“What are you so grumpy for?” she finally asked.
He ignored her question as she parked in front of the PD. They entered the building and found Lou behind the entryway counter, leaning against it with her hands folded in front of her, grinning as if she had a mouthful of gossip ready to spill.
“Okay. Let’s hear it,” Otto said to her.
Lou grinned wider. “Can’t. It’s a surprise. And, boy howdy, is it ever.”
Josie refrained from rolling her eyes and walked through the swinging door at the end of the counter and back toward the stairs that led to their office. Pointless gossip annoyed her almost as much as meaningless small talk.
She reached the top of the stairs and was surprised to see the office light on. Marta had another half hour before her shift began, and she wasn’t one to come in early. Then Josie smelled cigarette smoke. She knew it wasn’t from Lou sneaking one in the bathroom because she’d given up the habit several months ago and turned into an anti-smoking zealot.
Josie pushed the office door open and the “surprise” stood and smiled, blowing smoke out in a stream and dropping her cigarette into a Coke can sitting on the conference table.
Josie pushed past her shock and said, “Mom! It’s great to see you.”
“You bet it is!” She gave Josie a quick hug and turned to Otto, who had been right behind her. She walked up to him and poked a finger into his chest. “And I remember you. Officer O. Right?”
“Otto,” Josie said. “His name is Otto.”
“It’s good to see you, Beverly,” Otto said, reaching his hand out but accepting her enthusiastic hug instead.
“Of course I know this is Otto! That was my nickname for him!”
Josie didn’t remember that at all. Her mom had made the trip from Indiana to Texas once a few years back, and it had been a disaster.
“This is a big surprise,” Josie said. “What brings you here?”
Her mom planted her hands on her hips and looked offended. “Seriously? You have to ask? I came to see you!”
“Beverly, it’s a pleasure to see you again. I’m sorry to leave so soon, but I’ve got a meeting I need to get to.” Otto laid his notebook on the conference table and headed toward the door. He turned to Josie when he reached it, his eyebrows bunching up as he offered what she assumed was a sympathetic look. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
She nodded. He didn’t have a meeting. Their shift was almost over and he had just mentioned going home to feed his goats. “See you in the morning.” Josie didn’t blame him. She didn’t want the drama either.
“I figured, you won’t call me, so I’ll just come visit in person!” Beverly said. Her voice was loud and overly cheerful in the otherwise quiet room.
“The phone lines run both ways,” Josie said.
“You going to take me out to dinner tonight? Introduce me to your friends?” her mom asked.
“A friend of mine is coming over for dinner tonight. His name is Nick. Why don’t you come by about six, and I’ll have dinner for us.”
Beverly’s face fell and her shoulders slumped. “I thought I’d be staying with you. I drove all the way out here. Gas cost a fortune. And buying all my meals along the way. I just figured you’d put me up.”
Josie felt blood rush to her face and she struggled to contain a smart remark about the visit that she’d had no time to prepare for. “I have a small place. I think it—”
“You have two bedrooms!”
“—would be better for us if we got you a room at Manny’s. You stayed there last time you were here. I’m sure he’ll have a nice room for you. And his rooms are very reasonable.”
Beverly huffed and Josie motioned to the conference table, where they both sat down. Her mom was wearing a short denim skirt and a T-shirt that fit her like a second skin. Josie acknowledged in her mind that it had been several years since she’d seen her mom, but she was fairly certain that her mom’s chest was a size or two larger now than she remembered.
“Surprised?” her mom said. “I could tell I got you when you walked in the room.”
Josie smiled, trying to warm up, to be gracious and show some appreciation for her mom. As happened with almost every visit, she felt nauseating guilt for the irritation she felt over her mom’s presence.
“You surprised me. That’s for sure,” she said. “How’s everyone back in Indiana?”
“Did I tell you Aunt Sugar got married?” Beverly asked.
Josie shook her head. She hadn’t talked to her mom in almost a year. Her mom knew that she’d not told Josie about her aunt. She’d never understood her mom’s insistence on pretending they had a close relationship when it so obviously was not the case.
“She got married a month ago and moved to Oklahoma last week. She’s my last family. Everybody else either died or deserted me. I figure, maybe it’s time to move west. Be closer to Sugar. Closer to you and my grandkids.”