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“Stan!” Ethan yelled into the void. “Answer your freakin’ phone!”
Panic bubbled inside me as I watched Ethan try to piece together what had happened. We had trusted him. “We need answers,” I muttered, pulling up my mother-in-law’s number.
She picked up on the second ring. “Aubrey, honey, how was your trip?” she asked, her voice calm and sweet, oblivious to the storm brewing on our end.
A woman using her phone | Source: Midjourney
“Celeste,” I interrupted, “do you know where Stan is? We just got home, and the house… it’s destroyed!”
I could feel my heart racing as I clutched the phone, waiting for Celeste to explain what on earth had happened to Stan. My mind was running wild with scenarios, but nothing could have prepared me for her next words.
“Oh, you don’t know?” Celeste said, her voice far too calm for the situation. “First of all, congrats on getting a new house, and second, you won’t be seeing Stan for a while because, well, he’s unavailable.”
A middle-aged woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Unavailable?” I repeated, not quite understanding. “What do you mean?”
There was a pause before she continued, almost as if she was gathering her thoughts or maybe trying to sugarcoat what she was about to drop on me.
“After one of his infamous parties,” she said, her tone a blend of exasperation and something that almost sounded like relief, “Stan forgot to turn off the gas in your kitchen. It caused a small explosion.”
I felt like the floor had been ripped out from beneath me. “An explosion?! Celeste, our kitchen is destroyed!”
An extremely messed up kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“I know, sweetheart, I know.” She sighed as if talking about a stubborn child who had made yet another mess.
“Your father-in-law found Stan drunk and out of his mind in your house. The explosion wasn’t big, but it scared him enough to finally take action. Stan’s been, let’s just say his days of playing executive are over. Howard’s had enough.”
I pressed the phone harder to my ear, my blood boiling. “What do you mean ‘had enough?’ What exactly did Howard do?”
An angry and stunned woman talking on her phone | Source: Midjourney