Blissfully Blindsided

by Robin Alexander

  Ronnie smiled. “That was very comforting, butthole. Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  “Don’t let me go yet.” Ronnie kept a firm hold on Blaze. “Who’re you going out with?”

  “Her name is Caleigh Breaux. She’s Dean and Edie’s granddaughter, and she just moved here. I like her a lot already. She’s fun and one of those people I feel like I can instantly trust.”

  “You hate Edie, so how’s that gonna work out?”

  “I never hated Edie. When I heard her tell Grandma to send me away it crushed me. First, Chantal dumps us, and then I heard someone I thought cared about me suggest I be dumped again. Caleigh told me Edie used to tell her parents to send her to reform school all the time. It was a running joke.” Blaze groaned. “I was so hurt and I was vicious when I told Edie off. I don’t even know how to begin to apologize for that.”

  “Wait a minute. Why’re you so willing to believe what Caleigh said?” Ronnie asked with concern.

  “You could hardly believe Edie said that back then. She was always so sweet to us. Now, that time has passed and I can look back on it that was totally out of character for Edie to say. Oh! I need to text Caleigh and let her know I’ll be late.”

  Ronnie released Blaze. “Just go. I’ve got things here.”

  “I’m not leaving you while you need hugs,” Blaze said as she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and started typing a text.

  “If you haven’t muted that, you’d better do it now. It won’t matter that you’re my sister if any of the staff hears that phone ring or chime. They’ll throw you out. They have a strict policy about disturbing patients, and they’ll send you to the waiting room. I know because I get the complaints about that from families. Silence it right now,” Ronnie said as she tried to press the switch.

  “You made me hit send before I finished the text.” Blaze set her phone to silent and resumed typing her message as the door to the room opened.

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Sanchez, I’ll be taking over for Dr.—Ronnie! What’re you doing here?” he asked with a smile.

  “Hi Ken. Our…mother fell,” Ronnie said awkwardly.

  “Chantal Champlain is your mother?” Ken exclaimed. “Why did I not know this?”

  “We’ve been kinda estranged,” Blaze interjected. “What we need to know right now is if she’s dying.”

  Dr. Sanchez looked surprised by the question for a moment and then smiled. “Lady Champlain is one tough cookie. She signed my scrubs.” He pointed to the signature on his sleeve with a big grin. “She’s hurt, in the hospital, and still just as gracious as she can be. You really don’t expect that from a celebrity. What a little trouper. She’s extraordinary.”

  “So is she okay, Ken?” Ronnie asked as patiently as she could.

  “Yes. She’s down the hall signing autographs and posing for pictures.”

  “And that’s what’s taking so long.” Blaze bit her lip and folded her arms. “How about the pictures y’all took of her bones and her brain? What’s going on there?”

  Ken pointed at Ronnie and Blaze. “You two are going to age well because Chantal is still gorgeous.” He cleared his throat when Blaze glared at him. “She doesn’t have a concussion, and there are no fractures aside from the ones in her ankle that’re healing well. That’s what I mean about her being extraordinary. I’d expect to find fractures in someone her age. Ronnie, she told me you made an appointment with an ortho doc for follow-up care on that injury, but she couldn’t remember the name.” Ken pulled a pen from his pocket and prepared to make a note on the chart he was holding. “Tell me who it is, and I’ll send the films over to their office.”

  “She’s gonna see Dr. Singh. What about the breaks in her rib and arm?” Ronnie asked.

  “I’m sure she felt as though she’d had fractures there judging by the hematomas.” Ken glanced up from the chart at Ronnie. “That’s bruising in case you didn’t know, but you probably do. More than likely, that’s why the medics applied a splint to her arm because they suspected a possible fracture. Ronnie, you know Grant in ortho, he scrutinized the films thoroughly because of Lady Champlain’s age. Remarkably, he didn’t find anything.” He grinned. “That’s what I’ve been calling her, Lady Champlain, because she’s like royalty, and she gets a kick out of it.”

  Ronnie and Blaze exchanged glances, and Ronnie held up a finger when Blaze looked as though she was going to say something. “I’m her primary caregiver at home. I need to know if there’s anything I should be concerned with,” Ronnie said with a smile.

  Ken thumbed through the pages of the chart and stopped at one in particular. “I don’t see any names on her medical release form. You know I can’t divulge anything she doesn’t expressly authorize,” Ken said without the casual tone he’d been using since he’d entered the room. “She did ask me to inform her daughters that she doesn’t have a head injury or any new broken bones, those were her exact words. She’ll be back in a few minutes, and we’ll release her to go home.”

  Blaze watched Ken leave the room quickly and asked, “What just happened?”

  “You had to mention we were estranged, and I don’t think he knew that. That’s probably why he clammed up when I started asking questions about her health. Plus, I work with the administrator, so I’m sure Ken felt he had to follow all the rules. She’s of sound mind, and unless she authorizes us to know about her health history, Ken can’t tell us anything,” Ronnie whispered.

  “She lied. She told us she had hairline fractures in a rib and her arm, and that’s bullshit. I’m gonna rip her ass apart when she comes back in here,” Blaze spat out.

  “Don’t. If you lay into her, she’ll probably leave, and I have to know what’s going on with her.”

  “I’ve rearranged my house—my life for her. What if you do ask her if she’s dying and she lies about that too? That woman walked out on us to live the high life in California. She didn’t give a shit about us when she was sipping champagne and hanging out with celebrities on the red carpet. You read her interviews, she didn’t mention us in any of them, ever. We didn’t exist. Now I have a refrigerator full of tofu and lettuce, my couch is her camp while I hide upstairs because I couldn’t bring myself to say ‘how fucking dare you?’ Well, I can now,” Blaze said from between gritted teeth.

  “I’ll take her home with me. The boys can bunk together, and I’ll give her Leif’s room.” Ronnie grabbed Blaze’s arm. “I’m begging you, please don’t go off on her.”

  Blaze stared at Ronnie in amazement. “She—”

  “My marriage is in a shambles, my kids are at the age where they don’t want to have anything to do with me, I’m going through menopause, and I need my mother! For whatever reason, she’s willing to play that role right now, I’ll take it! Blaze, please!”

  Ronnie’s desperation broke Blaze’s heart, and all her fury melted away in a heartbeat. “Okay, we’ll play dumb. I don’t want her to become another problem between you and Clint. She stays at my house,” she said with resignation.

  *******

  The only text Caleigh got from Blaze read: I’m at the. Blaze didn’t respond when Caleigh sent her a message asking her to elaborate. When seven o’clock came and went without any sign of Blaze, Caleigh tried to call her, and there was no answer. She had a hard time believing Blaze would stand her up and assumed something was wrong, so she called the store.

  “You’re still open,” Caleigh said with relief when someone answered.

  “Yes, ma’am, we’re open until eight.”

  “Is this Billie?” Caleigh asked.

  “It sure is, who is this?”

  “This is Caleigh Breaux. I bought the coffeemaker that rang up as a skillet, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. Is there something wrong with it? Was the carafe broken? Some of the people that work here are rough when they handle things. I have to remind them that just because we sell hardware not everything is hard,” Billie said with a laugh.

  “Is Blaze in?
”

  “No, she left hours ago and didn’t tell anyone anything. Joel in the back said he saw an ambulance in her driveway, and now two rumors are going around, but the most plausible to me is she murdered her mother.”

  Caleigh’s jaw dropped. “What was the other rumor?”

  “Her mother fell off her scooter,” Billie said. “That’s totally unlikely. Nobody has been brave enough to go to the big house and find out for sure.”

  “Do you mean jail?”

  Billie laughed. “No, the big house behind the store, that’s where Blaze lives.”

  “Okay, I’ll catch up with her later. Thank you, Billie. Have a good night,” Caleigh said and ended the call.

  Chapter 9

  Ronnie stepped out of the bathroom and peeked into the bedroom where Chantal was sleeping. Blaze was standing by the bed, her arms stretched out wide with a pot lid in each hand. Ronnie ran in and grabbed Blaze before she could clang them together and dragged her into the hall. “What’re you doing?” she whispered.

  “We have to wake her up every hour, and I was about to do that,” Blaze said with a smile.

  Ronnie gently closed the bedroom door and dragged Blaze into the living room. “She’s only been asleep five minutes, and you know good and damn well she doesn’t have a concussion!”

  “They could’ve gotten that wrong. I was just playing it safe.”

  “Don’t you have a date?” Ronnie snapped.

  “Shit! I was gonna call Caleigh when we left the hospital.” Blaze yanked her phone from her pocket and waved it at Ronnie. “But I was too busy trying to act normal and forgot. I’m sorry, but I’m pissed off again. I was sitting in the backseat staring at her knotted head wondering if she hurt herself on purpose, so she could stay longer. She’s an actress! She could be playing the part of compassionate mother, so we’ll be sucked in and let her stay here forever.”

  “Lower your voice. I’m gonna find out what’s going on with her. If she is doing that, I’ll throw her out of here faster than you can.” Ronnie waved her hands around. “I have dysfunctional ovaries. I’ve got emotional highs and lows, but I’m not an idiot. Let me handle this, and assure me you’re gonna play your role.”

  “I’ve got a drum full of emotional lows, and what I found out today knocked the lid loose. I’ll do my best, but I can’t assure you I won’t kaboom.”

  Ronnie softened her tone. “We’ve always been on the same page where she’s concerned, and I think you feel like I’m not with you, but I am.”

  Blaze looked at her phone and yelled, “Fuck!”

  “Damn it!” Ronnie put her hand over Blaze’s mouth and listened for a moment before she whispered. “I want her to sleep so I can dig through her purse. She keeps her medicine in there. She never leaves it lying around, and right now, it’s on the couch.”

  Blaze turned her face away from Ronnie’s hand. “I didn’t hit send on my text explaining everything to Caleigh. I need to call her. Do I need to stand watch or can you dig on your own?”

  “Go call. I’ve got this.”

  Blaze crept up the stairs and made her call. “I’m so sorry,” she said as soon as Caleigh answered. “I was typing a text to explain everything, and the doctor came into the room. I didn’t hit send.”

  “It’s okay. What’s going on?”

  “Chantal fell this afternoon, and Ronnie called an ambulance because she thought she was seriously hurt. We just got home from the hospital maybe fifteen minutes ago. I can be showered and dressed in less than an hour.”

  “No, don’t do that,” Caleigh said kindly. “Not after the day you’ve had. We can go out tomorrow night if you feel okay with leaving Chantal alone. How is she?”

  “Apparently, she has a Terminator skeleton because she’s fine. Can I whine?”

  “Sure.”

  “I was having a great day because I was really looking forward to seeing you, and I’m massively disappointed,” Blaze admitted.

  “If you want, I can pick up a pizza and come by if y’all are hungry, unless that’s—”

  “Yes,” Blaze said quickly.

  “Okay, do you like everything on it?”

  “I do, and I have all kinds of stuff to drink and a ton of sweets for dessert,” Blaze said with a smile.

  “What about Ronnie and Chantal?” Caleigh asked.

  “I doubt she’ll eat a pizza that isn’t made out of tofu and lettuce. Normally, Ronnie doesn’t eat pizza very often, but with the menopause thing she might eat the box.”

  Caleigh laughed. “I’ll order a large anyway, and I’ll be there soon. Just text me your address, and remember to hit send.”

  “I swear I will. You made my night. Bye,” Blaze said happily.

  When the called ended, Blaze sent Caleigh her address. She was about to go take a shower when Ronnie stepped into her room with tears in her eyes. “The only drug I found in her purse is something for inflammation. I checked her bathroom and even crept into her bedroom and had a look around. I didn’t find any other medicine.” She held up a thick envelope. “I found this in her purse. There are pictures of us in here from the time we were little until we were grown. Some of them look like they’d been in frames. Birthday parties, school pictures, holidays, my wedding, you posing next to the first car you bought.” Ronnie’s voice broke. “My kids. How did she get them?”

  “Someone had to send them,” Blaze said numbly and took the envelope from Ronnie. She pulled out a few of the smaller photos and noticed they were creased as if they’d been in a wallet. “Do you think Dad did it?”

  “I don’t know, but I think this proves she does give a shit about us.”

  Blaze pulled her high school graduation photo from the envelope and stared at it. She didn’t know what to make of Ronnie’s find, but she was weary of her ride on an emotional roller coaster. A lump formed in her throat as she tucked everything back into the envelope and handed it to Ronnie. “You should put that back before she wakes up. I have to take a shower. Caleigh’s coming over.”

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  Blaze watched Ronnie clutch the envelope to her chest. “No. Just hear me when I say this, and don’t think I’m calling you naïve because I’m not. You’ve got a lot of shit happening in your life that you’re struggling with. I don’t want you to get hurt or even disappointed by Chantal. She’s not the only one you can lean on. I’m here. I’ve always been here, and I always will be, so remember that.”

  Ronnie held her arms out. “I need another hug.”

  “This is a thing now, isn’t it?” Blaze asked with a smile as she embraced Ronnie. “Is snuggling next?”

  “Well, I wasn’t gonna bring that up this soon.” Ronnie rested her chin on Blaze’s shoulder. “When you had a gerbil and I had to sleep with that thing in the same room, I wanted to be an only child, but I’m glad now I didn’t get my wish.”

  “I wished for the same thing when you used to hog the bathroom, but now…I still hate that you hogged the bathroom.”

  Ronnie laughed. “You are such a—” She gasped when she heard a door close downstairs and stuffed the envelope in the front of her pants, then pulled her shirt down over it. “Create a diversion! I have to get this back in her purse.”

  “Shit!” Blaze whispered and ran. She was racing down the stairs with Ronnie on her heels when Chantal entered the living room very slowly on her scooter. “What’re you doing up already?”

  Chantal’s eyes widened as the pair barreled toward her. “I had to go to the restroom. I also need to take my medicine.”

  “What kind of medicine?” Ronnie asked as she and Blaze blocked Chantal’s way.

  “It’s something that was prescribed to me when I had the initial accident for swelling,” Chantal said.

  “Um-hmm,” Ronnie said with a nod. “That kind of thing shouldn’t be taken on an empty stomach. You haven’t eaten since lunch.”

  “You’re right—wait,” Chantal said when Blaze took her by the arm and dragged her and the s
cooter a foot or two. “You’ll have to let me do this on my own. I can’t maintain my balance.”

  “Sorry.” Blaze smiled. “I just didn’t want you to fall.”

  Chantal smiled too. “I understand, but I’m steadier than I appear. I was going too fast today, and I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should’ve been.”

  “You shouldn’t have been trying to jump the couch either,” Blaze quipped as she walked alongside Chantal’s slow roll.

  “Yes, you’re right. That move was too ambitious,” Chantal agreed with a chuckle. “Blaze, I don’t think we’re going to be able to fit through the doorway at the same time.”

  “Yeah, oops, after you.” Blaze looked back at Ronnie, who’d moved near the couch and was waiting for them to go into the kitchen.

  “Could I trouble you to boil an egg for me?” Chantal asked as she moved slowly on.

  “Sure, no problem,” Blaze said as she followed. “A woman I’m seeing is bringing over a pizza, would you rather have a slice of that?”

  “I haven’t had pizza since the eighties.” Chantal released a sigh as Blaze helped her take a seat at the table. “My metabolism began slowing down by then, and I had to maintain a strict diet to keep my weight down. Why should I worry about that now?” She sounded as though she was talking to herself instead of Blaze. “No, I should have the egg.”

  “Okay, coming up.”

  “When will the woman you spoke of be here?” Chantal asked.

  Blaze shrugged. “Probably in the next twenty minutes or so, I guess.”

  “I’ll take my dinner to my room, so you can have privacy.”

  The image of Chantal sitting on the edge of her bed eating alone saddened Blaze, and it amazed her she felt that way after being so furious with Chantal earlier. Her response was a mixture of kindness and sarcasm that conveyed her conflicted feelings. “What’re you gonna do—throw your egg and a glass of water in your dented scooter basket and ride off into the shadows? One slice of pizza won’t hurt. You should join us if you feel up to it.”

  “Do I look presentable?” Chantal asked worriedly.

  Blaze glanced at Chantal. “You look fine. Your hair is covering that mountainous goose egg on your forehead.”