Sweet Forty-Two by Andrea Randall

Author:Andrea Randall [Randall, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00H8APQ68
Published: 2013-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

I remained quiet for the rest of my shift. Head down when behind the bar, smile up when dealing with customers. Lissa didn’t try to smooth over our earlier conversation. Not that she had any apologizing to do, but she knew well enough to leave me alone for the rest of the evening.

When I got into my car, and onto the highway, I had about fifteen minutes to make a decision on which exit to take. Home, to my quiet and comfortable bed, or another twenty minutes north to anywhere but comfort. After a few minutes of indecision, I realized I couldn’t bail on her for the third night.

The staff at Breezy Pointe was beyond accommodating to our situation, and I felt bad when I didn’t use it as set up. Visiting hours were pretty strict and did not encompass three in the morning. But, given I’d be an orphan when she decided she couldn’t take it anymore, they’d always let me work on a schedule with them. Okay, maybe I wasn’t a minor anymore, as I was when I first came out here and started my twilight visits a few times a year, so orphan wasn’t a technical term.

Especially since half of the time I already felt like one.

There was a woman at the front desk I’d only seen a few times before, so it took me a few extra minutes to get back to my mother’s unit. As usual, Daniel was waiting to check me in and put my belongings behind the nurses’ station.

“She’s gonna be pissed,” he mumbled with a slight snicker.

“Did you just curse?” I gasped and dramatically put my hand to my chest.

He shook his head as we approached her door. “You just can’t take no for an answer, can you?”

Actually, I could. I’d heard that word for most of my life. No, things can’t be normal. No, you and Daddy can’t come with me to California. No, I can’t promise you this won’t happen to you, too. Still, for Daniel, I laughed at his attempt at camaraderie.

“I told you not to come here,” my mother’s voice, graciously playful with a hint of discipline, rang from the other side of the door before I even entered.

“Mama,” I sighed, “you’re awake, so am I—what’s the big deal.”

“The big deal, young lady, is you don’t have a life.”

Amanda Hall seemed back to her old self, whatever that meant, and had been getting there over the course of the last several days. She sat on the edge of the bed. No wheelchair, a real smile, and making eye contact with me.

Daniel dutifully stood in the doorway as I walked over to the bed and took a seat next to my mother, laying my head on her shoulder. “You’re my life, Mom.”

“No, Georgia. You’re mine. I demand you go get one.” She nudged my shoulder. “Plus, I’m leaving here as soon as the administrative cats crawl into the office in a few hours.”

Out of habit, when she said something

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