Page 61 of Between the Lines

She brushed sand from her calves and wondered how Ollie’s day had been. Maybe she could meet up with him later when he got home and took Milo for his walk. She was thinking about texting him when her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen and frowned, but not because she was unhappy to speak to the caller. More because she was already imagining what this call would be about.

Maude answered and sat back down in her chair. “Hey, Mom.”

“Oh, good,” her mother said, relief coloring her words and adding to Maude’s dread. “I was hoping you’d pick up.”

Maude closed her eyes briefly. That tone always meant one thing. She tried to keep her voice cheery. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, I suppose. It’s just that I haven’t heard from Robbie,” her mother said. “I tried calling him this morning and again this afternoon. It just rang. I know he’s been busy, but I’m worried. Your father and I both are.”

“He’s a big boy, Mom,” Maude said gently. “He can take care of himself.” Except she knew that wasn’t necessarily the case. Robbie needed help on occasion. This current space and time being one of them, otherwise, he wouldn’t be living with her.

“Well, yes, in theory,” her mother said, not apologetic in the slightest. “But he doesn’t always tell us when things are hard. You know that.”

Maude stared out at the water, the steady roll of the waves suddenly much more interesting than this conversation. She did know that. Robbie had always been that way. Less than forthcoming about the things that mattered most. Proud in a way that made asking for help feel like failure. To him, anyway.

“He’s fine,” Maude said, because as far as she knew, he was. “I’m sure he’s just been busy lately.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Busy doing what?” her mother asked. She was obviously concerned. What mother wouldn’t be?

Maude shifted, digging her toes deeper into the sand. She could picture Robbie as he was right now. His hands occupied with tools as he brought his latest idea to life, his phone ignored, music blasting as he worked, hours slipping past without notice.

His silence wasn’t because he was avoiding them. Not exactly. It was because he was focusing, which was precisely what he needed to be doing with the fair coming up. But that explanation wasn’t hers to share.

“He’s just probably in one of those phases where he gets wrapped up in things,” Maude said, trying to be vague and truthful at the same time. “You know how he gets.”

Her mother sighed. “I do. I just don’t like not hearing from him.”

“I know,” Maude said. He absolutely had to tell their parents what was going on. She did not want to be in the middle of this. It was one thing to give him a hand up; it was another to cover for him because he was too chicken to tell the truth. “Neither do I. But I don’t think this is him disappearing. It’s just him being Robbie.”

Another pause, heavier this time. “If something were wrong, you’d tell us, wouldn’t you?”

Maude closed her eyes briefly. This was the hard part. The part she shouldn’t have to be doing. “Yes,” she said. “I would.”

Her mother’s voice softened. “I worry he thinks we’re disappointed in him.”

Maude swallowed. Her mother was spot on. “I don’t think that’s what’s keeping him quiet,” she said. “I think he just wants to handle things in his own way. Again, that’s just who he is.”

“We only want him to be settled and happy and…” Her mother finished the sentence with a sigh.

“I know,” Maude replied. “And he will be. He’s just not there yet.”

The gulls cried overhead, the sound sharp against the steady thrum of the waves. The sun sank lower and her stomach grumbled.

“All right,” her mother said at last. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Will you ask him to call us the next time you talk him?” her mother added. “Just so we know he’s all right.”

Maude managed a small smile. “I will. Promise.”

They said their goodbyes, and Maude ended the call, letting the phone rest loosely at her side.

She stayed seated for a while, watching the water move in and out, thinking about how easy it was for her mom’s worry to turn into something bigger. And how hard it was to stop that once it started.

The constants were Robbie didn’t want to be a concern and their parents didn’t want to feel shut out. But once again, Maude stood between them, like some kind of mediator who not only didn’t want the job but hadn’t even volunteered.