I move to still her, holding her by the shoulders to keep her from moving too much and hurting herself any further.
“Mom, what happened?” The younger version of Ellyn goes to her knees at the side of the couch.
I step out of the way to give her some room.
“What are you doing here?” Ellyn asks.
“I was already flying down to surprise you. I finished my coursework early so that I could spend the week before Thanksgiving with you before returning to the city to finish my classes for the semester.
“I had my phone off during my flight. And only got the message that you were hurt once I landed. I came straight here.”
“Oh, baby,” Ellyn says, half-laughing. “I guess your mama’s the one full of surprises.” Ellyn holds up her injured wrist, dislodging the ice pack, which her daughter catches before it hits the floor.
“What on Earth happened?”
“Thought it was a good idea to take a shower without the mat and I slipped while getting out,” Ellyn explains.
“And who was it that left the message on my phone? It sounded like a man’s voice. I tried to call your phone. Was it the doctor?” Meghan asks.
Ellyn’s eyes move to me. I’ve stood silent, watching the two women interact since her daughter arrived.
Meghan looks up at me, her eyes swinging from her mom to me and back again.
“Oh,” she whispers. She shakes her head and rises to her feet. “Thank you so much for helping my mom.” She approaches with her hand extended.
I shake her hand before dropping mine to my side.
“You’re Mom’s neighbor, right? Mr. …” she draws out.
“Townsend. But call me Joel,” I grunt out.
Meghan immediately shakes her head. “Yes, that’s right. I remember we met when mom first moved in," she says. “But absolutely not. My mother would beat me if she heard me calling someone my senior by their first name.”
“Since when have I ever beat you?” Ellyn says from the couch.
“That time in fifth grade when you found out that I stole Mrs. Tomlinson’s pet frog.”
“I never beat you,” Ellyn tuts. “That was a little swat on the behind. Besides, who told you to go around stealing class pets?”
“It was a dare that I made in front of Marcus Smith. I couldn’t back out of it. You know how much I liked him.”
“Girl, if I didn’t have this bruised hip I would get up and give you another swat. Causing all of that drama over a little boy.” Ellyn rolls her eyes, and I have to force my lips together, suppressing the smirk that tries to emerge.
What in the world am I smirking about?
“Anyway …” Ellyn’s daughter turns to me, but whatever she’s about to say is stopped by the ringing of her cell phone. “Hey, Shanice. Yeah, I’m with Mom. Here.”
She lowers the phone from her ear. “I called Shanice on my way from the airport and left a voicemail. Talk to her.” She hands her mother the phone.
“Shanice, baby. I—” It sounds like the woman on the other end of the phone cuts her off. “I’m fine.”
A pause.
“Yes. I swear. Just a little tumble in the bathroom.”
“Mr. Townsend.”
I recenter my focus on Meghan, not even realizing that I’d gotten caught up watching Ellyn explain to, who I presume, is her other daughter, what happened.
