The Bus Heading South
Chapter 08 - The Bus Heading South
Henry was already on Interstate 95 when Noah reached the bus station.
The clerk said the bus was headed south.
Final destination: Savannah.
Noah called five times.
No answer.
On the sixth call, Henry picked up.
“You shouldn’t be chasing buses on your graduation weekend.”
“Why are you going to Georgia?”
“Work.”
“What work?”
“Bridge repair.”
“With Ridgeway?”
Silence.
“Dad.”
“They need experienced crews.”
“They haven’t been paying you correctly.”
Henry’s voice changed.
“Who told you that?”
“So it’s true.”
“Noah.”
“How many paychecks are short?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Stop saying that.”
Other passengers turned toward Henry.
He lowered his voice.
“I can make good money on this project.”
“How long?”
“Six months.”
“You just got home from working three weeks straight.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Henry looked out the bus window.
Fields blurred past.
Noah continued.
“You’re trying to save the house.”
“That’s my responsibility.”
“You already spent half your life trying to save mine.”
Henry’s eyes closed.
“Listen to me. Take the Caldwell job.”
“No.”
“Take it.”
“No.”
“You have an opportunity people like us don’t get twice.”
“People like us?”
Henry was quiet.
“Yes.”
Noah understood then.
His father did not believe the graduation stage had changed anything.
The standing ovation.
The viral video.
The praise from strangers.
To Henry, those things were temporary.
By Monday, he would still be the man in dirty clothes sent toward the service entrance.
Noah pressed the phone to his ear.
“Get off the bus.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Henry looked down at the contract in his lap.
Ridgeway had advanced him five thousand dollars.
Enough to stop the foreclosure process for another month.
But there was a condition.
If Henry failed to complete the six-month project, the advance became immediately repayable with penalties.
“I signed something,” he admitted.
Noah’s stomach dropped.
“What did you sign?”
Henry did not answer.
At that moment, Noah inserted Emma’s flash drive into his laptop.
The first document he opened was a Ridgeway subcontract.
At the bottom of the final page was a familiar signature.
Richard Caldwell.
May you like
And beside it was a clause that made Noah realize Henry’s new job might not be a rescue at all.
It might be a trap.
