Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
H arper struggled to maintain her composure as Mitch rushed to her side.
He sat next to her on the couch, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“No,” she whispered. “I’m not.”
A ragged shudder ran through her. She picked up her water and took a sip. Numbness took over. A sense of being on the precipice of a great fall.
“Can I do anything for you? Get anyone? Do you want me to call Frankie?”
“No.” She took a few deep breaths. Her mother was gone. In fairness, her mother had been gone for a long time, lost to the malignant encroachment of dementia. But death was so permanent. There was no coming back from this. No chance that some last-minute miracle drug would emerge, that some new protocol would shift things in their favor.
Her mother, regardless of her health issues, was gone.
Harper sobbed, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer.
Mitch pulled her into his arms, taking them both back against the couch. She leaned into him, burying her face into his shoulder and weeping softly.
She cried for the loss of her mother, but she cried for herself, too. She’d been strong about her mom for a long time, doing her best to deal with no longer being able to talk to her mom, or reminisce with her, or even see her these past few years. Now, there was no reason to be strong anymore.
With a deep inhale, she leaned back, wiping at her eyes. “Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” He handed her a box of tissues.
She took it, pulled a couple free, and blew her nose, then dried her eyes. She sat for a minute before speaking. “I have to fly out there and deal with…things.”
“California?”
“No, Nevada. That’s where my mom was being cared for. It was the best place I could afford. Better than what I could get for my money in California.” She sighed. There was so much to do, so much to take care of. She didn’t want to do any of it.
“When will you leave?”
“Soon. Tomorrow, I guess.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
She balled up the tissues in her hand and looked at him. He was just saying that to be nice. Except, he wasn’t. Mitch wasn’t like that. She did want him to go with her. It would make things easier to have him by her side. But that was a lot to ask.
“You need to write your book.”
“Laptops travel. And the book isn’t as important as you are.”
She swallowed, feeling like she might start crying again. “Thanks.” The word came out quietly, so she nodded. “I would love it if you went with me.”
“Then it’s done. Tell me where you need to go, and I’ll book the flights and get a rental car. We can leave first thing tomorrow. Or as soon as I can find flights. I’ll leave the tickets open-ended so we can come back whenever you’re ready.”
She sniffed. It was hard not to cry at such kindness. “You’re sure you want to do this? It’s not going to be fun.”
“I’m sure. I know it won’t be fun. That’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because I care about you, and I want to be there for you.” He took her hand. “The way you’ve been there for me since you came into my life.”
Her eyes went hot with new tears. “Could I get a cup of tea?”
“Absolutely. You want anything else?”
She shook her head. “No, just tea. I’ll call Frankie.”
“Okay.” He got up. “Be right back.”
She took her phone out and started to call, then realized she probably wouldn’t be able to reach Frankie if she was painting. Harper texted instead.
Still at Mitch’s. Just found out my mom passed. He’s going with me to take care of everything. We’ll probably leave tomorrow.
Frankie didn’t answer right away, which Harper understood. No doubt her sister was in a deep, creative zone, phone on silent. As she should be.
Mitch returned. Joyce and Beryl came in behind him. Joyce had a cup of tea on a saucer and Beryl had a little plate of cookies. Both of them had sad, sympathetic eyes, making it apparent that they knew what had happened.
Joyce set the tea on the side table. “You poor lamb. Are you all right? Get some of that tea in you. I put an extra sugar in. Best thing you can have is a strong, sweet tea.”
Beryl added the plate of cookies. “I’m so sorry, love.”
In the face of so much love and concern, Harper could only nod and whisper her thanks. She picked up the cup and took a sip, nearly choking on the sweetness, but she didn’t mind it nearly as much as she’d have thought.
Mitch stood by his desk. “I’ll be going with Harper tomorrow to Nevada, to help her take care of everything. Not sure how long we’ll be gone. I know you’ll keep an eye on Kyle and Ruthie, but don’t forget about Bunny.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Joyce said. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Beryl and I will handle it all.”
He nodded at them. Harper sipped some more tea. She swore she could feel the sugar entering her bloodstream. It was giving her a little boost, so maybe Joyce was on to something.
Beryl clasped her hands in front of her. “What can we do for you, pet? Do you want us to look after your sister and niece, too?”
Harper had to smile. “That’s very sweet of you to offer, but I think they’ll be all right.”
“Well,” Beryl said. “We might take them a few baked goods at the very least.”
Harper took one last sip of tea before getting to her feet. “I should go.”
Joyce stepped back. “You let us know if there’s anything we can do.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Joyce and Beryl left.
Mitch came to Harper, eyes filled with a depth of understanding that spoke to his past. “As soon as you can, get me the location?”
“It’s in, um, Laughlin, Nevada. Paradise Assisted Living.”
“I’ll take care of everything. Probably best to fly into Vegas and drive from there.”
She nodded. “Whatever’s easiest.”
“You good to leave first thing tomorrow? Or do you want to try to get a flight this evening? I won’t really know what’s possible until I check, but just in case there’s a flight, I thought I’d ask.”
She tried to think. “I guess I could go tonight. But that’s going to be really expensive.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Mitch, I can’t let you pay for this.”
“Why not? There’s not much else I can do. Let me do this. I’m great at travel arrangements, which is an odd thing to be good at, considering I never leave my house.”
He was being sweet enough already. Having him pay for the tickets really did seem like too much. “You’re going with me. That’s a lot right there.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Harper, I want to help. And this is the only way I know how.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
A hint of a smile played on his lips. “If that’s what you want, but it’s not necessary. In fact, I could use the write-off.”
She gave him a look. “How is a trip to help me deal with my mother passing a write-off?”
“Research on Nevada.”
“You’re currently writing a series set in a completely make-believe world.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “So I’ll write a new short story and set it in Laughlin.”
She sighed, emotionally drained but also touched by his efforts to do all this for her. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and seemed to be searching for words. “I’m…not good at comforting. Or emotional stuff. You know that. It’s something I’ve been working on. Which you also know. But I want to be here for you in whatever way you need.”
She nodded. “I appreciate that. This was something I knew was coming, but I didn’t think it would happen for a long time. I thought I was prepared. It’s been a while since my mom was…my mom. Her dementia really got bad about three years ago. The staff at the facility said my visits were only aggravating her, and it took them days afterwards to get her calmed down sometimes.”
Mitch listened without saying a word.
“I had to make the hard decision to stop visiting. I hated it. But I knew it was better for her. And I told the staff if she ever asked for me, they were to call me anytime, night or day, and I would be there.”
She blew out a breath. “That never happened. They sent me regular updates, but there really wasn’t much to tell. She wasn’t getting better. She wasn’t going to get better. I made my peace with losing her right after I had to stop visiting.”
She shook her head. “Now I feel…I don’t know. I wish I hadn’t stopped. No, that’s not true. What I wish is that not visiting hadn’t been the right answer. I know it was, but I still feel guilty that I haven’t seen my mom in three years.”
The lump reformed in her throat. “And now I’ll never get to see her again.” Tears spilled down her face. “Never get to tell her I love her. Never hold her hand. Never get to brush her hair or help her eat her dinner or tell her how thankful I was to have her in my life or—”
A sob ended her words. She covered her face with her hands and let the tears flow again. “I hate that stupid disease.”
Mitch pulled her into his arms, the warm embrace exactly what she needed. “Your mom knew how much you loved her. I don’t doubt that one bit. You’re an amazing woman, Harper. That’s because of her. Your mom lives on in you, in all the things she taught you and all the ways you’re like her.”
She sniffed, tears abated, and pulled back to look at him. There were damp marks on his T-shirt from her crying. She wiped at the spots, ineffectually, then touched his face.
What a good, sweet man he was. The kind of man she never wanted to be without. She was blessed to know him. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here with me.”