Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
There’s a bit of a shuffle as Mama hands the phone back to my aunt.
“Night, Bet,” Aunt Geneva calls before turning her attention to me. “Thank you. I hate to bother you.”
“Please don’t hesitate, Aunt G. Nothing’s more important. I’m just glad that trick still works. One day it may not.”
“I’m glad, too.” Aunt Geneva chuckles. “You do sound like Ma.”
“I do?” I ask ruefully.
“Yeah, she had a deep voice like yours. I can see how it calms Bet. Thinking Ma’s back.”
“Well, I hope she stays calm for the rest of the night.”
“She should. I’ll give her some tea in a bit.”
“Thank you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
We disconnect and I take a few seconds to compose myself. It always throws me, being mistaken for someone else in my mother’s past, usually my grandmother. It’s only happened a few times, but it makes me that much more desperate to spend as much time as I can with my mother while she still knows me.
“Everything okay?” Chapel asks, stepping close and laying a gentle hand on my arm. “Your mom?”
“Yeah.” I cover her hand with mine and offer a weary smile. “Got a little agitated.”
Zere and Maverick stand closer now, too, giving us space to breathe, but obviously in earshot. They probably heard everything.
“My mother,” I say, turning my head to catch their curious gazes. “She has Alzheimer’s.”
“Oh, Hen,” Zere gasps. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s fine.” I shrug. “I mean, it actually sucks, but it is what it is.”
“My grandfather had it,” Maverick adds softly, his brows bunched over the dark concern of his eyes.
“Had?” I ask, looking directly at him and bracing myself for the truth of the past tense that will find me eventually.
“He…” Maverick glances down for a second before looking back up to meet my eyes squarely. “He passed away.”
Of course. There is no reverse. No getting better. There is holding for a while and then there is getting worse. Those are the only two gears, and this disease eventually just runs your brain into a ditch, heedless of the lifelong memories plowed under its wheels.
“I think I’ll take a quick walk,” I manage, reaching to set my empty glass on the bar. I turn away, saying over my shoulder, “I’ll be back. Just need a sec.”
Without waiting for a response, I stride toward the nearly deserted dock. The bay looks serene as the sun sets. My feet speed up, taking me to the edge of the water in a few steps, in a matter of seconds. I stand there and let the slightest breeze caress my face. I fight back fresh tears and soothe myself by humming a hymn from better days.
CHAPTER 4
MAVERICK
Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned my grandfather.
It obviously upset Hendrix when I admitted that he’s gone now. The years from the time he was diagnosed until his body finally surrendered to the ravaging of his mind were some of the hardest my family experienced. My mother became his primary caregiver, and the burden was beyond what anyone should have to endure.
“I hate that for Hen,” Chapel says, resting her back and elbows on the bar and looking out over the crowd. “I hoped she’d get through the whole party without that happening.”
“Does her mom have a nurse or something?” Zere asks.
“Someone comes in to help when needed,” Chapel says. “But her aunt Geneva moved in a few months ago from Virginia. Hendrix goes home all the time. Her mom doesn’t want to go to a facility until it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Makes sense,” I say, nodding. “My grandfather stayed home until we had no other choice.”
“Hendrix would love for her mom to move to Atlanta.” Chapel sips her drink and her sympathetic gaze follows her friend down to the pier, “but she doesn’t want to leave the house that’s been her home for decades.”
“Well, being in familiar surroundings is good for them,” I agree. “Less disorienting than moving somewhere new.”
“You know a lot about this.” Zere frowns at me. “I don’t remember you talking about your grandfather having Alzheimer’s.”
I shrug. “I think I mentioned it once or twice, but he passed away before we met. I guess it just never came up much.”
“Hmmm.” Zere eyes me curiously like she’s wondering what other secrets I’ve kept hidden. It seems these days like she’s always trying to decode me; figure out what went wrong between us and where and how she missed it.
“Oh, my gosh,” Chapel squeaks, covering her mouth with one hand. “Is that Grip James over there?”
Zere nods, a grin denting her cheeks. “Yes. Did I forget to tell you he’s performing right before the fireworks?”
“Fireworks?” Chapel’s brows lift. “Y’all doing it big.”
“You want to meet him?” Zere tilts her head over to where Grip James, a popular rapper, and his wife, Bristol, stand by the pool.