Family Dynamics: Pam of Babylon Book #5 by Jenkins Suzanne

Author:Jenkins, Suzanne [Jenkins, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781623467807
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2012-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Bernice Smith was having a lucid day. The stimulation of being with so many people at the assisted-living center proved to be a positive move. She needed little in the way of help when dressing or eating. But with increasing lucidity came anger and resentment toward her daughter-in-law. The nursing staff thought Pam to be as patient as a saint and as generous as she could be. Bernice had regular visits from Pam and Nelda, and once or twice a week, a driver would pick her up at her Fifth Avenue address and deliver her to Nelda and Steve’s trendy neighborhood in Greenwich Village for an evening of drinking and cards.

But this morning, she wanted to be out by herself. Before her son Jack died, she’d walk around her Upper West Side neighborhood to shop or have lunch, often running into him. Bernice always thought it was serendipity, but Jack planned these spur-of-the-moment meetings to surprise her. And today, she wanted that old feeling back—of freedom, the excitement of doing something she enjoyed. After breakfast, she opened her purse and got her wallet out. Pam gave her an allowance. Although the house rules were that no resident was supposed to have more than ten dollars, Bernice counted ninety-three. She left the building without signing out at the front desk, which was standard practice. She walked down Fifth Avenue toward 66th Street, hoping to catch a cab across town. She wanted to be in her old neighborhood, near familiar places. She was hoping she’d find Jack there again, or at least his spirit.

She carefully stepped to the curb and put her hand out. A cab zoomed to her in seconds. She struggled to get the door open; it was amazing how much strength she’d lost in her hands. But she got in without trouble and was just getting seated when the driver sped off.

“Where to, señora?” he asked, looking in the rearview mirror.

“Columbus and Seventy-Ninth,” Bernice said. She sat back, looking out the window as they flew through the park. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, the cab was at the curb on the corner, just as she’d asked. She opened her wallet and took out bills, handing them to the driver. Getting the door open wasn’t as easy. While the driver waited impatiently for Bernice to get out of his cab, she scooted to the end of the seat and, holding on to the door and its side, tried pulling herself into a standing position.

“Knock yourself out, señor,” she said. The driver laughed but didn’t offer to help her. Finally successful, she brushed off her skirt and got out of his way. “Lowlife,” she whispered. Standing on the curb for a few moments turned into minutes as she attempted to get her bearings. Which way is the mansion? She walked up and down Columbus Avenue and saw a few familiar buildings; the area hadn’t changed much in the year she’d been gone. But there was no mansion.

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