“I’m just glad the community decided to do something like this. You know how hard it is to get somebody to do something for you when you get my age?” she asked.
“I hate to think about it. Just know that if you need me, all you have to do is call the number that I gave you.”
“You do more than enough. That ol’ sorry grandson of mine has the nerve to have my grocery delivered instead of taking the time out to take me grocery shopping. Don’t get me started on getting me to church.”
I helped Mrs. Gibbs into my truck and strapped her in before passing her cane to her. When I initially found that Cyrus owned a house thirty minutes away from me, I wasn’t sure what my intentions were. I really just went to see if my information was accurate.
When I went there and realized that it was his grandma’s house, I had to act fast. She asked if I was her ride to bingo, and I said yes. For the past four weeks, I had been taking her to bingo every Tuesday morning. I figured the least I could do was pick her brain for information while doing my civic duty.
So far, I couldn’t get an address on him. I knew how people in a certain age bracket loved to talk, so I figured I could get some information out of her by just letting her talk. According to Mrs. Evelyn Gibbs, Cyrus was in Georgia a lot but usually bounced from woman to woman when he was in the area.
He had a penthouse in Atlanta that he never stayed in and another spot somewhere on the West Coast. There was no set place where I could pin him down. Carteay was going to help with that. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t taking granny to bingo. I liked her. Once I was back in the truck, I started it up before turning to her.
“What church do you attend, Mrs. Gibbs?”
“I have a few that I like to go to, but my church home is First Baptist.”
“My mom goes to Beulah. She loves to bring people with her. Let me know if you want to join her one Sunday. She would love to have you.”
If I was going to kill her grandson in the near future, she would need a friend and someone to comfort her. My mom was perfect for that job. I likely wouldn’t be able to face her again once the deed was done. I didn’t like the idea of leaving her out here with no one, not that Cy was all that involved with her anyway, but still.
“I brought you something,” I said, reaching into my back seat when we made it to a stop sign.
“No, you didn’t,” Mrs. Gibbs said, grinning when she saw the pink boxes.
Her reaction made my smile grow. “Lizzie Mae ain’t the only one who can bring treats.”
“You are so sweet, baby. You didn’t have to bring donuts.”
“I wanted to, Mrs. Gibbs. I figured it would be a nice surprise for everybody.”
“It is, baby. Thank you,” she said, as we pulled up to the building.
I parked my truck in front of the door and got out to help Mrs. Gibbs get out. My nerves were shot after leaving Carteay asleep in my bed. Even if I didn’t really think she would leave, the thought was nagging at the back of my mind. I wanted to look at my app to make sure she was still in bed, but I didn’t have a camera in my bedroom.
Thankfully, she seemed to be exhausted. She had mostly been asleep since she’d been at my house. Still, I wanted to hurry back to take her something for lunch. I had a few stops to make before I went back home, so, hopefully, she would be good until then. I didn’t need her getting up and trying to walk around the house to find food. I knew her stubborn ass wouldn’t use her wheelchair.
I kept her in bed as long as I could. Having to leave the house meant not being able to control what she did. It was crazy howmuch I worried about her. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I wanted her to get better.
I wasn’t used to her being in pain. It didn’t help that she wouldn’t take anything for it. I understood her wanting to stop drinking, but a couple of over-the-counter pills wouldn’t hurt. As I helped Mrs. Gibbs out of my truck, I looked down and gave her the speech I’d given her the last couple of times I picked her up.
“Remember what I told you about that number. You call me if you need anything at all.”
“You remember what I told you about that young lady,” she said, wagging her finger.
“I’m working on it. I’m just nervous about letting her back in.”
“Be scared all you want to, baby. That’s natural. That don’t mean give up. If you love her, fight for her. Love is a beautiful song, but it’s hell to sing.”
Mrs. Gibbs didn’t even know that my girl was a singer, but she was spot-on. I was actively figuring out how to keep her in my life once I ended Cyrus’s life. I wasn’t coming up with anything aside from never telling her. Something about that didn’t feel right.
“Tell me about it.” I chuckled.
“But never forget that any love worth having is worth fighting for.”
“I won’t.” I nodded.
“Come on in and set up the donuts. I want to make ol’ Lizzie Mae and her buddies jealous. Last week, she asked if you were my grandson, and I told her you were a special friend.”
