“Andie, you remember my friend Claire, right?” Jane said gesturing toward Claire.
“Of course. How are you?” The two women shook hands, and then Jane introduced Andie to Rob, who stood to greet her.
“It’s so nice of you guys to come and visit Mom,” Jane said.
Claire gave her a hug. “Of course. She’s like a second mother to me. Plus, I had some extra chocolate chip muffins.”
“We’ll let you visit with your mom alone.” Rob took Claire’s hand and led her from the room.
“Make sure you let Sadie Thompson know that Rob is my guy, and get back my sweater!” Addie yelled after them as they left.
Andie shot Jane a look of confusion. “Rob is her guy?”
Jane shrugged. “Sometimes Mom thinks so. We just let her think what she wants.”
“Isn’t Sadie Thompson the lady who has the big old house on the cliff? The oldest house in town?” Andie asked as she sat across from her mother and took her hand gently.
“Yep. She’s an old friend of Mom’s from when they were teens, remember?” Jane frowned. “I think they had some kind of falling out, but maybe not. Mom’s memory about recent events isn’t so great, but she remembers everything about when she was young.”
“What’s this about a stolen sweater, Mom?” Andie asked.
“Sweater?” Addie looked at Andie, her expression clouded, as if she didn’t recognize her or remember about the sweater. Then suddenly her expression cleared, and she reached out to touch her arm. “Andie,you came. It’s so nice of you.”
Jane’s heart almost broke seeing the looks on her sister’s and mother’s faces. She was glad her sister had come out. Obviously it was doing Addie good.
“Of course I came, Mom. Your room is great. Looks just like you wanted at Tides.”
“I do love it here at Tides,” Addie said.
Andie glanced at Jane. “It’s a great place.” Apparently, she agreed with just playing along.
“I’m going to go talk to the staff about some stuff and let you visit with Mom, okay?” Jane said.
Andie nodded and turned back to her mother. “Now, why don’t you tell me about the sweater?”
Andie was glad her mother was in a nice place, but she’d changed so much since she’d last seen her that it was a bit of a shock. The last time she’d been out to visit her mother, she’d been forgetful, but not like this. As she held her mother’s hand, she couldn’t help but notice how fragile the tiny bones and paper-thin skin were.
“What sweater, Bridgie?” Addie used the nickname she’d called her older sister, Andie’s Aunt Bridget. Bridget had died fifteen years ago, but Andie didn’t correct her.
“You said you lost a sweater.”
Addie nodded. “That’s right. My sea-green sweater. I didn’t lose it, though. That Sadie Thompson took it.”
“She did? Huh, I’ll have to see if I can get it back for you,” Andie said, scanning the room for a green sweater lying about and coming up empty. Maybe it was in the bureau or closet. She’d look later. Right now it felt good just to sit here and hold her mother’s hand.
Jane had done a good job. The room resembled their mother’s bedroom at Tall Pines but with a few modern updates. And the place was nice. Andie couldn’t have picked anything better herself. How was Jane paying for this? Hopefully she wasn’t using her own retirement savings.
Judging by the state of things at Tides, there wasn’t much money in the business. Her earlier comment about Tall Pines being expensive had raised her sister’s hackles, indicating that broaching the subject of how it was being financed wasn’t going to be easy. Andie would have to tread carefully on that, but if her sister needed financial help, she wanted to chip in. Not that she had a lot of money, but she could cut a bit here and save a bit there and maybe even dip into her own retirement savings.
“It was so good of you to come, dear,” Addie said, pulling Andie from her thoughts. Now her mother’s eyes were clear, and her smile had that sparkle Andie remembered. “How are things in New York?”
Suddenly her mother remembered who she was. Jane had said she had moments of clarity and moments of confusion. Andie would take the clarity when she could get it.
“Things are really good. I do love my job, and I’ve made a good life there.” Except for Doug. Her mother didn’t need to know about that, though. Getting involved with him had been a mistake, and one of the benefits of living away from home was that all your mistakes weren’t flaunted in front of the whole town.
Addie scowled. “Well, I suppose the bright lights in the big city are fine for a while, but I don’t think you’ve really made a life there. The city won’t give you what you really want. Your roots are here.”
Andie was shocked into silence. Her mother’s memory might be failing, but her perception skills were spot on.
