a truck driver." Judith takes a deep breath. "I don't know who got her pregnant. I can only hope that it wasn't my brother-in-law because how reckless would that be, y'know? But at the same time, if she stepped out on him, that would be a hundred times worse."