Along Came Us (Man Enough) by Nicole McLaughlin

Author:Nicole McLaughlin [McLaughlin, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2017-06-26T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

The next morning, Lia got up early so she could head to Halcyon Manor Nursing Home. She had a love-hate relationship with the facility. On one hand, they cared for her mother, allowing Lia to focus on Caleb, and of course herself. But on the other, she had a lot of resentment for the woman who raised her, and now that was only compounded by the fact that her existence had become a third job for Lia.

She knew guilt was normal when a person put their parent into long-term nursing care, but Lia still wasn’t sure if her guilt outweighed her anger in regard to her mother. The anger deepened the guilt, and vice versa. But here she was, stepping in the front door just like she’d done three times a week—at least—for the past several years.

“Morning, Elaine,” Lia said quietly to the older woman working the welcome desk.

“Hello, Lia. It’s a beautiful morning, isn’t it?” Elaine was always chipper, and Lia couldn’t help but wonder how a woman over seventy could enjoy working in a place that was just waiting for her to join its list of residents.

“It is. I love fall,” Lia said, as she walked toward the double doors that would lead her to her mother’s room.

Pushing them open, she held her breath for a long moment, hoping to ease the wave of nursing-home smell that always washed over her.

“Hi, Lia.” The facilities head administrator stopped her in the hallway.

“Hey, Kelly.” As Lia continued, she heard Kelly call her name again.

“Could we chat real quick? It should only take a minute, but it’s pretty important.”

Worry bubbled up in her stomach and must have been visible on her face.

“Don’t worry. Your mother is just fine. It’s about her accommodations.”

“Oh . . . okay.” Lia turned and followed Kelly through a heavy wooden door and into a cozy office. She sat down in a chair and waited for the other woman to get settled.

“I’m going to get right to the point. Your mother received another strong complaint against her from a roommate. We had to move her again.”

Lia sighed. Her mother was . . . a problem. She couldn’t talk or move well due to her stroke, so she was easily frustrated. That made her irritable, and she frequently took her anger out on her unfortunate roommates.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried talking to her so many times.”

Kelly gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know you have, and so have I. Unfortunately our options are limited this time. It’s the third complaint. The last family was so upset they contacted our board of directors. It caused them to read her file. And . . . well, they don’t think it makes sense to try a double occupancy again after so many complaints.”

Oh God. She could just strangle her mother. “Where is she now?” Lia asked. “And when did this happen?”

“We moved her yesterday. Into a private room.”

Lia’s shoulders sagged. “Can’t she just stay there?”

“I wish she could, because it would make things easier on all of us.

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