From the Desk of Zoe Washington(32)

My parents kept a notebook next to the fridge to write down whatever groceries we needed for the week. I added sugar and flour to the list, since I was running low. Then I remembered Marcus’s macaroni and cheese recipe. I didn’t really know how to cook, but his recipe hadn’t seemed too hard. I bet I could make it. I ran into my room and snapped a picture of the recipe on the back of his last letter before hiding it again.

Mom was refilling her water cup when I got back to the kitchen. Things were still tense between us since our fight outside of J.P. Licks, so I ignored her. But I could sense her watching me as I added the macaroni and cheese ingredients to the grocery list and put the notepad back in its spot.

She picked it up and wrote something on it. “Are you going to bake something with cheese in it?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “I want to make macaroni and cheese from scratch.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Um, with Grandma. We’re going to do it together.” That hadn’t been my plan, but it actually would be nice to make it with her. I could even tell her that it was Marcus’s recipe.

Mom nodded. “That sounds nice. Make sure you save some for Dad and me to try.”

She didn’t deserve Marcus’s macaroni and cheese. Not when she was keeping him from me.





Chapter Twenty-One


Marcus’s call was scheduled for Monday afternoon, so it was all I could think about while at Ari’s Cakes. Even though I got to bake with Vincent again, I couldn’t wait for the morning to be over.

Grandma took me straight to her house after picking me up. She made me lunch, but I could barely eat.

At 2:55 p.m., I got Grandma’s cordless phone and sat it on the coffee table. I stared at it, my knees bouncing. Finally, at 3:07, the phone rang.

I grabbed the phone as it rang a second time. My stomach flip-flopped.

Grandma rushed into the living room. “Do you want to answer it?” she asked.

I nodded. There was no time for me to build up the courage. The phone would only ring so many times. I pressed the Call button. “. . . Hello?” My voice was as small as a mouse.

The millisecond that passed while I waited for Marcus to come on the line felt like a million years. I held my breath.

But I didn’t hear Marcus. Instead, a recording came on the line, saying, “This is a collect call from an inmate at the Massachusetts State Penitentiary . . . ,” before another person chimed in.

“Marcus Johnson.” Marcus’s voice. My eyes widened as Grandma stood there watching me.

The other voice returned and said the call would be recorded and monitored, and to press 1 if I wanted to proceed. I could barely pay attention. I held on to the phone tighter so I wouldn’t drop it.

“It’s h-him,” I stuttered. “It says I have to press 1.’” But I could barely move. If I pull the phone away from my ear, I might miss something, I thought. I should’ve put it on speaker right after I answered. But it was too late now—I might end up hanging up by mistake. I quickly pulled the phone away from my face and stared at the numbers. Then my brain went blank.

“Let me.” Grandma took the phone, pressed 1, and put it to her own ear.

“Marcus? Hi, it’s Jeanette.” She stopped talking and I could hear a murmur come through the phone—Marcus’s voice. I couldn’t believe I was about to talk to him.

“I’m doing well, thank you.” There was a pause, and more murmuring. “Yes, she’s right here. Hold on.” Grandma rested the phone on her shoulder and spoke softly. “Do you still want to talk to him?”

I nodded.

“You sure? It’s okay if you changed your mind.”

“I’m sure,” I said. “I’m just nervous.”

Grandma gave me a warm smile. “Of course you are, but it’s only a phone call. I’ll be right here. If you don’t want to talk anymore, hand the phone back to me, and I’ll take care of it. Okay?”

I took a deep breath. Grandma was right—it was only a phone call. What was the worst that could happen? Except, I could think of a bunch of things. What if Marcus didn’t sound as nice on the phone as he did in his letters? What if he said something scary to me? Or I heard something scary happening in the prison in the background? I had no idea what prison was like.

But I had to at least try. “All right.”

Grandma put the phone back to her ear. “Okay, here’s Zoe.”

She handed the phone to me and I slowly put it to my ear. “Hello?” I said, tentative and low.

“My Little Tomato,” Marcus said, and he made a sort of laugh, like he also couldn’t believe we were actually talking. “Zoe. I’m so happy to hear your voice.”

His voice was deep, but not in a scary way. More in a comforting way, like Morgan Freeman’s voice when he narrated animated movies.

Tears sprang into my eyes. Even though I couldn’t see Marcus on the other end of the line, I could tell that he might be crying too. He exhaled loudly into the phone, and his breath sounded uneven.

I tried to imagine him in his orange jumpsuit, holding the phone. There was noise in the background, though I couldn’t make it out exactly, so he must’ve been in a room with other convicts.

“Me too.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I wanted to hear Marcus talk some more.