Chapter 12
12
Honey
Jewel sauntered in through the front door with an expression that reminded Honey of the cat who’d swallowed the canary. “Hello there, people,” Jewel crooned at them.
Honey tossed back a casual greeting as she set CT’s lunch on the TV tray. She knew Jewel had gone to the county seat for something today, but something more was definitely going on here.
Cooper, who was watching an old western with CT to keep him from wandering around outside in the heat, didn’t even look up, but Honey’s curiosity was stirred.
“What’s up?” she quietly asked her daughter, nodding toward the kitchen before CT overheard anything and got interested in something he might not understand. “Want something cool to drink?”
“Yeah, I could use some iced tea,” Jewel said, following her.
Honey closed the kitchen door, then sat at the table. Already she felt winded from doing practically nothing. But maybe that’s what happened while recuperating from a head injury and high blood pressure. Dr. Gretchen had warned her not to overdo it at their appointment the other day.
“You look tired, Mom. What have you been up to?”
“Nothing much.”
“Looks like you fixed Dad lunch,” she said while she grabbed the pitcher of tea from the fridge. “I thought you were going to let Coop do that.”
“Well, she was sitting with him. I really appreciate that. Let me get a few things done in peace.”
“Such as?” Jewel poured a glass of tea.
“Just a load of laundry and then a few things out in the garden.”
“And you cleaned the kitchen and made Dad lunch and—”
“I don’t need a lecture, Jewel.” Honey raised a hand to stop her. “I’m sitting now. Dr. Gretchen pretty much said the same thing. I just sort of forgot and got carried away.”
“Is Dad rubbing off on you?” Jewel teased, setting the tea in front of her.
“Funny.” Honey narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “It’s hard feeling better and wanting to get back to my routines.”
“Well, maybe your routines need to slow down.”
Honey just nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind if you tell me what you’re up to. I know you’ve got something up your sleeve.”
Jewel brought her own tea to the table and sat down, then immediately started pouring out an incredible story of purchasing a manufactured home.
“What?” Honey sputtered, nearly choking on her tea. “Are you kidding?”
“No, Mom. Wait till you see it.”
“But, Jewel, we barely talked about this. What on earth were you thinking?”
“I was thinking it was a great deal. And it’s perfect for you and Dad.”
“Without even talking to us?”
“I did talk to you, Mom. You said go for it. Remember? Was I supposed to talk to Dad too? Can you imagine how that would go?”
“No...” Honey rubbed her forehead. CT was the one with memory trouble, but maybe Jewel was right, maybe it was catching ... or else her concussion was messing with her mind. “Did I really tell you to go ahead with it?”
“You pretty much agreed to trust me.”
“I vaguely remember now.” Honey rubbed a finger over the condensation on the side of her glass.
“I’m sorry to catch you unaware, but trust me, this new house will be perfect. For both of you. For all of us. It was all really amazing. Like a miracle.” She began describing a house that actually did sound like an improvement from their current living conditions. Then she pulled out her phone and showed Honey some photos. She had to admit, it did look like a nice “temporary” home. And definitely not a camp trailer.
“But it must be expensive, Jewel. Your dad and I don’t have that kind of—”
“I already told you that I’m buying it, Mom. And it allows me to make this house into a B&B. You know, like I said. I’ll make some improvements here, and Cooper and I will stay—”
“I don’t know ... that’s a lot for your dad to adjust to.” Honey tried to imagine how CT would react to being uprooted from the home they’d lived in for most of their married life, ever since they took over the farm for her grandparents. Beyond that, how would she react? She loved this old house. Her grandparents had practically raised her while her parents were following her dad’s military career. Not that her opinions mattered much these days. Everything in her life seemed centered on CT and his pressing needs. But to be fair, her life ran smoother when CT was happy. But was he ever truly happy? Not really. Still. “But your dad’s used to this house, Jewel. He might not like the change.”
“Does he like falling down the stairs?” Jewel challenged. “Or having a bedroom that will become increasingly more difficult to navigate as he loses mobility?”
“Well, no, but you’re talking about a huge transition.”
“Look, Mom.” Jewel set her glass down with a clunk. “The time is coming when Dad won’t really know where he is. Just yesterday he asked me if this was his house. He was totally lost, and you know he’ll get more and more so.”
Honey felt tears prick her eyes. She’d been so good about holding them in before. But lately ... well, they just seemed to pour out at the drop of a hat. And hearing Jewel’s prediction that CT would just get more and more lost ... well, it was heartbreaking. Poor CT.
“I don’t want to make you sad.” Jewel reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, Mom. If you want me to pull the plug on this house, I probably can. I’ll call Aaron and tell him that I—”
“No, no ... don’t do that.” Honey reached for a paper napkin, then used it to wipe her eyes. “It’s actually a very good plan. I should be grateful to you for caring enough to figure things out for us.”
“Really?” Jewel looked misty-eyed now. “You think it could work?”
“Well, it’s hard to know whether anything will work when it concerns your father. The best laid plans of mice and men. But it does sound like an easier way to live. I’ll admit that every time I hear footsteps upstairs, I worry that your dad’s snuck up there again and that he is going to come tumbling down. I’m sure that doesn’t help my blood pressure a bit.”
“No, it’s bad on both of you. And I really think you’ll love this little house, Mom. It’s so nice. Small but open. With vaulted ceilings and a heat pump with AC. We could make it so comfortable for you guys. So much simpler than all this.” She waved a hand at Honey’s somewhat-cluttered kitchen. “So much safer for Dad.”
As Jewel went on about the house, showing Honey more photos on her phone, Honey felt herself being steadily pulled in. Deeper and deeper. And Jewel was right about CT. In time he wouldn’t know where he was. He probably wouldn’t even care. Having one floor would make life simpler. Although it did seem too good to be true, and she knew what that usually meant.
But then Honey looked around her beloved old country kitchen. Sure, it was worn and cluttered and not what anyone would call “low maintenance.” But she would miss it. Just like so many other things she missed about the life she used to know and love. And now the tears flowed again. Not for CT this time ... for herself.