7.
C OURTNEY
“Grandma, why didn’t you tell me that Mom was out?”
My grandmother looked up from the puzzle we’d been working on together and sighed before she said, “Because I knew you’d look at me like you’re looking at me now.”
“She’s been talking to Dayton.”
“Because he’s her son, Courtney.”
“She encouraged him to go behind my back and lie to me.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t anything like that at all. She knew you weren’t going to be open to her building a relationship with him or any of the others, so she had to . . .”
“You knew what she was doing?” I asked.
“She told me she’d been talking to him.”
“Did she tell you that before or after she stole your medications?”
Grandma frowned and pointed her finger at me before she said, “I misplaced those. I do things like that all the time, and you know it. That’s why I’m here now, isn’t it?”
“You’re here because I couldn’t get you to settle down long enough to recover, and there was no way for me to take care of you and the kids at the same time.”
“Well, now that your mother is home for good, she can help you.”
“She’s not home for good, Grandma. She’s violated her probation repeatedly and run out of chances. She’s going back to prison. And since that’s the only way I can keep Dayton and the others safe, I’m going to make sure of it.”
Grandma’s eyes filled with tears before she said, “Why can’t you just look past her faults and love her like a daughter is supposed to love a mother, Courtney?”
“She convinced Dayton to give her his PlayStation. You know how excited he was to get that for his birthday.”
“I’m sure she just needed to borrow it. She’ll give it back.”
“Do you think she’ll give my car back too?” I asked.
“She knew you wouldn’t understand, but she was just trying to help you! Her friend is a mechanic, and he’s going to make sure it’s working the way it should.”
“You talked to her this morning, didn’t you?”
“I did. She stopped by on her way home from the hospital. She stepped in to help when her neighbor was fighting with her husband, and he attacked her! Her face looks horrible. The man broke her nose! What kind of monster does that?”
“Grandma, I did that to her when I found Dayton with her in a known drug house. I tracked him there thinking he was up to no good, and I found him with her.”
“Oh, honey! I taught you better than to act like that.”
I ignored her comment because what she really meant was that she’d tried repeatedly to convince me to handle my mother with kid gloves and believe all the bullshit that came out of her mouth.
Instead, I informed her, “I reported the theft to the cops last night. I also reported that she’s been in contact with Dayton.
I met a man whose brother is a police officer, and he looked it up to be sure.
It’s a violation of her parole to talk to any of the kids.
Hell, it’s a violation for her to talk to you, for that matter. ”
“Courtney!”
“I’m going to let the nurses know that she’s not allowed to visit and that they should call the police immediately if they see her here.
I spoke to an investigator about my car this morning.
I’ll call him as soon as I leave to see about getting him to reopen the case about the missing drugs.
There were a few other thefts around that same time, and there have been a few more recently.
Now that I know she’s been here to see you, I don’t have any doubt that she’s behind those too. ”
“Courtney, you only get one mother in this lifetime and having a daughter is a precious gift. She loves you, and she always will. I know that she makes bad decisions sometimes, but her heart is good. She’d have a much easier time if you didn’t fight her at every turn.”
“No, Grandma. The lucky children who were born with a mother like ours sometimes get a chance to have another one who loves them the way you loved me and the way I love Alana and the boys. She has had so many second chances that I’m done counting.
She won’t get any more from me, and as long as I’m breathing, I won’t allow her to poison Dayton or any of the others.
You can love her with your whole heart because that’s the only way you know how, but I’m going to protect the rest of us from her. ”
“Honey, if we turn our back on her, she won’t have anyone in her corner.”
“I learned a long time ago never to turn my back on Jill, Grandma. It was a brutal lesson.”
“I think it’s time for me to lie back down.”
I helped Grandma navigate her chair over to her bed and then sorted her cords and tubes out so she could get comfortable. As I leaned over to kiss her cheek, I rested my hand on her face before I said, “I love you, Grandma. I know you don’t understand me, but I’m glad you love me back.”
“You’re such a strong girl, Courtney. As much as it breaks my heart to know how you got that way, it makes me proud at the same time.”
“I’ll bring the kids up to see you for dinner on Tuesday, okay?”
“I can’t wait!”
Once I had Grandma settled, I moved her rolling tray closer so she could reach her water and the call button before I let myself out of her room. I approached the nurses’ station and smiled at Eliza, my favorite nurse on staff.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Eliza asked.
“Do you have time for a quick coffee break?”
“For you, I’ll make time!”
“Any chance you’d let me bum a smoke?”
It was clear from her expression that Eliza knew something was up. She shook her head and whispered, “I thought that woman looked familiar.”
I walked down to the employee breakroom, got us both coffee, and then met Eliza at the front door. Once we were outside, sitting on the bench where we always had the best conversations, she lit a cigarette and held it out with one hand while she took her cup with the other.
I set my coffee down beside my leg and then took a long drag, letting the burn fill my lungs before I blew the smoke out slowly and watched it waft away in the breeze.
“My mom was here earlier today.”
“I saw a woman a while back and thought she looked familiar, but it was just in passing. I didn’t even give her a second thought.”
“She’s been here several times, I guess.”
“That explains how your grandma misplaced a week’s worth of medication.”
“That was my first thought too. Weren’t there some other drugs missing too?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m going to tell that to the investigator who is looking for my car.”
“Fuck! She stole your car too?”
“She convinced my little brother to steal my car, and then she . . .” I used air quotes as I said, “Let her friend take it to make sure it was running okay.”
“Wow. I knew it had to be bad if you were bumming smokes.”
“Just one.” I laughed bitterly before I said, “Okay, maybe two if you’ve got enough time.”
“I would imagine we could kill a couple of cartons before we even get to your mother’s latest and greatest.”
“That’s true, but I hate giving her that much airtime. We should talk about something else.”
“I’ve got a new grandson,” Eliza boasted. “He’s the sweetest baby I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“You say that about all of your grandkids,” I teased.
“And I mean it every time! What good news do you have this week?”
“I’m going on a date.”
“Well, color me surprised! Who is the lucky person?”
I looked at her oddly before I said, “His name is Zane Duke.”
Eliza hummed and nodded before she explained, “I always wondered what side of the fence you sat on, but I didn’t really care since it doesn’t affect me either way.”
“You thought I was a lesbian?”
“Actually, I wondered if you were asexual.”
“What?Why?”
“Every single doctor and nurse that has been on staff in the last four years who is under the age of eighty has asked you out at one time or another, and you always turn them down. Man or woman, you give no shits.”
“None of them revved my engine.”
“How hard has this one revved it so far?”
“I haven’t even kissed him, but just looking at him gets me all worked up.”
“What does he look like?” Eliza asked.
I pulled my phone out of my purse and looked up the website for his towing company, something I’d had to do when I lost his card after Dayton’s wreck.
I knew there was a picture there of the entire staff, and when I found it, I zoomed in on Zane, who was standing on the far left with his arms crossed, sporting a menacing frown.
I passed the phone to Eliza, and she whistled before she started fanning her face. “My goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a white boy that’s quite that hot.” She tapped her thumb on the screen to zoom out. “Except that one.”
“I’m guessing that’s his dad,” I told her as I leaned over to look closer. “It’s a family-owned business, so the other man is probably his uncle or something.”
“I’ve seen those men before,” Eliza said as she handed me my phone. “When there’s a parade, we take the patients who want to go, and there’s always a tow truck with that logo on the side and bikers riding sleek motorcycles next to it.”
“He said he was in a motorcycle club.”
“Around here, that means he’s a Knight or a King.”
“He said he’s a Knight.”
“Well, he could rescue me from a tower, if he was so inclined.”
I burst out laughing and crushed my cigarette in the rocks at my feet before I held my hand out for her butt and then walked them over to the trash can. “I don’t know that I need rescuing, but I wouldn’t mind hanging out with him again.”
“Girl, if anyone needs rescuing, it’s you, whether you want to admit it or not.”
“I can take care of myself just fine, Eliza.”
“And everybody else, too, apparently,” she said sarcastically as she stood up and walked toward me so we could go inside. “Might be nice to have a man with shoulders like that around to help ease the burden.”
“If you think his shoulders are nice, you should see his hands.”
“Capable, you think?”