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Mrs. Stone turned her face away from them. “Until then, get out. Leave me alone.”
“Can’t do that, I’m afraid. You’re my new best friend.” She addressed the family. “Is there anything I can get you two? The chef makes strawberry pie on Thursdays. I can go snag a couple of pieces.”
The sister nodded. “Ma loves strawberries.” She smiled at her mother. “Doesn’t pie sound good?”
“I want to go home.”
Mr. Stone shook his head again. His voice came out low and sounded almost dangerous. “Ma, we’ve been over this.”
“You’ve been over this. You’re the ones imprisoning me here.” Their mom looked out the window.
“Does that make me your warden, Mrs. Stone?” Suzy made a face. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but not that. Mr. Stone called me flighty the other day.”
Mrs. Stone looked her up and down. “My son is usually right.”
Suzy considered this and agreed. “You’re probably right. But once we get to know each other better, you can let me know what you think yourself.” She winked at the older woman who again turned away.
“So about that pie. Who’s up for it?” She pulled out an imaginary order pad and pen. “I can bring some coffee to go with.”
The sister grinned. “I think we could all use some. Right, Ma?”
Mrs. Stone rolled her eyes. “You do what you want. Obviously, it doesn’t matter what I think anymore.”
Yep, a difficult one. Suzy looked at Mr. Stone. “Think I’ll grab your son to give me a hand. We’ll be right back.”
He followed her out of the room and down the hall towards the main entrance and the kitchen. “I’m sorry about my mother.”
She stopped to look at him, noticing the bags under his eyes. Here was a man who loved his mom. It made him less forbidding. More...attractive. She shrugged. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m used to that.”
“She’s not usually that nasty.”
“She’s just had her life turned upside down. Anger is normal. Almost expected.” She opened the door and let him pass in front of her. “She needs a few days to adjust, then she’ll be back to almost normal.”
He looked at her. “Almost?”
“Mr. Stone, her life will never be the same even after she leaves here.” She went to the refrigerator and pulled out three pieces of pie and thrust them at him. “She has to learn a new normal.”
He nodded as he juggled the plates. “This is why I requested your section. I saw the way you handled the trauma the other day.”
“Just doing my job.” She grabbed a tray from below the coffee station, poured three Styrofoam cups of coffee, and added packets of cream and sugar to the tray.
“She needs some sunshine too, and I thought of you.”
She smiled at him. “I like that. Sunshine. Much better than warden.” She looked at him right in the eye. “Or flighty.”
“Miss Bylin, I—”
“Suzy, please. If I’m going to take care of your mother, you might as well call me by my first name.”
He nodded. “Suzy, I apologize for calling you that.”
She’d heard worse, especially from some of her angrier patients. “Like I said, I’ve been called a lot of things.” She arranged the tray and took the dessert plates from him. Added forks and napkins beside them. “Now this looks fabulous.”
He followed her back to room twenty-three. Suzy placed the tray on the bedside table with some flair. “Your dessert, madam.”
Mrs. Stone glanced at it then shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
“We’ll leave it for later in case you change your mind.” Suzy passed a plate of pie to the sister along with a fork. “If you need anything else, I’ll be your waitress tonight.”
Will took a fork from her. “Thank you, Suzy.”
Mr. Stone attempted a smile, but it didn’t quite work. She had a feeling he wasn’t used to it. She grinned instead. “You betcha. Enjoy.”
She whistled as she waltzed out of the room. Mrs. Stone might prove to be an interesting case.
And seeing Mr. Stone again might not be so bad either.
As long as they didn’t discuss Mama’s house.
* * *
AFTER AN HOUR of short answers and cold silence, Will sighed and rose to his feet. His backside was getting numb from all this sitting anyway. He turned to his mom. “Visiting hours are ending, Ma. Do you need us to bring anything from home?”
Silence.
Tori approached the bed and put her hand on their mom’s, who snapped it away. His sister gestured at Will, probably hoping he could fix this. Just like he fixed everything else. But remembering Miss Bylin’s...Suzy’s advice, he overlooked the slight. “Well, if you think of anything, you have both of our cell phone numbers.”
He kissed his mother’s cheek then waited as Tori did the same. He then put his arm around his sister. “We’ll stop by tomorrow.”
“Don’t bother.”
Tori gasped, but Will nodded. “Lovey.”
“Lovey,” Tori echoed.
Nothing back. He pulled his sister from the room.
Tori began crying as their mother’s door shut behind them. He tugged her down the hall and stopped at the nurses’ station. Suzy popped her head up at their approach and smiled. “How’s my new friend?”
He winced. “The same. Angry. You’ll check on her?”
“It’s my job, Mr. Stone. But I’ll peek in her room a couple extra times.” She came around and gave his sister a tissue, then a hug. “I know this is hard, but it will get easier.” She handed them each a post-it note with a handwritten phone number and smiley face. “This is my cell phone number. Call me anytime. Seriously.”
Tori hugged Suzy. “You’re an angel.”
“You and your family calling me names. Trust me, I’m no angel.” She looked up at Will. “Mr. Stone knows that all too well.”
Tori seemed confused, a question in her eyes. He thrust his hand out at Suzy. “Please call me Will. It’s only fair after putting up with my mother.”
She waved it off. “I took an oath to be there for all my patients. But I especially look out for the new ones.” She eyed the clock. “I’d better go check on your mom. She probably misses you already.”
Tori looked back at the room. “Maybe I should go talk to her. Maybe she’ll listen to me.”
Suzy looked at her. “What’s your name?”
“Tori.”
Suzy put her arm around the woman’s shoulders. “Tori, you’ve done all you can do today. Going back in there right now will only make all of you feel worse. I mean it when I say give her a chance to miss you, to look forward to seeing you again.”
Will nodded. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” Suzy peered into Tori’s face. “This isn’t a sprint, but a marathon. You’re going to need all the rest you can get, so enjoy your evening. Go home. Watch some TV. Read a book. Go to bed early. And don’t worry about your mom. She’s in good hands.”
Tori turned into Suzy and hugged her again. “Thanks.”
Will took Tori from Suzy’s arms and helped his sister leave the nursing home. She took a few steps and looked back. Walked a few more, and glanced behind her a second time. When they reached his truck, she opened the passenger side door but stared back at the home. “Are we doing the right thing?”
“You heard Suzy. And I don’t think she would steer us wrong.”
Tori climbed into the pickup truck and fastened her seat belt. “I know you’re right. But I hate leaving her like this.”
“We’ll be back tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.” He started the engine then turned to her. “Suzy said her attitude will improve in a few days.”
“Suzy, huh?” Tori wiped the corners of her eyes, then blew her nose. “You two seemed awfully cozy.”
“We talked when we got the pie and coffee.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t exactly call it cozy. But she did help explain things.”
“Well, I like her.” She grabbed a new tissue. “She seems so nice.”
She did. And not like the flighty woman he’d met only days ago. “She’s good at her job. And you can see that she’s good with people.”
“I feel better knowing that she’s watching out for mom.”
“I do too.” Despite her house and the disaster in the yard, she appeared competent. Friendly. And he wouldn’t have to worry about his mom.
At least not about the nursing care she was receiving.
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