Clock Dance

It’s 2017, and 61-year-old Willa and her second husband, 72-year-old Peter, live in Arizona. Willa receives a random phone call from a woman in Baltimore named Callie. Callie has been taking care of a little girl named Cheryl because Cheryl’s mother, Denise, has been shot in the leg and is in the hospital. Now Callie must return to work. She wants Willa to fly to Baltimore to care for Cheryl until Denise is out of the hospital. Callie believes Willa is Cheryl’s grandmother because Willa’s son Sean and Denise were in a relationship that has since ended.

Willa almost tells Callie she isn’t related to Denise and Cheryl—she’s never even met them—but she stops herself. After the phone call, Willa considers going to Baltimore. The year prior, Peter moved them to a golfing community, forcing Willa to give up her English as a second language (ESL) teaching job. Willa has no friends, her parents are dead, her sons live far away, and she rarely speaks to Elaine. While Peter golfs all day, Willa has nothing to do and no one to see.