A Week's Worth by Thyme Lewis

Author:Thyme Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thyme Lewis
Published: 2023-01-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 32

W

hen they arrived at the second floor door, Mac asked his mom to punch in the code. She looked at him blankly, then pursed her lips. She pushed the keypad, and to his surprise, it went green and unlocked.

Sadie walked inside and went downstairs with her grocery bag. Mac set the hand spray on the ledge at the door and went to the kitchen to wash his hands. After that, he went to the bathroom and grabbed a pair of nail clippers, then returned to the living room and checked his phone.

No missed calls.

No texts.

Sadie stood at the edge of the living room looking at Mac, his back to her. “You expecting a call?”

“Kind of. Looks like we both are waiting for the phone to ring.”

“I appreciate what you said, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I wish Tristan would call.”

Mac took a deep breath. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

“No,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Remember what?”

Mac looked at her, then at the red painting on the wall. “I’m going to take a shower. Rinse off.”

“That sounds good. I’ll do the same.”

They parted ways. She went back downstairs, and he went around the corner, sat down, put his head in his hands and wept. His love conflicted with his mother’s inability to be disciplined on her own and take care of her health. The tears rolled down his cheeks and disappeared into the carpet. A few minutes passed, he gathered his thoughts, and showered. Then walked back downstairs toward his mother’s room wearing only a towel.

His phone chimed. He picked it up and opened the text app. It was his sister Nadine, her bright red hair and glasses leading the charge.

Before opening it, he scrolled to a series of alerts and hit the newest one. It read, “Highly contagious variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are on the rise in Los Angeles County. The new variants tend to spread faster, especially among African Americans and Latino Hispanic populations.” He frowned and continued reading: “Please stay vigilant. Los Angeles County is again requiring everyone to wear a mask when you are outdoors and indoors in all public settings. This has always been and continues to be the case at all hospital locations and medical facilities.”

Mac set the phone down and wished he’d not opened the news feed, then realized he’d forgotten to read his sister’s text and quickly picked the phone back up. It was a series of photos Nadine had taken. The series started with the front gate of his mom’s home and systematically went through the property like a garden tour. Everything was trimmed back and neat. The ground was swept and clean. The lemon tree was shapely and manicured. The garden was beautiful, unencumbered, and orderly. Then the front door was opened and looked inviting for the next photograph. Inside, Sadie’s studio paintings didn’t hang on the windows anymore. The glass was clean and unencumbered. The studio looked organized, orderly, and fresh.

Mac continued the photographic tour through the living room, kitchen, and into his mom’s bedroom.

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