“Lady, I got wine, beer, frozen drinks, or on the rocks. I don’t do all the other stuff.”
“Lovely. A frozen whatever that pink stuff is,” she said pointing to the machine.
“Great. A frozen guava margarita.”
“Sounds disgusting,” smirked Alden. “But I’m sure you’ll manage downing it.”
“Do you have my order?” she asked quietly, crossing her legs in the ridiculous Yves Saint Laurent suit. Eighty degrees outside, they were sitting at a beach bar and his mother arrived in a nine-thousand-dollar suit. Plus the two-thousand-dollar pumps.
“Mother, in case you’ve forgotten, I don’t work in the hospital any longer. I’m trying but without a license it’s a bit difficult. I may have to go to another country. Somewhere small and needing assistance,” he frowned.
“That’s a horrible thought,” she said sipping the frozen concoction. She raised her brows, licking her lips. “Not as bad as I expected.”
“Mother, I need money.”
“Yes, dear. I know. Lawrence is being very tight with the purse strings right now and my ladies group is becoming more and more demanding. They need their medications.”
“It’s not medication for them, mother. It’s recreational drugs.”
She slammed her hand on the wooden bar and everyone in the place jumped. Calmly, she brushed back an imaginary stray strand of hair and smiled at the observers.
“I am well aware of what it is I’m asking for,” she said quietly. “As you can tell from my unusual outburst, I’m in need of assistance as well. These women pay you very good money to get what they need. Many are in pain.”
“They’re not in pain, mother, they’re trying to kill their husbands. What is this number five or six for Mrs. Wallace? And poor Lawrence, I know he’s your fourth. Has he been feeling ill lately?”
“Watch your tone young man. Lawrence is a sickly man and he’s nearly eighty, or maybe older. I don’t know, I haven’t been keeping track. Anyway, he doesn’t have long in this world.”
“Not if you have any say in the matter,” said Alden. She gripped his arm, digging her claws into his flesh.
“I need some assistance,” she said with a clenched jaw. “Desperately.”
“I’m working on it.” They sat for a while in silence as she sipped her drink, her shaking hands finally beginning to settle thanks to the alcohol. “I’ve found the woman. She’s working at a small hospital in the middle of nowhere in south Louisiana.”
“Well, then. Take care of that matter.”
“It’s not that easy. The hospital is well guarded and it’s surrounded by gates and security walls. It must be a military hospital or something secret.”
“She has to leave there sooner or later. If she’s dead, there’s no one to testify against you at the final hearings. She could die of an accidental overdose and the whole thing turns on her, proving it was her that took the items.”
He stared at the woman, shaking his head. She was something else.
“You can’t even say it, can you? You refuse to say the word drugs. It’s supply, product, items. Anything but drugs. It’s what they are mother. Drugs. You and your ladies group are buying drugs. Illegally.”
“Shut your mouth!” she seethed looking around them.
“There’s no one here that gives a damn about you and your country club addicts, mother.”
“You would think you’d be more willing to help the woman that sacrificed her youth for you, so that you could go to medical school.”
“You were twenty-two and chose to marry a man thirty years your senior because he was rich and gave you whatever you wanted. Don’t blame me for that shit. You didn’t tell him you were six weeks pregnant. Thank God I was a tiny baby.”
“He was a monster,” she said staring at the water.
“Why? Because he refused to give you whatever you wanted all the time? He was a good man and good father to me. But that didn’t matter to you. You wanted more. You found someone with a bigger house, better car, bigger bank account. Then, we were moving on. Five years later, we moved again.
“You’re never satisfied mother. That’s why we’re in this predicament. The drugs I was giving you weren’t enough. You wanted more. Stronger. Faster. Better. You and all your little old lady friends.”
She stood dumping the ice-cold drink in his lap. He just laughed, shaking his head.
