Things We Surrender by Heidi Hostetter

Author:Heidi Hostetter [Hostetter, Heidi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9961337-4-6
Publisher: Tall Cedar Press

Chapter 19

It was late when Marcy arrived home, too late to meet the new health aide. She’d returned to work after Jenna’s party and lost track of time. This new agency had assured her that Eudora would be well taken care of, that Flora was one of their best, and that seemed to be true this time—the dishes were done, and the kitchen was in order. Maybe this one would work out.

Marcy gathered her things from the passenger seat of her car and headed for the front door. Except for the light in the kitchen window, the house was dark. Not a good sign; that meant Eudora had gone to bed early again and that was never good.

Slipping the key in the lock, she entered the house and kicked off her shoes, her mind still on her work. She wasn’t able to find anything obviously wrong with the closing documents so maybe she was just being overly cautious. Maybe she could have joined Cecily and Donna at the River Rock after all. It had been so long since she’d been anywhere but work or home.

“Long day?”

Startled, Marcy turned toward the voice. Joanna sat at the kitchen table, her expression unreadable.

“Not at all. I’m fine.” Dropping her keys into the ceramic bowl on the table, Marcy moved past Joanna, too exhausted to argue. She pulled a container of peach yogurt from the refrigerator and a spoon from the drawer.

“We need to talk about Eudora.”

“What about her?” Marcy peeled the foil top from the yogurt container.

“What kind of people did you hire to watch Gram?”

“They don’t exactly watch her, Joanna—they’re not babysitters. They’re certified.”

“Have you ever met one of them? One of the aides the agency sends?”

Marcy gaped at her sister. “Of course, I’ve met them—”

“The one who was here today, for instance,” Joanna continued as if Marcy hadn’t spoken, and it was irritating. “Have you met Flora?”

Marcy bristled. “If you have something to say, Joanna, just say it. I’m too tired for games.”

In the beginning, Marcy had made a point to interview every aide before they entered the house. But Eudora had never been more than distantly polite to any of them, so it didn’t seem to matter who the agency sent. Eventually, Marcy had stopped trying so hard to replace Letty and had turned her focus back to work, to problems that were solvable.

“Where is Gram now? Asleep?” Marcy hated having to ask; hated that Joanna knew something that Marcy didn’t.

“Yes.”

“It’s a little early for that.” Unless she fired another health worker and had gone to her room in protest. She’d done that before. Marcy turned her attention to an incoming text. She’d left Pete and Skip at the office, working on updated numbers for the Meeting Street property, but they should have left just after she did. If they were still there, something was wrong.

“We had a rough afternoon. Gram was upset—” Joanna began.

Marcy heard only a little of what her sister was saying. Instead, she punched in the password for her phone and pulled up Pete’s text: The estimate for new wiring for QS is finished.

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