by Sandra Alex
“Don’t sweat it. We haven’t started anything.” I say, as Greg approaches, slapping his palm into Daniel’s in hello.
“What up, my brotha.” Greg says, which makes Daniel smile in a quirky fashion, which I can’t help but think is very sexy.
“Greg. I’m not a ‘brotha’ kind of guy. I don’t even listen to rap, man.” He chuckles.
“Sorry, man. I’ll lay off the lingo.” Greg says, as Heather walks over to Daniel.
“Hi, remember me?” she sticks her hand out for Daniel to shake.
“Barely. I don’t remember a lot from that night, but your face looks vaguely familiar.” Daniel jokes, trying to make light of the situation. I give her an elbow in the ribs, and she gives me a disapproving look.
“Well, I remember you, and I’m sure that Kayla here does, too.” She teases.
I lower my head to her. “Heather, do you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen, please?” my tone is only slightly warning.
“Sure.” She shrugs. I grab her arm while Daniel removes his shoes and joins the others.
“What the hell is your problem?” I hiss. “Why are you making such an ass out of me?”
“I’m not.” She denies. “What else am I supposed to say to him? I can’t help it…he’s so hot.”
“Well, control yourself. My god!” I run a hand through my hair in exasperation. “I’ve never known you to behave so…inappropriately.”
“Sorry. I’ll cool it.” she says, lowering her head. Daniel comes toward us, holding his phone.
“Sorry, let’s exchange numbers now, before we get into it and I forget.”
“Sure.” I rattle off my number and he rattles off his, as I grab my phone from my back pocket. As he stores my number in his phone, I can’t help but look at his eyelashes, swept down onto his cheeks, while his eyes are focused downward onto his phone. It brings me back to the dream I had about him this morning, and I shake it off quickly.
“Thanks.” He says with a quick nod as he places his phone in his back pocket. Daniel is wearing blue jeans and a blue golf shirt that brings out his eyes. His dark brown hair is softly swept on his forehead, kept shorter in the back. I notice it moves when his head moves; it’s kind of sexy. I can see why Heather is going all batty around him. “What’s that over there?” Daniel says, eying the plate of cake behind me.
I giggle. “Oh, it’s Keto cake. Wanna try some?”
His look is hesitant; like when your mother tells you to try this mush, that it’s good for you. “What do you mean ‘Keto’?”
Greg overhears. “It’s delicious. Try it.”
Daniel lifts a brow. “Okay. You twisted my arm.”
“I’ll have a piece now, too, since you’re cutting it anyway.” Heather says.
After we eat cake and set our goals and timelines for the project for the week, we finish eating the food and chat comfortably together. “You guys wanna play some cards or something?” Heather says as we clear the empty food trays off the table.
“Sure, that sounds good.” Daniel shrugs. “I sure as hell don’t want to go home to my brother.”
“Come on. Is he really that bad?” I ask.
Daniel looks at me and gives me a tight smile. “I suppose he’s not so bad. I’m just so used to living alone that he annoys me to no end.”
“Well, then maybe send him over here. I can’t get used to living alone. I can hear snails crawl at night.”
He lifts a hand. “Believe me, I’m not sending him over here. He’ll be all over you in a flash.”
“Really?”
He scoffs. “Really. He’s a hormone with legs.”
We cut the deck of cards and begin playing a game of Crazy Eights, Heather’s pick. “Okay. Embarrassing confession here.” I lift my hand in the air as if we’re in class.
Everyone’s eyes are on me. “I don’t remember how to play.”
Daniel, who is sitting next to me, scooches closer. “How about we play an open-handed round and I’ll coach.”
Heather raises a brow at me, and I pinch my brows together in a disapproving look. Daniel’s shoulder is touching mine as Greg lays down his first card. “You know what to do?” his gaze slides to my hand. I point to a card and he shakes his head no. Just as I’m about to question him, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
“Shit. I’ve gotta take this.” I say, seeing that it’s my mom. Lifting from the table, I take the call in the hallway, towards the bedrooms and bathroom. “Mom?” I answer.
“Kayla? Kayla, there’s a new nurse here. She’s not letting me take my pills when I’m supposed to.”
Dr. Greenwood didn’t indicate to me that her medication schedule had changed. Her chart hasn’t changed in a couple of months. I’m confused and worried. “Mom, I’ll be right there.”
“Okay, Kayla. Thanks, dear.” I scurry back into the living room and look in the driveway, kicking myself for not having the foresight to have my guests leave space so I can leave in a hurry if needed. Or in this case, when needed. It seems my mother’s health issues have become more and more prominent these days. “Guys, I’ve got to head over to see my mom. My car’s blocked.” I can’t hide the panic in my voice.
“My car’s on the street.” Daniel says. “I can take you.”
I don’t even blink. “Heather? Do you mind staying here? I shouldn’t be too long. It’s just something to do with her medication.”
Heather nods once. “Sure. Go ahead. Take your time. Tell your mom I say hi.”
“Thanks.” I say, stuffing my feet into my shoes. Daniel is doing the same. I look back at Heather and Greg and wonder what on earth they’re going to talk about while we’re gone. Or if Greg will stick around even. Poor Heather. I feel guilty leaving.
But the guilt soon melts away…
Chapter 8
Daniel
Got to admit it was fun hanging around at Kayla’s house. Until she received the urgent call from her mother. I’m not sure how urgent it is until I see her sitting bolt upright in the passenger seat while I’m driving. “Relax,” I say, gently pushing her back into the seat. “Everything’s going to be fine. What’s going on with your mom?”
“Something to do with her medication.” She says quickly. “It’s a new nurse, mom says. And she won’t give her the meds on time. Mom’s blind, so even if she did request to see her chart, to check if the doctor had made any changes, a lot of good it would do. She’s helpless when it comes to things like this. I regret giving her that damn watch with the timer, but she insisted.”
“Okay, okay. Easy.” I chuckle. “If it wasn’t the home calling, it can’t be that bad, right?” I stroke her arm with my index finger as I drive. Her skin is taught like leather. She’s a bag of nerves. If I wasn’t driving, I’d pull over and massage the knots out of her neck.
She stares at her fingers in contemplation. “You’re right. It can’t be that bad. And at least this time she wasn’t calling from the hospital.” She pauses. “Sometimes my mom calls a day after a crisis, all zen and everything, and other times, like this, she’s out of her wits, making mountains out of molehills. There is no in-between with her.”
“So, don’t gauge it by your mom. Call the home and get the story straight before flying off the deep end.” I say flatly.
Kayla nods once and looks at me. “You’re right.” A smile. “Thanks.” She reaches over to my hand, which is resting on my leg, and clasps it. “And thanks for bringing me. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, no problem. It’s the least I can do for you holding that shindig at your place. And don’t think I won’t argue if you tell me I don’t have to stay and help clean up after.”
“I won’t. But I warn you; you’ll have to strong arm Heather. She’s a clean freak. In fact, most likely she’ll have the place spotless before we get back.”
“I feel kind of bad leaving her there with Greg and the rest of the gang. I was going to offer to take him home in a bit.”
“Oh, you should have taken him, and th
en Heather could have taken me.”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say.” I smirk. “It’s okay. At least this way I can calm you down before you go class A freaky on the new nurse.”
She snuffles a laugh. “Be prepared for my mom. I should warn you that she’s been on me to meet up with someone. I’ve only been divorced a month…and that’s long enough…for her.”
I wince. “Ouch. She didn’t like the ex I take it.”
“Of course I find out now…ten years after the fact…but no, she didn’t like him.”
I look at her while we’re stopped at a light. “Do you want to talk about this?”
A shrug. “I suppose I have to some time.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I grip the steering wheel. “Start with the low-down. How did the marriage fail?”
“I wanted to go back to school. The deal was that I could once the mortgage was paid. His uncle died and left an inheritance, Nick applied it against the mortgage.” She pauses and purses her lips together. “You can figure out the rest.”
I nod and then look at her. “So, he’s the dream-crusher.”
“In more ways than one.”
“What else didn’t he want you to have?”
“Kids, I suppose. We never could conceive but he refused to have either of us checked out.” She tells me a funny story about how her mom insists she and her dad got pregnant with Kayla from sharing soap. “Your mom sounds cool.”
“Well, you’re about to find out.” She says as we pull up to the parking lot. I’m glad that she seems more at ease. To make sure she stays relaxed, I place my hand at the small of her back and give it a little rub. She looks at me and smiles. The golden glint in her hazel eyes is almost mesmerizing. I smile back at her as I open the door and ease her inside.
Following her to the reception desk, I stay by her side, resisting the urge to put my hand on her back. It’s weird. I feel more empathy for her than I’ve felt for anyone in a while. When we reach the desk, I hang back a bit, not wanting to intrude. “I’m here about Margaret White. She called and said that there was a problem with her medication.” The lady behind the counter is older, with a pair of thick, dark glasses hanging from a metal chain around her neck.
“I wasn’t aware of any issue but let me check her file. Are you a family member?” she asks kindly.
“I’m Kayla White, her daughter.”
The nurse goes into a room behind the counter for a moment, and returns, holding a file. She peruses it for a moment, pulling her glasses up onto her face from her chest, and then looks up at Kayla. “No, ma’am. It looks like everything is okay. She took her medicine on time. There aren’t any issues here.”
Relief washes over Kayla’s face, and I take a step closer to her, placing my hand on her back.
“She’s probably confused because of the new nurse. She’s blind and it upsets her when new people come around sometimes.”
The nurse gives a warm smile. “That’s understandable. I was in there myself, administering her medication. She was a little nervous at first. I didn’t know she’d placed a call. I wish she’d told me. I would have called you and saved you a trip.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Is she awake?”
“Should be. I was only in there about five minutes ago. You can go on in.”
I look at Kayla after she thanks the nurse and walks towards a bank of rooms. “See? I told you everything would be fine.”
She looks at me and smiles. “I’ll listen to you next time.”
“You better.” I wink. We head into a room close to the entrance. Kayla knocks first.
“Mom?” she says softly.
“Kayla?” A voice answers. Her voice sounds much younger than I would expect. When I walk in, I’m flabbergasted. This woman does not look like an invalid. She’s sitting upright in bed, trim as her daughter, with the same frame and features, only about twenty-five years older. “Come on in, dear.”
“Hi, Mom.” Kayla says, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. “I brought my friend Daniel along. He’s in my class. We were just having a project meeting when you called.”
Margaret chuckles. “Oh, hi Daniel. I’m so sorry to interrupt your meeting. Kayla, why didn’t you say you were busy?” the woman’s head is pointed in her daughter’s direction, but her gaze is in space. Her eyes aren’t glazed over like most blind people. They’re still clear and colored; same color as Kayla’s. She sticks her hand out for me to shake. It’s warm and her grip is comfortable.
“That’s okay, Mrs. White. We were wrapped up anyway and just sitting around playing cards.” He pauses. “Are you feeling better?”
“I’m fine, Daniel.” She says, just as her breath becomes raspy. It’s like Kayla’s so used to that, as she grabs the oxygen cone off the side of the bed and drapes it around her mother’s face, sliding it over her ears. Kayla rubs her mother’s back and guides her into bed, propping the top portion of her bed up by pressing a button on a remote hanging from the same side as the oxygen mask. The room is small but homey, with a conversational cluster of furniture, including two metal chairs with plush backing, a round table, a dresser and a small armoire on wheels, the kind that zips up in the middle.
Kayla slides the movable night table over, so she can sit next to her mother. “So, what kind of project are you working on?” Margaret asks through the mask.
“It’s on the Keto diet.” I say to her, trying to make it sound more interesting than it is. I give her a brief explanation as to what it is, and she smiles.
“We’re meeting once a week to discuss our findings and put the project together.” Kayla adds. “At my house.”
Margaret’s head points towards Kayla. “Oh, you must be on cloud nine.” She giggles, and then she addresses me. “Kayla loves to host parties and things. As a child, our house was the official hangout for all the neighborhood kids. Luckily, they were all so well behaved it was never a problem.”
An alarm suddenly sounds, and Margaret closes her eyes.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s the panic alarm, love. And that’s exactly what it sounds like. Say a prayer.” Margaret explains.
Kayla takes a step towards me so I can hear her over the noise. “It means someone’s having a medical emergency and the ambulance has been dispatched.”
“You should go, dear.” Margaret says. “I’m sure Daniel doesn’t want to be around for this.”
“Daniel’s pre-med, Mom. It’s okay.” Kayla says, stroking her mother’s hand.
“Yeah, I’ve seen my fair share of trauma, Mrs. White. But thanks for your concern.”
When the alarm quiets, Kayla sits down again beside Margaret. “Mom, the nurse said that your medication is fine. So, you don’t need to worry, okay?”
“I guess I just didn’t realize the time, dear. I don’t like this new nurse. Something about her gives me the creeps.” She shudders.
“She seems fine to me, mom.” Kayla looks at me. “We should get back to the house. I’m sure they’re all waiting for us.”
“Okay.” I say to Kayla, and then I address Margaret. “Mrs. White, do you mind if I steal your daughter? Our meeting probably isn’t adjourned yet, and we left Heather in charge.”
“You can steal my daughter all you want, Daniel.” Margaret says proudly, and I see Kayla’s face turn a shade of red. She avoids eye contact with me, which I think is adorable.
“Okay. It was nice meeting you.” I say to her.
“It was a pleasure meeting you.” Margaret says, as Kayla kisses her cheek.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom.”
“Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you, too.”
“I hope to see you again soon, Daniel.” Margaret calls out to me as we leave.
“See you soon.” Is all I can think of to say.
When Kayla closes the door, she holds her breath and lets it out. “Oh my God…I’m sooo sorry about that.” She whispers.
I chuckle and speak softl
y. “That’s okay. Wait…what, exactly? Are you sorry about?”
“Normally my Mom isn’t a fan of new people, hence the visit tonight, but she seems to have really taken a liking to you.”
“I think she did it to get a rise out of you. It worked.” I tease.
An ambulance team has pulled into the reception area. We walk to the side to avoid getting in the way. “I think my Mom is starting to get a little paranoid as she gets on in years.”
“She looks great. I mean, definitely not what I expected.” I go ahead of her and open the entrance door.
“Thanks. This place is good for her, as much as nights like this kind of set her off. Overall, she’s better off here.”
“Absolutely. I’m lucky that my dad recovered well from his stroke. Plus, it’s the only health problem he has.”
“You are lucky.” Kayla agrees as I push the key fob and we enter my car.
“Thanks for bringing me here.” She says, giving me a tight smile. My eyes can’t help sliding down to her lips quickly. I avert my gaze back to her eyes in a flash, and I don’t think she notices.
Pushing the key into the ignition, I say. “No problem.” I pull out of the parking space and drive onto the road. “So, what happened with your ex-husband that night?”
“Nothing, really. He was just…shocked.” She answers honestly. “I suppose I would be, too.”
“Fair. What kind of relationship do you have with him now?”
“Through the grapevine I’ve heard that he has a girlfriend. We don’t speak at all if I can avoid it. As much as it was an amicable parting, neither of us really likes the other. The last year of our marriage was…terrible.”
“That bad, huh.” I say, wondering how much I should be prying into her past.
“What about you?” she asks. “Quid pro quo.”
I take a breath. I haven’t spoken on this level in a long time. “The last relationship I had was when I went into the military; before my second deployment. We did the long-distance thing for a while, but it didn’t pan out.”
“How long ago was that?”
“I don’t know…like…two or three years ago? My deployment was over just as my dad had his stroke. I came home to take care of him and my mom, and she was history by then.”