Page 17

So, I nod and smile at Prince. “Thanks. Dinner sounds good.”

Mike steps on my foot again. Hard. This time I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an accident.

CHAPTER FIVE

Michael

“Knock knock.”

My mother looks up from her crossword, and her eyes brighten. “Baby!”

Her hands go out as if she might come over and hug me, but these days she hardly gets out of the wheelchair, which is a shame. She’s dressed beautifully today, in cozy-looking pants and a rust-colored sweater that offsets her glowing brown skin. Hair and makeup look flawless. My mother is still lovely, but her once full life isn’t the same now that she’s here.

“I hope you brought me chocolate,” she says. “They don’t let me have anything fun to eat in here.”

“Now, I know that’s a lie.” This place isn’t cheap, and when you pay for the good facility you get the good service, including the facility dietitian calling me weekly to approve my mother’s meal plans.

Still, I drop a small box of truffles onto the table at her elbow. “Orange and dark chocolate. Your favorite.”

“This is why you’re my favorite son.” She lifts the box and gives it a smile. “I’ll have one now and save the rest for later.”

“I’m your only son.” It’s an old joke from when my sister was alive. We both pretend it’s still funny.

“Well.” My mom puts the crossword book down. “Tell me what’s been going on with you.”

Pulling up another chair from the small dining table in the corner, I start. “Wait until you hear about this guy in my car last week…”

My rideshare gig gives me an endless supply of stories to tell my mother. Her body may not be strong anymore, but her mind and sense of humor are still sharp.

Today I’m making her laugh with the story of a man I picked up at one of the big Belle Argo beach mansions, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and a winter scarf.

“…honestly, I was afraid he was on something, the way he kept trying to lick the window.”

She cackles. “Did you ask about the scarf?”

“He said it was a gift from his sister. She’d made it herself.”

She shakes her head. “Well, I’ve heard some wild things from those uber-wealthy folks over the years. Lord knows what that poor man got himself into.”

Mom used to be a receptionist at Belle Argo’s private marina. Those people were so arrogant they’d say all sorts of things right in front of her. As if she couldn’t hear them.

When Dad died, and later when she had her stroke and had to quit, none of them even sent flowers.

“So. Tell me how my grandbaby’s doing.”

I pull out my camera and scroll, showing off Ella’s latest ballet recital and her enjoying a treat at the ice cream stand a friend and former escort recently opened. I took Ella there while Dean was on a client date. My camera roll also documents various trips with Ella to the pool, the beach, the park, and the zoo. The giraffes are her favorite.

“She was a mouse in The Nutcracker,” I say proudly. Dean may be on my shit list, but my niece is amazing. All the best parts of my sister.

“Tell me you took a video.”

“Of course.” I’m cueing it up when there’s a knock on the frame of the open room door.

“Hey, man. How’s it going?” My friend Simon stands in the doorway, wearing scrubs covered in pink flamingos.

“Good, good. We didn’t get to talk at brunch. You missing your old job?” Simon left escorting after getting his nursing degree.

“Not one bit.” He turns to my mom. “Andrea, how’s my favorite girl?”