Stone winced. “I truly am sorry you have to deal with this.”
There went the pity.
“Don’t be,” she told him, without looking directly at him because she didn’t want to see that in his eyes. “Some people don’t have mothers. Feel sorry for them. I’m lucky because I have mine.”
There were a few moments of silence, then he said, “You make me feel as if I should call my mom and tell her how much I love and appreciate her.”
Carly’s eyes prickled with a little moisture at his sentiment. “You should.”
“I’ll do that.”
But he must have meant later, because, rather than whip out his phone, he began washing off vegetables and whistling a tune she recognized but couldn’t put her finger on.
“How can I help?”
“Find a cutting board and a sharp knife.”
Carly found an old wooden cutting board and the sharpest knife she owned. Stone didn’t look overly impressed. To his credit, he didn’t say a word, just took the proffered items.
“I’m going to need a skillet for the sauce and a pan to cook the pasta.”
“Right.” Carly began digging in the cabinet, found a pan and an old cast-iron skillet that had been her grandmother’s.
“That’ll do,” Stone said, eyeing her offerings. “Nice skillet.”
If he said so. She could only recall a handful of times of having used the heavy thing. Memories of her mother using it to cook breakfast and the scent of bacon filling the entire house flashed through Carly’s mind. The memory made her smile. She’d had a great childhood and was lucky.
“I take it you really do cook?”
He shot her a mischievous look. “Not often, because what’s the fun in cooking for one?”
Not a lot. Which was why she lived on soups a lot. She could make a crockpot of soup and eat on it for a week. It was fairly healthy, easy to make, and inexpensive.
“We both know that if you eat alone it’s by choice.” She watched as he spread out items on the cutting board.
“The same could be said for you.”
“I have a different set of circumstances,” she reminded him. “I can’t be out. I’m needed at home. I want to be at home,” she corrected.
“I’ve said it before, but where there’s a will there’s a way.” He held up an onion. “Do you have a food processor?”
She held up her hands. “Just these, and a blender if that would work?”
“I take it you don’t cook a lot.”
“Not much.”
“Since I know you usually bring your lunch to work that surprises me.”
“Maybe I’m just not a fan of hospital cafeteria food.”
“Our hospital’s food is pretty good.”
Carly couldn’t argue. On the few occasions she’d eaten in the cafeteria, it had been well prepared.
Carly’s watch alarm went off. “I’m going to bail on you for a few minutes. Maybe longer.”
His brow rose.
“I keep Mom on a schedule—that way she gets proper nutrition. I wasn’t thinking about the time when I offered to help. Not that I’d likely have been much help, anyway.”
“Not a problem. Do what you need to do.”
Before leaving the kitchen, Carly mixed the high calorie and nutrient food packet prescribed for her mother’s feeding tube. She took out a small container of fresh fruit and blended it to a thick liquid consistency.
“Sorry, I’m bailing,” she apologized again.
“It’s probably better if you aren’t here to watch.” He winked. “You might be one of those who flip out if the cook licks the spoon.”
“You don’t?” she said in a faux-horrified voice.
“Leave now so you can keep thinking that.”
Carly laughed, grabbed up the tray she’d put her mother’s meal and supplies on, and left the kitchen.
When she went into her mother’s room, Audrey was awake, which instantly struck Carly with guilt.
“Sorry, Mom, I didn’t realize you were awake or I’d have been in here.”
Her mother didn’t say anything, just eyed the tray. “N-not h-hungry.”
Which was the same thing she said at every meal. If not for the feeding tube, her mother would have withered into nothingness long ago.
“Try to eat a little.” Which was the same thing Carly said at every meal. “We have to keep your strength up.”
Sighing, looking exhausted, her mother nodded. Although her tremor made feeding herself almost impossible, Carly always let her mother attempt to before taking over the process. More food ended up on her mother than in her, but she wanted some normalcy to her mother’s life.