I’m walking into my office when the phone is ringing off the hook. “Dear God, it’s going to be one of those days,” I grumble out loud before answering the phone.
“Hello.” There are no pleasantries here. Hell, half the time, they call, and on the rare occurrence, I’ll get a text if it’s on the weekend. Though, lately, I’ve made it clear that Saturday and Sundays are a no-go. Especially with the guy on the other end of the line.
“Hey, Grey, need you out here. That fucking bobcat again. It’s all jacked up. I’m not sure if it’s the machine itself or my new guy messing it up.” I know the answer already, but I’m not telling Dan he needs to fire that guy or get him off the machine.
“Yeah, I guess it’s that fucked you can’t get it on a trailer?” I ask him.
“You could say that. Let’s just say you’re going to enjoy sending this bill. I bet you it’s an easy twenty grand this go-around.” Yeah, I’ll definitely like sending that bill. The ring I have my eye on costs a mint. It’s also going to be a big enough size so everyone knows because that woman is always tooting around town, either taking pictures or hanging out with the friends she’s made, Mazie and Lydia mainly. Hell, Mazie is even attempting to teach her to bake, though that’s not going as planned. It’s funny as hell, though, to come home to see the mess she’s created, taste what she’s made even if it’s not the greatest.
“I’ll be out there. Just gotta get a few things done in the office. Make sure this other guy can come pick up his machine, then I’ll be there.” I’m sure he expected me to drop everything and run to his damn field operation. The best thing about being the only person in this industry in a two-hundred-mile radius is that it’s not like anyone else will cater to Dan like I do.
“Sounds good. I’ll get that dingbat working on something that isn’t a machine until you get here.” I can hear the annoyance in his voice.
“Might want to look for another operator with as much as you’re sinking into the equipment because, Dan, if this is the same weld, it’s not the machine, it’s operator error,” I tell him.
“You’re not wrong. I appreciate you coming out again. See you shortly.”
“Not a problem.” We hang up, and I check my emails and any voicemails that may have accumulated over the weekend, then call one last guy before I load up into my truck and make the hour-long trek out to the freaking boonies.
Eighteen
Serenity
Mazie came over today, and we tackled so much, I don’t know what I was thinking holding on to every single thing. Some stuff we saved for giveaways, other stuff we donated, and then there was literally pamphlets and fliers in two or three boxes. God bless Greyson for dealing with me and the copious amounts of shit I have. When we made it up to Georgia, all of my family was waiting for us at my studio apartment, my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and even my grandmother. To say Greyson won them over would be saying the least. He was welcomed with open arms. Secretly, I think they were just glad I found someone who could deal with my brand of crazy.
“Thank you for helping me today. I seriously couldn’t have done all of this without you.” I give her a hug after walking her to her car.
“Anytime, it was a lot of fun.” She returns my hug, the phone ringing in the distance stopping me in my tracks.
“I’m going to let you go. That’s my momma, and if I don’t answer, she’ll call everyone in all of Spring.” Mazie laughs. I run back into the house, swiping my phone off the entryway table, wondering why she’d be calling in the middle of the day.
“Hey, Momma.” My voice is breathless, and I barely did anything. I clearly need to work out more than I have been.
“Baby girl, I need you to sit down.” My heart sinks. I don’t know what’s going on, but she never says that.
“Momma, what’s wrong.” The quiver in my voice is noticeable.
“It’s Aunt Catherine. She’s in the hospital. It’s nothing too serious, and she’s going to be okay, but I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else. She had a light heart attack. They’re preparing her for surgery. The tests showed a small blockage that caused it.” She goes on to tell me how when Aunt Catherine basically drove herself to the first station, no one was there. Apparently, they were out on a call, so she called nine-one-one while experiencing chest pain and tingling in her arm. The dispatcher kept her calm until the ambulance made it to her.