Donnie opened his mouth to begin to argue, but I started talking before he could speak. “So, tell me about this Mandy person.”
“Oh, she’s darling! You will love her, absolutely love her!” Zephyra’s cheery voice instantly lightened the mood. “She’s adorable. She’s got these lovely blue eyes, and dark brown hair in this trendy layered bob. She is the sweetest, funniest thing you’ve ever seen. And she’s Pastor Bron’s daughter. His wife died a few years ago, so Mandy came down here with him so they wouldn’t have to be apart. She worked at the nursing home with Della until Della left to stay home with Blaire. She’s six years younger than Donnie, but she’s very mature for her age. As am I, of course. They hit it off immediately. I think we’ll hear wedding bells soon.”
She would have kept going without taking a breath if Donnie hadn’t cut her off. “Mandy is a very sweet girl, and we are taking things slow, seeing where they go. As you remember, Zephyra always puts the cart before the horse.”
“Oh pooh! You know I’m right!”
Sue smiled at me conspiratorially. “She really is a wonderful girl. They look so handsome together.”
“Well, I need to meet this girl. I can’t believe you held out on me like this, Donnie.”
“Oh please, you don’t write, you don’t call….” He smiled and winked at me as he said this, but I could feel a little of the hurt behind his words.
Ever filling the awkward pause, Zephyra rushed in a flurry. “You still haven’t heard about me.” She casually brushed off the sleeves of her pink sweater. “I, unlike the super twins here, have no intention of staying in this little dink of a town. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but I was born to be a big-city girl. Just like you!” Her grin broadened as she poked me in the side. “I am getting my master’s in special education at MSU. After that, I am going to move to Kansas City and teach. I will then marry a gorgeous doctor, or gorgeous football player, we’ll just have to see. Either way, I’ll shop at the Plaza every day and eat at Houston’s every night.” She brushed a long red curl that fell in her face behind her ear. “Of course, if that doesn’t work out, I can always move to Hollywood and get discovered.”
I laughed along with her. Her love of life was contagious.
Sue laughed, too, but somewhat more soberly. “I wish I thought she was kidding, but I know better.” She looked over at Della. “I hope you’re taking notes, dear. In twenty years, you’re going to have to go through the same thing with little Willow.”
“Oh pooh! She should be so lucky!” Zephyra blew a kiss to her sister.
Everyone continued to give Zephyra a hard time, and she wallowed in pure enjoyment at all the attention. When dessert was served, the conversation turned to me. I filled them in with a vastly abbreviated version. Zephyrahad endless questions about Jed. It was clear they were going to get along splendidly. They would more than likely be inseparable from the time he came down to join me. They were all fascinated by the stories I told them from my time working at the residential treatment center. Thankfully, I was able to use Mom’s stroke as the only reason I moved back, and I didn’t have to talk about all that transpired during my last few weeks in Denver.
When I started talking about my first two visits with Mom, Donnie interrupted me. “What do you mean she couldn’t talk to you?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean? You’ve seen her since her stroke. All she can do is growl.”
“All she’s done is growl at you?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Sue interjected, “Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry. I can’t believe she is doing this, now, of all times.”
“What? What’s she doing?”
Donnie grimaced at me. “She can talk. Granted, not quite as good as she could before, but she can. Who knows what she’s trying to prove? You know Rose.”
I sat there, stunned. I’m not even sure why I was stunned. Yes, I did know Rose, and I should not have expected anything different. I was sure she’d loved every second of growling at me and refusing to talk to me like a human being. “I just assumed she couldn’t. She looks so horrible. I just figured the stroke was worse than you had said.”
Sue reached out to me and placed her soft hand over mine. “No, dear. The stroke didn’t help, but it wasn’t really near as bad as it could have been. The doctors say she can most likely get back to the place where she used to be. Unfortunately, even that isn’t such a goodplace.” She fiddled with the tablecloth with her other hand and looked back to my eyes. “After you left, she started drinking even more, though it’s hard to believe that’s even possible. Her drinking has gotten worse and worse. She often doesn’t eat for days. I don’t think she had left her house for several months before her stroke.”
“I would go out every few days to check on her.” Donnie looked at me imploringly, as if to say he’d tried to take care of my mom. As if I could blame him for her condition when I hadn’t even spoken to her in over a decade. “I made sure she had food and washed her clothes. I tried to fix up her house. Her porch and roof are near disaster areas. The one time I started to fix the porch, she came out screaming and waving around that stupid rifle of hers. I didn’t go back for over a week. It was several weeks before she would even acknowledge my presence again.”
I felt something at my foot. I looked down, and the puppy was lying there, chewing on my pant leg. I bent down and picked him up. “Hi, Duncan. Whatcha doing, buddy?” I peeked over to the living room. Blaire had fallen asleep on the floor below her sister. “Not getting any attention, huh?” I sat him in my lap, where he promptly began chewing on my thumbnail. I looked at Donnie and then over to his mom. “What am I going to do, Sue? I don’t think I can deal with her again. Somehow, it’s worse now. I know what life’s like without her, and she just looks so horrible now. I can barely recognize her.”
Sue’s eyes had gotten misty. “I know, dear. I know.” She squeezed my hand. “She loves you in there somewhere. There is a reason for all this. There has to be. God will show you in His own time. You’ll just have to be strong. Depend on Him.”
I turned to Della. “Can’t you just take her into the nursing home?”
“Oh, Brooke,” Sue whispered in sadness.
Della met my gaze directly. “That is an option, of course. Although not simple. You know your mom wouldn’t go willingly. If you could show that she’s incapable of living on her own, then maybe. The choice will have to be yours.”
My choice. Of course. It would have to be my choice. The son she hadn’t seen or spoken to in so long was now in charge of her future. Perfect.
Twelve
Thenext morning, I went directly to Rose’s house. I had gone to bed angry, and I woke up even angrier. I felt somewhat ridiculous over how mad I was. It was stupid to be upset with someone when they were acting as they had always acted. Plus, it would only make Mom happy to see me angry. It would only give her more encouragement to try to be even worse. It was me I should be angry at. Maybe I had been gone so long that I was out of practice in dealing with her. When you expect her to try to screw you over and be cruel for pure enjoyment of it, it somehow didn’t really hurt anymore. I should have known that not even a stroke would cause my mother to change her disposition.
