"Eric...no!" she was practically shouting into the telephone.
"It can't be helped, Abby," her brother said emphatically. "They're sending me overseas."
"But what about her job there?" Abby was shaking with anger.
"She quit her job two weeks ago." Abby grimaced and pulled the phone away from her ear and shook it.
"She's off her meds? Shit!"
'You've got Richard to help you," Eric said. "I don't have anyone." Just the entire US Air Force. Damn him.
"Do not let her come here, Eric," Abby said emphatically. "I swear to god I'll..."
"She's on the bus to Chicago right now," her brother said calmly. "She should arrive sometime tomorrow evening. You'll have the whole weekend to hash things out with her. Look, I've gotta go. I'll call you. I promise." Abby jammed the cordless phone back into it's recharger and squeezed her arms around her chest in a horrific hug. Maggie. Maggie was coming here. Most likely off her meds. She couldn't cope with that right now. But when was it ever the right time to cope with it?
Abby sat by the telephone waiting for her mother to call when her bus arrived at the station. Richard was at his hospital when the call finally came. Fortunately. Abby drove her car to the bus station and sat watching through the windows for a few minutes. Maggie was there. She was flighty. She was hyper. Her hair was frowzy and choppy. When had she gotten it cut? She was all over the waiting passengers and bus station attendants. Abby cringed as Maggie wrapped her arms around the huge security guard that seemed to be watching her and keeping her at a distance from the unsuspecting disembarking passengers. Abby shook her head. Any chance that guard would want to follow Maggie around all the time? Probably not.
Abby opened her car door and hurried in to the station. She waved slightly and Maggie ran toward her.
"Hi baby girl!" Maggie shrieked as she threw her arms around her. Abby smiled and hugged her for a brief second and took the bag Maggie was carrying. The guard nodded grimly and Abby led her mother out to her car.
"It's so good to be here...it's hot in Chicago...is it always this hot in Chicago in the summer? It feels like Tampa. Well, maybe not as humid as Tampa." Maggie's mouth was going a mile a minute with no chance to respond to anything she was saying. "Eric thought I should stay in Florida but I thought...no...no...this is the perfect opportunity to visit my baby girl for a while. They're sending him overseas, Abby. To a war zone...do you think we should be worried or is he going to be safe? He's training to be an air traffic controller now. I don't know how he is going to do that. I mean, keeping track of all those planes flying over head. Can you imagine?" And on and on and on. Abby sighed wearily and pulled the car into the traffic and headed toward their home. Maggie was definitely off her meds. And for how long this time?