33. Turned My Day Around

Turned My Day Around

Hadley couldn't wait to be home. The tension in the office, and in Hadley's chest, left with Peter and the rest of the afternoon was uneventful, with a few easy-going walk-ins. With the office quiet, Hadley stepped away for a bathroom break. When she washed her hands, she heard Mary's voice along with a man's. She first assumed it was a client and felt bad that Mary had to answer the window herself, but when their voices started to thunder, Hadley instantly panicked. She was suddenly 15 again with her father screaming in her face.

She gripped the white porcelain sink and cowered, afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. When she looked up, her eyes met her own in the mirror and she felt ridiculous. She reminded herself she was no longer 15 and she was perfectly capable of standing up for herself. She held her own against her father the other day and kept Peter in his place earlier today. She could handle whatever, whoever, was on the other side of that bathroom door.

When she crept the door open and stuck her head around the corner, she saw Mary stumble backwards and fall into her chair. She also saw a gruff middle-aged man wearing a gravel colored utility jacket with an orange beanie that covered his stringy hair. For a brief heart-racing moment, Hadley thought it was her father. Snapping herself out of it, she jumped into action. Even though the man hadn't touched Mary, he yelled sloppily only inches from her. Hadley immediately decided he was a threat. She remembered many nights growing up being in the position Mary was currently in and while her father never blatantly put his hands on her, the fear was very real.

Without wasting time, she grabbed the phone closest to her, which was on Meghan's desk, and dialed 9-1-1. She rattled off their address, a description of the man, and the scene she walked into. As soon the man realized she was on the phone with the police, he spit out Bitch in her direction and took off.

Hadley hung up the phone and looked over at Mary who was wiping away the wrinkles in her blouse to avoid eye contact. "Mary, I'm so sorry I was in the bathroom."

"Oh, sweetheart, don't apologize."

"I heard you yell and I panicked but I should've come out faster to help. My dad, he uh, was, well I guess is, an alcoholic and I think hearing that man's voice brought me right back to my childhood. I was afraid to come out."

"I'm sorry about your dad. Honestly, I was hoping you'd stay in the bathroom, in case it escalated more."

"What happened anyway?" Hadley slowly walked back to her desk and took a seat, facing Mary who had also sat back down.

"Just a random drunk stumbling in. He wasn't here for a job. I don't think he even knew where he was. I know you've seen how we sometimes get rude guys in here but this, I can honestly say, is a first. I'm just glad neither of us are hurt and nothing got destroyed. Guy was just angry at life and happened to wander in here and direct it my way."

Hadley nodded then shifted her eyes to the front door where she could see red and blue lights flashing.

"Great job calling them so fast. That took guts."

"Thanks," Hadley said with a small smile before they stood up and walked to meet the police officers at the front door.

After the officers took their statements and let them know they'd be in touch, Mary decided to close Placers for the rest of the day. They were only an hour away from closing anyway and this way they could both go home and settle their nerves.

***

Hadley was thankful to be home, even though she was still in her parked car at the front of her apartment complex. Once the adrenaline wore off, Hadley felt drained and a little bit embarrassed. If she hadn't hidden in the bathroom, she could've scared away the guy faster, which would've put Mary at less of a risk for being attacked. Everything was fine, she reminded herself. She unbuckled, grabbed her bag, and made her way inside, ready for a pair of sweatpants and a frozen pizza.

Hadley headed straight toward the staircase when Hazel called out to her. "You're not going to ask me if you have any messages?" The receptionist, who reminded Hadley of a gossipy Betty White, was leaning on the counter with a Cheshire smile.

"Hey Haze. Sorry, long day. Guess I'm losing hope all around."

"Well?" Hadley shook her head confused so Hazel asked again, "Aren't you gonna ask?"

This made Hadley perk up, she suddenly realized Hazel had a point to her taunting. "Did I get any messages?" Hadley rubbed her fingers together anxiously as she walked over to the desk.

"Oh hm, I'd have to check."

Hadley rolled her eyes and begged Hazel not to torment her.

"Okay, okay, and I'm the dramatic one. Yes, you have a message. Hang on, I wrote the details down on my notepad for you." Hazel rifled through a few papers before she found her notepad and ripped off the top page. Hadley took the paper and stared, letting out a shriek of excitement.

"Hope restored?"

"Yes! This just turned my day around. I'm so excited."

"Well, who is this Dorothy lady? Does she owe you money? Gifting you her heirloom diamonds? Ooh, does she need a kidney? Do you need a kidney?"

Hadley chuckled at Hazel's theatrical hand motions and wiggling eyebrows. "You really need to cut back on those soap operas."

"And you really need a cellphone," she razzed.

"As soon as I can afford one, I promise I'll stop hogging the lobby phone." Hadley smiled as Hazel waved her in that direction. Not bothering to go upstairs first, she made a beeline to the community phone, and set her bag at her feet. She slowly typed the numbers in and held her breath as it rang.

"Brad Lee Danielson Care Facility, this is Rhonda. How may I direct your call?"

Hadley looked at the phone number on the sheet of paper and wondered if she typed it wrong. "Oh, I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number. I meant to call Dorothy Wellington…"

"You have the right number, dear. I can connect you. Who may I say is calling?" Hadley gulped and told her name, which led to being placed on hold.

Three hours, or maybe thirty seconds later, the line clicked, and she heard a familiar voice. "Hadley, dear, is that you?"

"Dorothy!?"

"The one and only," she chuckled. "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear from you. It's such a shame you didn't get my cards all these years but I'm so glad you have them now and know I've been thinkin' ‘bout you. How are you?"

"I had a long day, actually, but now that I hear your voice, the drama doesn't even matter. I spent years being afraid to visit or reach out, and then with time, I was convinced you wouldn't want me back on the farm anyway. The cards really meant the world to me, even if I only got them a week ago."

"That's lovely, dear. I was so happy to read you're in your own place now. That Hazel's a real hoot. Had me cracking up."

"Oh yeah, she's the community gossip, probably taking notes on this call right now," she laughed and waved in Hazel's direction. "She's really sweet though and looks out for me in her own way. Speaking of being in my own place, are you not on the farm anymore? The person who picked up the phone said something about a facility?"

"Oh, well, I had to sell the farm a few years ago –"

"No! Dorothy, that's awful. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't make me old. And do not even try to blame yourself for steppin' away years ago. Even if you stayed and helped me, by now I woulda had to sell the place. I'm practically an ancient relic." Dorothy's laugh blended with a dry cough.

"I'm sure that's not true. Is the facility nice? I guess you couldn't bring the horses with you," Hadley laughed, though her lips turned down.

"It's really clean and everyone's precious. The food's mediocre but that's the way it goes. Unfortunately, the horses couldn't come. They're with Daniel, remember him?"

"I do, he's the man who bought the cows, right? He was really kind."

"Sure was and still is. Enough about my stuff, we can talk more about that later. I want to hear all about this new job you have. Tell me everything. The most exciting stories I hear anymore are who won Bingo or who allegedly cheated at Pokeno."

Hadley laughed and slid her body down to sit against the wall with the phone to her ear and the metal cord rested against her shoulder. She positioned herself comfortably and then began to recite the most exciting story she could think of: the random drunk from earlier. She was about to start on another story, this one about her coworker Meghan and how she had learned a lot from her already, when Dorothy interrupted to say a nurse had arrived to give her medicine and then they'd have to head down to dinner. Hadley wanted to ask why Dorothy had a nurse and what kind of medicine she needed, although surely that was a normal part of aging, but before she had the chance, Dorothy had ended the call with a reminder to call again whenever she had time to talk.

"You look happy," Hazel prodded.

"Yep! Have a good night, Haze."