CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I’m not sure where we go next,” said Cam. “By all accounts, Edie Rose was hardworking, loving, happy, and had just received the most amazing news ever. Her mother was cancer-free.”
“I agree with you. It doesn’t make sense,” said Adam. “She has no hidden secrets, no debt other than that for her mother’s breast cancer and her grandmother’s nursing care.”
“This sucks. She’s just out there, sad and stuck in this world. She can’t come forward and she can’t go back,” said Adam.
“Well, for now we can at least pay off the debts from her mother and grandmother’s care,” said Cam.
A few minutes later, Ella, Charlotte, and Jean walked in with the box of receipts. They were tagged with colorful tabs, divided and alphabetized. It was of no surprise to the men at all.
“I hope you have good news for us,” said Cam. “We damn sure could use some.”
“I think we do,” said Charlotte. “There’s one piece that’s confusing but we’ll get to that. The hospital was willing to work with us considering we found two instances of gross over-charging on their part.”
“They over-charged that poor woman?” asked Ben.
“It’s not uncommon, honey,” said Ella. “People often don’t think to review their hospital statements line-by-line. You’ll glance over a charge of a thousand dollars for gauze dressing and not realize that they were charging you for an entire case. It’s not wine, for goodness sake, it’s dressing.”
“I can’t believe this. Those women wouldn’t have known to look for little things like that,” said Adam.
“Well, we took care of that and paid the hospital bill off. The largest bills were from the oncologist and the costs for her radiation and chemotherapy. It was astronomical and I’m not saying that lightly,” said Charlotte.
“All totaled,” said Jean, “it was near two-hundred thousand. We paid that off as well and started a fund for other women that couldn’t afford to pay for their treatments.”
“I love that,” nodded Cam. “It’s the last thing these women should worry about.”
“We asked Ms. Rose if she would want to undergo reconstructive surgery but she said at her age, she’s not interested in, uh, showing the tata’s again,” laughed Ella.
“I love that woman. She reminded me of grandma when we were there,” said Adam.
“Everything else was relatively normal,” said Jean. “The pharmacy bills, the nursing care at home, transportation costs, all of it. It’s done now.” They slowly turned to see Edie still standing outside staring into the distance.
“Well, shit,” muttered Cam. “It wasn’t about her mother’s debt. It wasn’t about taking care of her grandmother. What the fuck was this about?”
“That’s for you guys to figure out,” said Charlotte. They packed everything up and started to leave when Adam called out to her.
“Wait, you said you had one thing that was odd. What was that?” he asked.
“Oh, we’re still trying to figure it out. There’s a bill here for a mammogram that was done a month ago. Ms. Rose wouldn’t have had a mammogram at this point.”
Cam’s face dropped and he looked at Jean. For a moment, Jean just stared back unsure of what the younger man was thinking.
“Holy shit,” said Cam. “It’s not for Ms. Rose, the mother. It’s for Edie. Edie Rose.”
“Fuck me,” said Ben. He turned to see Edit standing at the window of the office. Ben slowly opened the window wide.
“That’s it, isn’t it sweet Edie. You got scared after your mother’s diagnosis and finally were able to get your own mammogram. It was positive wasn’t it?”
The wailing and screams nearly cracked the glass of the office. The team covered their ears, others running toward the ghostly figure and the room full of people.
“It’s alright now, Edie. We’ve taken care of everything,” said Adam. She sobbed and sobbed, shaking her head.
“I couldn’t make them go through this again,” she said quietly.
“I didn’t want them to see me go through treatments and lose my hair and lose weight.
We couldn’t afford it. I couldn’t afford it.
I’d have to quit my second job and where would that leave us?
At least this way they’d be taken care of. ”
“Oh, Edie, honey,” said Ella. “Suicides don’t usually pay out on life insurance policies. But we’ve taken care of this. We’ve taken care of your mama and your grandmama. It’s all alright now, Edie.”
“I’m so ashamed. I’m so sorry that I did this to them,” she said shaking her head. “I went for a walk to clear my head that night. I didn’t even realize how far I’d gone when I was suddenly standing on the bridge. Traffic was driving by and honking, yelling at me to get off the bridge.”
“And you listened,” whispered Charlotte.
“I thought it was a sign. I was there and people were say get off,” she shook her head, crying again. “It’s the only time in my life that I felt like giving up and I had no other option but to do exactly that. I regret it. I regret it with my whole heart.”
“You’re free now, Edie,” said Cam. “We’ve figured out why you jumped off that bridge, we’ve cleared your mother’s and grandmother’s debt, and we’re going to make sure that they’re taken care of going forward. We’ll explain it all to them.”
“Father Donan says that if you take your own life it’s a sin and you’ll go to hell. Am I going to hell?” she asked.
“No, child,” said Matthew gliding into the room with his golden, glowing crown. “You are not going to hell. That’s not how this works.”
“A-are you God?” she whispered. Matthew laughed, shaking his head.
“Not even close,” he smiled. “But I will help to take you to where you need to be. To a place where you’ll finally be at peace. You can watch over your mother and grandmother, and others.”
She took in a deep shuddering breath and released it as if she were releasing all the pain in the world. Turning, she smiled at Cam, Adam, and Ben.
“Thank you. I’m not sure what sent me here but I remember thinking that I couldn’t leave until someone knew why I did what I did. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“Just seeing you smile again makes it all worthwhile,” said Cam. “You should go with Matthew now. He’ll take you to where you need to be.”
Matthew held out his big, bear paw and the young woman placed her own in his. As they slowly walked away, the light of Matthew was reduced to a flicker, then gone from their view.
“Wow,” said Ben.
“Wow, indeed,” grinned Cam. “I think we need to go visit Ms. Rose.”
An hour later they were seated on the front porch of Ms. Rose’s home with her mother and several neighbors. It was a wonderful community that was intent on keeping watch over the two old women.
“I can’t believe y’all actually paid all this off,” said Ms. Rose shaking her head. “A new nurse has been here already. She was wonderful with mama and they got along so well. I’m feelin’ like a new woman now. Even have a few wisps of hair comin’ in.”
The men laughed and Cam looked at Adam and Ben, wondering which one would tell the story of Edie.
“My Edie has moved on, hasn’t she?” she smiled.
“How did you know?” grinned Adam.
“A mother knows, honey. Did you speak with her? Did you ask her why?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, we sure did,” said Cam. “Ms. Rose, did you know that Edie had gone for a mammogram last month?”
“No,” she whispered. “Why? Why would she do that? She was young, not of the age to have one.”
“Your breast cancer diagnosis scared her. She wanted to be sure she didn’t have anything suspicious.”
“Oh, lord,” she whispered. “She did. Didn’t she?”
“Yes, ma’am. Her mammogram showed suspicious results. She didn’t want you and your mother to go through this with her.”
“But she went through it with us! We’re family, that’s what we do, we take care of one another.”
“Believe me, ma’am, we understand that and I think deep down, Edie did too. She just kept thinking about having to give up the second job, being sick and y’all having to take care of her. It was too much for her.
“If it’s any consolation, she said she regretted her actions and felt terrible for having done this to you both. She said that in that moment she just felt hopeless.”
Ms. Rose nodded, pursing her lips to fight back the tears. She understood that kind of pain but she wished her daughter had spoken to her.
“Well, at least I know why now. I can’t change it and neither can she but knowing at least tells me she was doing what she always did. She was thinking of us, not herself.”
“That’s a good way to look at it, Ms. Rose. A lot of folks would say what she did was selfish,” said Ben.
“No. No, I’ve felt myself there on more than one occasion,” said Ms. Rose. “Never really thought it all through but it doesn’t mean it didn’t pass through my mind. It wasn’t selfish. It was her thinking about others before herself. I can see that. I don’t agree with it but I can see it.”
“You’re a special woman, Ms. Rose,” smiled Ben. The older woman laughed, rocking back in her chair as the neighbors laughed with her.
“Young man, you best watch yourself. I’m gettin’ my strength back and I might be chasin’ you round them trees out there.”
Cam, Ben, and Adam laughed, nodding at the old woman.
“My wife would probably cheer for you to catch me,” smirked Ben.
“What’s her name? Your wife. What’s her name?” asked the older woman.
“Harper. Her name is Harper and she’s the love of my life,” smiled Ben. Ms. Rose smiled at him, nodding.
“I can see it in your face that you love her. I had a man look at me like that once. You take care of her, young man.” Ben didn’t want to tell her that they were probably close to the same age. He just smiled.
“I will, Ms. Rose.”
“And you boys? Are you married?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Adam. “My wife, Jane, is a doctor. One of the best in the city.” Cam smiled at the two men, then turned to Ms. Rose.
“My wife, Kate and I have known one another since we were children. I wouldn’t have a life if it were not for her. She’s my whole world. Her and our children and grandchildren.”
“Alright then,” she nodded. “Now, my heart is full and I can breathe again. Will I see you boys again?”
“Any time you want, Ms. Rose. You call us and we’ll be here,” said Cam.
As the men got their hugs, they wished the two women well and made sure that the neighbors knew to call on them should the women need help. Half-way home, Ben started to chuckle.
“Why are you laughing?” asked Cam with a smirk.
“Because who would have thought figuring out a suicide would make me grateful for the life I have and the woman I’m lucky enough to be married to.” Cam smiled at his friend, nodding.
“Ditto, brother. Ditto.”