Any help is better than none

After Dan left, Laura charged her phone in one of the wall sockets by the bed. She breathed out and went into the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day as best she could. About ten minutes later, she came back out and stopped. She hadn't heard the headboard banging against the wall over the water running in the bathroom. A warmth filled her stomach as she cursed the hooker and her john downstairs. Thinking to drown out the noise downstairs, she picked up the remote and turned on the television.

A young redhead bounced back and forth between two muscular dark-skinned men, her toes almost lifted off the ground. Laura watched in horror, fascination, and growing excitement as the porn star was double-teamed by two very large and veiny cocks. The redhead's throat bulged as snot and tears ruined her mascara. It took her longer than she wanted to turn back off the television and flee into the bathroom. The last thing she needed was for her son to walk in on her masturbating, and if she kept watching, she would be. It'd been a rough week, and she desperately needed some alone time.

It took several minutes to calm down. Laura splashed cold water across her face and neck to try to cool down. It sort of worked. Tentatively, she poked her head out of the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the bed downstairs had stopped banging against the wall. Checking through the meager amount of clothes she had, she whipped off her shirt and picked up the cream blouse.

"Coming in," a voice called from the door as the bolt on the door clicked open.

"Wait!" she cried, covering her exposed body with her blouse. Dan froze in the doorway. "Okay," she said when she knew everything was covered.

"I have food and clothes," Dan greeted, averting his eyes from her.

"Thank you," Laura answered as she flashed him a smile. "My stomach is trying to eat my spine."

She ate the luke-warm meal as she went over her plans with Dan. "I need to stop by the bank. It'll be easier than trying to access my account from my phone. Also... we've been using a lot of data this month already," Dan said as he checked the app on his phone.

Laura felt bad, she knew she'd been using a lot of data. "Sorry, I've needed to use Maps to find the places for my interviews."

"No, I'm not complaining. Just stating a fact. We're already looking at eighty or more for the month on that bill alone."

"We'll make it," Laura said with a pained expression. "Should we rent another night?"

"We've got another three hours before check out. Let's see if the Red Cross can do anything for us."

"Good, idea. I meant to call, but... well, I got distracted," Laura admitted with a rueful expression. "Anyway, I'll do that now."

Laura called the number on the hotline and waited impatiently through the hoops she had to go through just to talk to a human. She paced the floor, her brain running through every scenario she could imagine. Worry knawed in her gut as she glanced at her son from time to time, happily clicking away on his phone. He might be an adult npw, but he wasn't ready to go out into the world alone, not yet.

After what felt like an eternity, she got to speak to someone and explain their situation. The Red Cross couldn't do much for them. Until further notice, the best the woman could do for Laura was a gift card and a week's stay in a hotel. Laura felt hollow as she thanked the operator and hung up.

"Well... that's that," Laura muttered.

"A gift card and up to a week's stay at a hotel?" Dan asked to make sure he heard everything correctly.

"Apparently, the sinkhole was a localized incident, so they can't do too much for us. She was able to authorize a three hundred dollar gift card to Big Bucks."

"That'll be amusing," Dan muttered. "At least it's something."

"Oh, honey, thank you," Laura said as she sifted through the bags on the table. "I... well didn't think about panties yesterday."

"I honestly have no idea if they'll fit you," Dan admitted. "They were on the clearance rack near the back."

"I wish I could wash these. This shirt is already itchy."

"A laundry mat, maybe?"

"No sense in going until we get more clothes. I can deal with the discomfort for now."

The panties flat out did not work. They might have fit a preteen. Laura wasn't sure if she was upset or disparaging about her son's ability to pick women's clothes. The package of shirts wasn't much better. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Dan did his best. Laura couldn't be too mad at him. "Well... you tried," she said with a sardonic smile.

Dan looked up with a confused expression. "Uh... what? Oh... why? I bought the size you told me to."

"You did," Laura answered with a laugh. "I got a men's size, extra-extra-large. You bought a woman's size large. These aren't unisex shirts. Oh well, I can make it work well enough. I just can't use it as a nightshirt. The... panties didn't work out. Thank you for the thought though."

"Why?"

"Honey... I might have a smaller waist, but my hips and butt. Well, they might have worked as a tight thong, but not much else. It wouldn't have been pleasant to walk around in for any length of time."

"Oh, sorry," Dan groaned. "I got the size I thought you might be."

"That... is kind of flattering in its own way. Thank you." She meant it too.

"Alright, what's the plan for the day?" Dan asked.

"The bank first, let's see what we can pool together. Then... I guess we'll look at the place... my sister told us about. While you drive, I'll make the call to the insurance agency. I... well... I don't want to put my fears out in the universe," Laura muttered as she worked through the plans in her head.

Laura at first dressed in one of the new, cheap shirts and her knee-length skirt from the previous day. She eventually decided to just change into the cream blouse again, without a bra. They loaded everything into the bags, dropped the bags in the trunk, and went over to the motel to turn in their key.

"Oh, you that Palm couple," the overweight woman behind the counter complained. "Mark said you'd stop by. Did you leave my room a mess?"

"No, we cleaned up a little," Dan shot back with a glare.

Laura put a hand on his arm. She slid the card on the desk said, "have a good day." She was moving toward the door without waiting for Dan.

"What's wrong?" Dan asked as he got into the driver's seat of his mom's car.

"She... well, never mind. Let me make the calls while you drive."