“He has…a…life. I…won’t keep…him…here.” My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. I hadn’t told her about the plans Ryan and I had been making for me to go to Annandale with him.
My mother made a most unladylike sound and her entire face scrunched up. She leveled her gaze on me, silently daring me to dispute the words about to come out of her mouth. “Don’t be ridiculous, Estelle. You’re the most important person in Tanner’s world. He’d be happy to stay with you until the doctors say you’re ready to be fully independent again.”
“No,” Nana argued. “Let him…go.”
She definitely knew. I wasn’t sure how, but I also shouldn’t have been surprised. Nana didn’t miss a damn thing.
“This is the best solution, Estelle,” Mom explained. It was so nice of her to talk to me about the decision she’d apparently already made. “If you won’t allow Tanner to stay with you, we’ll have to look at an inpatient rehab facility. You don’t want that, do you?”
“Mom, you’re upsetting her,” I interrupted, not giving a damn if she decided to lash out at me for speaking out of turn. I wasn’t a child, and I wasn’t going to sit here and watch her treat Nana like one, either.
“Then tell her you’d be happy to stay with her.” Mom pressed her lips together and cocked her head to the side. She was playing dirty. To her, this was a way to have her two least favorite family members out of sight and out of mind. “I’m sure you can tell your boss you’ll need to take some time off to care for an ailing family member.”
“And how, exactly, do you expect me to take care of my responsibilities if I’m not working?” She liked to throw that word in my face often enough, it felt good to turn the tables on her.
“I’m sure we can help you.” She looked up at my dad. I followed her gaze and he offered me a silent apology with his eyes. “After all, we understand you wouldn’t be missing work because you’re irresponsible this time.”
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to keep from going the fuck off on her. Yes, I liked a good party as much as the next single guy, but I hadneverallowed that to affect my job performance. Of course, she’d never believe that because I was a total fuck up in her mind. And it was clear I wasn’tanoption for allowing Nana to go home, I wastheoption. If I refused, she’d have to go to the rehab facility and then she’d be miserable.
It sounded like my decision was made.
“I’ll do it.” I squeezed Nana’s hand, hoping like hell she wouldn’t keep arguing. This was a fight we weren’t going to win.
“Oh good. I knew you’d eventually do the right thing.” God, this woman was testing my patience. Dad’s fingers dug into my shoulder, and Jerry mimicked his position to my left. “I’ll go out and tell the nurses that we’ve sorted this out so they can start working on your discharge paperwork. Of course, Tanner will need a car so he can drive you to therapy. We can’t have him carting you around town on the bus.”
“He can…use…mine,” Nana pointed out. “Not…like…I can…drive.”
“Wonderful! See, I knew everything would work out,” Mom declared as she stood and smoothed the front of her skirt.
There was a collective sigh of relief as soon as she was out of the room, my dad following dutifully behind.
“I’m sorry about that,” Jerry apologized once it was down to just the three of us in the room. “I offered to take a leave of absence to help out, but you know how Lillian can be.”
“Yeah, sadly I do.” Nana looked more broken now than she had since the first day in the hospital. She hated needing others to take care of her. And from the sounds of it, she felt like she was holding me back from what I wanted to do. She was, but I’d never tell her that. Besides, until my mother had forced my hand, I was conflicted about whether I should tell Ryan I needed more time. I rose and bent down to kiss Nana’s cheek. “It’s fine, Nana. You’ll have more fun with me there, than you would if you had to deal with her.”
“I’d kick…her…out. Pushy…bitch.” The corner of Nana’s mouth curled up slightly. “I’m…sorry…Tanner.”
“Don’t you dare apologize to me. Really, it’s fine. Ryan will understand,” I promised her. And he would, because he was the best boyfriend and Daddy in the world.
* * *
Mom wasnone too pleased when Ryan showed up at the hospital early that afternoon. She thought she would still get to control everything, but now that she’d offered me up to move in with Nana until she could be on her own, Ryan was taking the lead. “Lillian, I’m sure you have other things you need to do today. We can make sure Nana gets home and is resting comfortably.”
Nana reached out, beckoning Ryan closer. She took his hand and smiled. “You’re…a good…man. I’m…sorry…I…ruined your…trip.”
“Don’t be silly, Nana,” Ryan scoffed, bending down to kiss her cheek. “I’m glad I was here. You need a sweet ride to spring you out of this joint. And this will give me a chance to make sure Tanner has meals he can heat up for the two of you after I have to go home.”
“The doctor will be in shortly to discuss her discharge orders.” Mom stiffened, obviously annoyed that she was being dismissed. “We need to find out what the therapy schedule will be and when her follow-up appointments are.”
“And I’m sure Tanner will relay those to you,” Ryan pointed out.
Dad and Jerry were already down at the nurses’ station, finding out what the plan was. They were both exhausted, both from their mom’s health issues and from dealing with my mother. I’d overheard them talking to Ryan in the hall, and nearly cried when I heard my dad tell Ryan he was happy for us. It would have been nicer if he’d said it to me, but I wasn’t going to be picky at this point. It meant the world to me that Dad accepted us now that he knew Deegan was supportive.
“Once the doctor releases Nana, I’ll make sure she and Tanner get to the house, and then I’m going to see if they need groceries or anything else,” Ryan explained. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Well, I suppose it makes me feel better knowing you’ll be here to help them for a couple of days at least. I’m sure you’ll have to get home soon, too.”
Sadly, she wasn’t wrong. He had more meetings coming up for the club and other deals he was working on that he needed to be home to oversee. While I wouldn’t be with him, at least this time I’d have Nana to keep me from missing him too much.
