Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Heather and I stood in the hospital parking lot discussing who of us would drive Rita home. We’d both intended to go to the grocery store, which we could postpone until the next day, but we’d each have to pick up something for supper and snacks.
“Neither of us is going to feel like cooking,” I said, “so let’s combine forces. What are you in the mood to eat for supper?”
“Comfort food.” She laughed, as if she’d told herself a joke. “Hey, I know a place that does pork barbecue as takeout. We can get the large order with rolls and coleslaw. Do you have enough boxed wine?”
“Not for all of us.”
“No problem,” she said. “The barbecue place is in the same shopping center as the wine store. How about you take Rita home while Alicia and I pick up our meal, and we’ll meet you there.”
“That works for me. I guess we’d better ask the others what they want.”
“Sure,” she agreed, settling into her driver’s seat. “I’ll take care of it and we can split the bill later.”
She let me go first, probably because the transport person was waiting to help Rita into my car. I had a feeling Alicia might prefer to stay with her elderly neighbor since they had bonded, but I intended to stay out of that decision—or argument, whatever the case might be.
When I pulled to the curb, Alicia asked me to make room for her mother’s car. “Mom will drive Rita home. After all, she’s dating her grandson, and we’ve known her for a long time. You’re just a tenant.”
I felt as if she’d punched me in the stomach, and I couldn’t believe her words. I literally wanted to scream, but I drove away.
Tears threatened to block my vision, so I blinked to let them fall and wiped them away with my hand. It made me realize that I hadn’t cried in a long time, but those tears had been about grief. These were about hurt feelings.
I knew I could rise above those, but I needed comfort from the person I loved so dearly.
It was early enough for me to travel home to Brad, and Rita had people to care for her.
I didn’t need anything at the apartment, so I pulled over to text my fiancé: I’ll be there for dinner, so wait for me.
To Heather, I texted: Change of plans: I need to go home, so take care of Rita.
Then, I headed to the Garden State Parkway.
By the time I got on the Atlantic City Expressway, I’d talked to my wounded spirit—aloud in the car.
Alicia didn’t know, I told myself. She didn’t know how much Rita meant to me, although I’d seen the connection they had together.
Was I jealous? I doubted that because I liked watching their interaction at the hospital.
It was her words, I decided. I’m “just a tenant.” Yes, those words cut through my heart as if she’d used a dagger. My eyes filled with tears again, although I quickly brushed them away.
My phone rang with a call from Heather, but I needed to listen to my GPS to get me over one of the bridges leading from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, then to Chester County.
If the worst of rush hour traffic had passed, I could be in Brad’s arms in a little more than an hour. I let the call go to voicemail.
I saw the text from Brad. Waiting 4 u. It made me smile.
Traffic moved on the Schuylkill Expressway, which was a miracle in itself, yet I knew I’d be at Brad’s house by six-thirty. It was then that I realized I didn’t have my laptop.
I still needed to write my blog, but it would have to wait until morning, and I could do that in my apartment behind Brad’s shop where I had my desktop computer on the table in the kitchen. It would all be okay, I thought. Then, I cried again.
I texted Brad at the stoplight just before his house. Almost there. See u shortly.
He must have waited in his driveway for me because he was leaning on the bumper of his pickup when I pulled in. I turned off the ignition, jumped out of my car, and bounded into his arms.
He grinned. “Wow! I haven’t had a reaction like this in, I don’t know, my whole life.” His lips reached mine and our kiss was exquisite.
“I missed you!” I exclaimed as we pulled apart.
“Same here, but what happened? I thought you wanted to stay the week in Stone Harbor.”
“Have I got a story to tell you,” I said in announcer fashion. “I’m also starving, so let’s eat and you’ll hear all about it.”
We took my car, since I’d blocked him in, and he drove to a pub near his house that we both loved. “I made reservations, and we’re on time,” he noted.
Seated right away, he ordered the house light beer for both of us. We also both decided on the fish and chips. Once the waiter left us, he asked, “What happened?”
I had cried out my tears during the drive home, so I could calmly explain. “Do you remember how Rita liked me to check on her?”
“Sure. If you didn’t see her blinds open, you needed to call her.”
“Right,” I nodded. “That happened this morning.”
“Was she teasing you?”
“No, she had fallen and couldn’t get up.” I went on to tell him the events that led to her hospitalization.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Did they admit her?”
The waiter returned with our beers and I took a sip of mine. “No. They sent her home because everything was fine. Luckily, she hadn’t broken any bones and her bloodwork was good.”
He looked into my eyes, which were probably bloodshot.
So, why didn’t you stay to be sure she would be fine tonight?”
I took a deep breath. “I was dismissed.”
“Rita dismissed you?” He looked shocked.
“No,” I said, willing myself not to cry. “Heather’s daughter told me that Rita didn’t need me because I was ‘just a tenant.’” I used my fingers for the quotation marks.
“Ouch,” he replied.
“Don’t give me sympathy because the waterworks will start again.”
“I wouldn’t think of it.” He took a sip of his beer, catching up with me. Eyeing me again, he asked, “Heather must have been there if her daughter was. What did your friend say to that?”
“She didn’t hear Alicia.” I explained how she and I decided who would do what. “I was to take Rita home, and they’d stop to buy takeout barbecue and a box of wine, but her daughter had her own plans.”
“Why didn’t you stand up to the twerp?” he asked.
“I should have,” I said, “but I was unbelievably hurt. Worse, Rita didn’t put her in her place, which allowed the comment to sink in.” I took a deep breath, followed by another sip of beer.
“Maybe, subconsciously, you wanted to come home.” He winked, which made me laugh.
Teasing him back, I said, “Maybe I knew I wouldn’t get my blog written if I stayed there. I need to get some work done.”
He laughed. “Touché!” he said, just as our supper arrived. I put my angst behind me and just enjoyed a pleasant meal with the man who’d captured my heart.
After handing the waiter his credit card, he returned to our conversation. Most of it centered on the number of new contracts for the winter schedule and his intention to hire more part-time workers. I had a feeling he wanted to help me move beyond my earlier distress.
“That’s great, honey. Do you need to buy more plows?”
“No, I found a place where I can rent them, as needed. As the business grows, I’ll have available cash to purchase more.”
I smiled at him. “You sound really good and I’m proud of you.”
Our waiter returned with the slip for Brad to sign, then we headed out. We discussed my plans on the way to my car.
“Can I convince you to spend the night with me?” he asked.
“I didn’t bring my nightgown or my toothbrush, so no.”
He pressed my key fob to unlock the doors. “I can lend you a nightshirt,” he said, “not that you need one.”
I laughed. “I know, and I’ll take a raincheck.
Talking about the situation with you really helped, so I’m fine.
” I paused, then added, “I could have told you about my hurt feelings on the phone, but I instinctively knew I needed to see you. I was silly to run away, though it was more about running towards. I wanted you to put a Band-Aid on my wound, and I thank you for doing that.”
He opened my car door, then leaned in for a sweet kiss. “I have plenty of Band-Aids, honey. Are you going back to the shore tomorrow?”
“I really do need to work,” I said pensively, “so I’ll have to let you know when I decide.”
“Plan on dinner with me, if you intend to stay.”
I smiled, feeling loved. “You can count on that.”