The Switch

by Heather Justesen

  Lisa looked at her mom, who appeared concerned, but not upset. “Yes. We’ll come.”

  “The woman always hated me. Why should I sit in the waiting room?” Mona asked, her arms crossed in front of her.

  “Because she matters to the rest of us, and she’s the one who brought us all together,” Tia said, then winced as she turned away, wondering if that was a little too explanatory. The anger and betrayal had been buried by concern for her grandma for now, but she’d have to deal with it again soon.

  Danny pulled out his phone and looked up directions to the hospital from where they were. Wes wrote them down, then made copies to pass around while the women put the food back in the cars. As soon as he’d passed the directions on to Wes, Danny got into Ron’s car and headed out.

  Everyone else was only minutes behind him.

  Forty-five

  Tia found Ron and Danny in the waiting room when she arrived with the girls. Samantha ran to Danny, throwing her arms around his middle. “Will Grandma be okay?” She turned her face up to his, trust in her eyes.

  He crouched to her level. “The doctors are doing everything they can for her. Don’t worry, they’ll take good care of her.”

  Tia appreciated that he hadn’t lied to Samantha, though she didn’t feel all that reassured. She watched him give Samantha a hug, then he stood and walked over to Tia, pulling her into a hug as well, Tristi sandwiched between them. “That not-worrying thing? It goes double for you,” he said, then brushed his lips over her forehead. “Come, sit down. It’ll be a while yet before they’ll send someone out to give us an update.”

  Tia did as she was told, and the others joined them a few minutes later. Wes had apparently helped Lisa with her mom and the wheelchair, and entered the room pushing Rose. “Any word?” he asked.

  “Not yet,” Ron said.

  “Are you sure we’re not in the way?” Lisa asked.

  “No, were glad to have you,” Ron told her. “Come sit by me. We haven’t had much chance to talk. Tell me about your dad. I need the distraction.”

  Tia smiled, watching them together. Danny pulled a couple chairs over to face Lisa and Ron, then gestured for Tia to sit in one of them. He settled in the other and Samantha crawled into his lap. When he took Tia’s hand, she thought she couldn’t ask for more in a man.

  * * *

  The doctors came and went. Everyone walked out to the cars in shifts to put together plates of food, then returned to the waiting room to eat. Ron was allowed back to see his mother, and Mona complained and worried and fussed constantly. Tia was glad she hadn’t bothered to ask about Rose’s condition. She didn’t think she was up to dealing with the hysterics that would have ensued if Mona realized Tia could end up like that someday.

  Finally she and Danny were allowed in to see Glena, though she was totally out of it, so they didn’t get to talk. It was just as well, since Tia had no idea what to say anyway. She was grateful for Danny’s hand, for the silent support he’d been all day. They had opted for a short engagement, which made their wedding less than a month away. Barely.

  After an hour, the doctor came in and told them they were transferring Glena to a larger facility in Kansas City.

  Everyone gathered their things and returned the chairs to where they belonged.

  “Do we get to go home now, Mom?” Samantha asked.

  “Yeah. We can go home.” Tia kissed her on the head and gathered the sippy cup Tristi had dropped on the floor beneath the chairs.

  “Is Nana going to be okay?”

  Tia felt that familiar ache in her chest. It was even worse trying to explain to Samantha than dealing with it herself. She took the seat, then pulled Samantha close so she leaned against Tia’s knees. “I don’t know, honey. Danny called for help really fast, and the doctors were able to get her good medicine right away, so hopefully she’ll be fine, in a while. But Nana is getting old, so it’s hard to know if she’ll get all the way better. We’ll have to wait and see.”

  Samantha pursed her lips, then nodded. “Okay. Let’s go home now.”

  “All right, sweetheart.”

  Danny came back over, Tristi asleep in his arms. “We about ready?”

  Tia stood, looked around the room again to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind, then nodded. “Let’s go say goodbye to Lisa and Rose.” The whole day had been cut short, and Tia didn’t feel like she had time to speak with Lisa, to ask Rose about her life, to really watch how things were going with Lisa’s introduction to the family.

  Wes was helping Rose into the passenger seat when Tia joined them. He picked up the wheelchair and took it around to the trunk.

  “Thanks for everything,” Lisa said.

  “It’s no problem. And Tia threatened not to make her cannoli for me again if I wasn’t nice to you.” Wes winked at Tia.

  “You’ve gone above and beyond nice. So thanks,” Lisa said. They stood looking at each other for a moment, as if uncertain what to do next.

  “It was good meeting you. You’ll have to join us again sometime, though I’m warning you that all of our get-togethers tend to be somewhat on the exciting side lately. You may wish you never heard of us,” he said.

  Lisa laughed. “I doubt that.” She tucked her thumbs in the back pockets of her jeans.

  He gave a little wave, then headed for his car where Mona was already waiting. “See ya, sis,” he said to Tia as he left.

  “See you later.” Tia waited until he was out of the way, then gave Lisa a hug. “Thanks for meeting us, and again, I’m sorry this all happened.”

  “No, it’s fine. It was interesting to see how your family worked together when there’s trouble. Danny’s so cool on his feet, too.” She gave Tia’s hand a squeeze. “I know you two are going to be happy together.”

  “Yeah, I can’t argue with that.” Tia wanted to tell her, right then and there about Glena, about how it had all happened, why it had happened, but she wasn’t ready. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

  “Keep in touch,” Lisa said.

  “I will.” Tia walked to the passenger side of the car and leaned down to the opened window. “Rose, it was great to meet you. I hope I get to see you again soon sometime.”

  “I’m happy to meet you too, dear. Did I tell you how much you remind me of myself at your age?”

  Tia laughed. “You did. I’m happy you think so. You’re a great example for me.” She touched the woman’s hand, then straightened and waved goodbye before turning away. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she needed a moment to get herself back together. She looked at Danny buckling Tristi into her car seat and knew quiet wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, but she’d get through it.

  * * *

  Tia stewed about everything she’d learned at the picnic, not ready to hash it out until she had a handle on it. When they finished putting the girls to bed after dinner Monday night, Danny slid his arm around her as they returned to the living room.

  “So, you’ve had time to brood. Want to talk?”

  Tia tipped her head against his shoulder. “I don’t know. Will it help?”

  “Maybe. You won’t know if you don’t try.” He sat on the sofa and snuggled her close. “That was a big shock. I know you didn’t expect it. Have you told anyone else?’

  “No. I don’t know how to tell anyone. Or even if I should. How could she do that to us, Danny? What was she thinking? I mean, I know what she said, but it just doesn’t make sense.” She rubbed her face with her palm.

  “It can’t be fixed, and no matter how much you might understand on some level why she wanted to get back at your mom, you’ll never get what made her do something so extreme. The question is whether you can accept it and forgive her or not.”

  “I know.” Tia had stopped by the previous evening, intentionally going while her father would be there so she wouldn’t have to face Glena alone. She was conflicted: she still loved her grandmother, but couldn’t forget what she’d done. “I just wish I could see things t
he way she did, for a minute, so I could let this go. And on the other hand, I never want to forgive her for doing this, for being so stupid.”

  “You know I love you?” He pressed his lips to her head.

  “Of course.” That went without saying.

  “You know your parents love you?”

  “Yes.”

  Danny took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “You don’t have to forgive your grandma, but think about how you want to remember your relationship with her, because she won’t be around forever.”

  Tia pressed her cheek to his shoulder, pain knifing through her. “I know.”

  * * *

  Several days passed and Tia had stopped into the hospital to see her grandma three times, but she hadn’t gotten the chance for a quiet chat alone. This time when she walked into the room, she slid into the chair beside the bed. No one else was around, and Glena appeared to be sleeping.

  “Go ahead and say your say, child. I know you’re angry.”

  The slightly slurred words made Tia jump, she didn’t know how Glena could tell who had walked in. She still hadn’t even slitted her eyes. “I don’t know what I am. How could you do it, Grandma?”

  “It was impulse. I held Lisa in my arms, rocked her, wondered about the man I seen Mona with. Knew your mother had been cheating on my boy. It made me sick to think of your dad raising another man’s baby and not knowin’ it. I was angry, at Mona, at the baby for existing. I was alone for a while; I had the chance to take her daughter away and give her another, so I did it. I never regretted it for a moment. You’ve always made me proud.”

  That didn’t help. It was hardly explanation. “You didn’t think about what was best for me, for Lisa, to be raised in the families we were born to? You never wondered about Lisa, how she was doing? You realize the DNA tests were done with Dad, so she is his daughter. You gave her away out of spite.”

  Glena pursed her lips for a moment, as if trying to accept that she’d been wrong, at least about the baby’s paternity. “I never thought about the other baby. I had you. I chose you. What more did I need?” She lifted her right hand and covered Tia’s. “It’s too late to be sorry, child, except for causing you worry.”

  Tia didn’t know what to say to that. Glena was recovering well, but the doctor expected her to spend the rest of her life with a walker—and that was the best-case scenario. The stroke had done significant damage and it couldn’t be completely undone. Though Tia didn’t think God worked retribution like this, it seemed almost like a kind of twisted divine justice.

  “I love you too, Grandma, but I don’t understand how you could do it.”

  When there was no response, Tia wondered if Glena had fallen asleep. Her theory was confirmed when her grandmother took a deep breath and sighed. She squeezed Glena’s hand and headed back to her car.

  She hadn’t told anyone besides Danny about Glena’s secret. It would ruin her father’s opinion of his mother, and give Mona more reason to hate her former mother-in-law. Wes could handle it, but didn’t seem to care one way or the other. Tia decided someday, after Glena and Rose had passed on, she would share the truth with Lisa. Between now and then, Tia would try to forgive her grandma for interfering. She didn’t expect it to be easy.

  No matter the struggles she’d had in her family, the difficulties that had come her way, she was happy to have been raised by Ron and Mona. Having discussed this aspect with Lisa the previous night, she knew Lisa felt the same about her parents. Whatever the case, their lives were what they were, and that couldn’t be changed. And maybe that was all right.

  At least once she had time to adjust a little longer.

  Epilogue

  Tia breezed into the fire station on a Thursday afternoon in late June. The past several days had been rainy, so she enjoyed the beautiful weather—sunny and bright. Tristi and Samantha were both still in daycare, and she’d have to pick them up soon, but wanted to take a moment to chat with Danny without them around.

  Lisa and her mom had made it to the wedding a few weeks back, and both seemed to be doing well. Glena was home again, as bright-eyed and positive as ever, but she would never walk alone, or drive a car again. Tia had stopped by to visit her a few days earlier. Their relationship would never return to what it once was, but Tia didn’t have the heart to punish them both by wasting the few years Glena had left.

  She found Danny mopping out the back of an ambulance. “Hey, there, stranger. Could you give me a lift?”

  He looked up, grinning, then set down the mop handle and jumped from the back of the rig. “Why, do you need me to check your pulse?” He pulled her close and kissed her. “You still seem to be breathing,” he said when he pulled away.

  She laughed at the corny line, but threaded her arms around his neck. “I’ve been breathing for so long now that I don’t even have to think about it anymore.”

  He chuckled. “That’s a relief. You know I’m always happy to see you, Mrs. Tullis, but is there a particular reason you’re here this fine afternoon?” He often called her that, as if reveling in the fact that she was his.

  The new name always thrilled her a bit, so she grinned. “Well, Mr. Tullis, I thought you might like to know that I got the results back on those tests.”

  His grin widened even more, though Tia hadn’t thought it possible. “Negative?”

  “I do not have enough copies of the gene to cause Huntington’s disease,” she confirmed. She felt light today, filled with hope for the kind of future she’d always dreamed of. With Danny.

  He sent out a hoot of happiness and spun them both around. “That’s terrific news, and it leaves me with just one question.”

  “What’s that?”

  He lowered his head and spoke low so he wouldn’t be overheard. “How soon do you think we could start trying for another little girl?”

  Other novels by Heather

  The Ball’s in Her Court

  Rebound

  Blank Slate

  Family by Design

  Novellas

  Homecoming

  Shear Luck

  Short stories

  Along no Longer

  He doesn’t Belong

  Holding On

  Non-fiction:

  POD Like a Pro: An Author’s Guide to Typesetting

  and Formatting a book for print

  Acknowledgments

  As always, there are a host of people who helped me make this book a reality. A big thanks to my many critiquers who helped me catch problems with my story and build it into something better: Tristi Pinkston, Nichole Giles, Keith Fisher, Shirley Westenskow, Tammy Hansen, Delise Perkins, Mindy Holt and Annette Lyon. Any shortcomings that remain in this story are purely my own.

  And a big thanks to my husband, Bill, who is always in my corner, always my biggest supporter and willing to step in for Web design, punctuation and grammar questions, and puts up with my insane schedule. I love you sweetie!

  About the Author

  Heather Justesen earned a BA in English Literature from Southern Utah University, where she met her husband, Bill. She worked in newspaper for several years, and they spent two years as foster parents. They now live in the little town where she grew up in Central Utah, run on their local ambulance as Advanced EMTs and raise a cat, two dogs, and a whole slew of chickens, geese, ducks, guineas, and a tom turkey, which is very vain. When she can squeeze in the time, she gardens and loves to bake. She also writes serial stories for BigWorldNetwork.com available in ebook and audio formats.

  You can learn more about Heather on her blog: http://heatherjustesen.blogspot.com/

  Or her website: http://www.heatherjustesen.com/

  Or contact her via email at Heather@HeatherJustesen.com

 

 

 
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