“Is that what this buddy of yours thinks? His grandma has a disease that his family ain’t telling him about?”
“Yeah. Like I said, it got me to thinking.”
“That was a long time ago with your grandma. It was one of the few times your mother and I fought, god rest her soul.”
That surprised him. “You fought about that?”
“Yep. The guy who ended up buying her place gave her a damn fine offer. She said she wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture. But she didn’t realize an offer like that wouldn’t come along again. So I went ahead and accepted it on her behalf.”
“When she told you she didn’t want to move?” he said sharply.
His dad squirmed in his seat. “Ma was a great wife and homemaker but she didn’t have a head for business. She couldn’t see beyond next week’s ladies’ aid meeting or the spring seed catalogs. I paid all her bills, so she wasn’t aware of the spike in propane costs, insurance, taxes and the increases in the cost of living.”
So it was easier to lock her away and let her fucking die than explain that to her?
“I made the decision for her, like I’d been making most of them for her after my dad passed on. Your mom said my duty to her wasn’t an inconvenience. She even went behind my back and asked your grandma if she wanted to live with us. Course, my mom refused. Said she preferred bein’ a burden to strangers who were getting paid a pretty penny to care for her than to the family who didn’t see her worth. It was ugly. I still say she willed herself to die to spite me.”
It had played out exactly as he’d seen it as a kid; his dad had sold her home and shoved her someplace where he wouldn’t have to deal with her. “That’s not something I’ll tell my buddy because that’s his nightmare scenario.”
“It wasn’t the easiest decision to make,” his dad retorted.
As much as Tobin wanted to ask what his dad had done with the money from the sale of Grandma’s place, he already knew. Most of it went to pay for her nursing home care. And the next year he got a brand-new tractor.
Tobin stood and grabbed the gun. “Yeah, well, I’m sure it won’t be an easy decision for us to make either, when the time comes.”
That startled his dad, as if it just occurred to him that he’d be beholden to his sons’ decisions the way his mother had been beholden to his.
After Tobin left the Hale ranch, he’d driven over to Streeter’s. His dad and brother’s attitude toward Streeter concerned him as much as their barbs that Olivia was constantly sick. Streeter’s truck wasn’t there and no one came to the door. Tobin made a mental note to call him before he left for New Mexico next week.
Do you really see yourself getting in your truck and driving away from everything familiar just to prove a point that you can?
His doubts had been getting stronger the past two weeks. Everything from questioning his cognitive ability in an industrial setting to whether he’d saved enough money to live on if he didn’t nail the interview and had to go to plan B.
So maybe that was a sign to postpone the interview another week or two. It’d give him two more weeks’ worth of wages as a financial cushion. Or a better option was to suggest a Skype interview. That made the most sense, especially if they knew he was still dealing with a family crisis. Besides, what type of company in this day and age expected a potential employee to travel for a job interview?
A family-owned company like HTL expects it. It was spelled out in the pre-interview process that a face-to-face meeting is mandatory. You signed the paperwork agreeing to their interview parameters.
His cell phone chirped and he picked it up to look at the caller ID. Not a number he recognized but he answered anyway. “This is Tobin Hale.”
“Hello, Mr. Hale. This is Richard Leckband. I’m the employment relations coordinator at HTL in Albuquerque.”
Speak of the devil.
Tobin exchanged banal pleasantries about making his acquaintance. The tightness in his shoulders after dealing with his father and now this, multiplied by a factor of ten. Technically he was supposed to be in the HTL offices in less than a week. Chances were good this guy called to confirm appointments and didn’t have the authority to authorize an extension.
But it wouldn’t hurt to ask . . . would it?
Before Tobin could jump in, the guy said, “The reason for my call, Mr. Hale, is regarding your interview next week. I’m letting you know that interview has been cancelled.”
Not what he’d been expecting. “Cancelled? Why?”
“The position you were interviewing for has been filled.”