Easy (Chicago Blaze 6)
My brow immediately furrows with concern. My mother never says anything weakly.
“What’s going on?”
She sighs into the phone. “I was bringing Aunt Jo home from the hospital and I tripped on her front porch steps. My ankle is fractured.”
“Oh no. Where are you?”
“I’m at the hospital now. Some friends from church drove me here.”
“Are you in pain?”
“It hurts.” Her voice wavers slightly. “Not as much as you’d think, but it does hurt.”
My mom is the strongest person I know. Her tone fills me with a sense of helplessness. She’s laid up in a hospital bed, and I’m too far away to help.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “What can I do to help?”
“I’m okay. I don’t need to have surgery. They’re going to put my foot in a cast and then I can go home.”
“Are they sure that’s all that’s going on? Did you hit your head when you fell?”
With another sigh, she says, “I’m banged up pretty good, but the doctor says I can go home. I’ll have to eventually have physical therapy but they think it’ll heal well and I’ll be able to swap the cast out for a boot brace in a few weeks for better mobility.”
“Do they know how old you are?”
“I’m fifty-six years old, Erik, not eighty.”
And there’s the Naomi Zimmerman I’m used to—there’s no weakness in her tone now.
“Okay,” I say, backing down.
“Listen, son. You’re not gonna like this, but it’s just the way it is. You need to come up here for a few weeks to help out. I’m supposed to be taking care of your aunt and now neither one of us can walk or lift anything. There’s no way I can do this on my own.”
My mom means more to me than anyone in the world, but I’m not going to Greentree Falls—even for her.
“You and Aunt Jo can come stay with me in Chicago for as long as you need,” I offer. “I’ll send a medical transport to get you guys.”
“Are you out of your damn mind? With her broken hip and my broken ankle, we’re not coming to Chicago. You’re coming here, Erik.”
I dig in. “I’ve got plenty of room at my place, and I can hire nursing care.”
“I don’t want any nursing care when I have a perfectly able-bodied son on summer vacation.”
“It’s not summer vaca—”
“You’d better get your ass up here, son. You haven’t been home in more than ten years and it breaks my heart that my one and only child never comes home to see me. I know it’s because of Allie Douglas, but—”
I cut her off, just the sound of that name making me tense up. “Mom, I send a driver with a luxury vehicle to bring you to Chicago several times a year. We’ve traveled all over the world together. I’ve told you you’re welcome to come live here if you want; I’ll buy you a nice place.”
“This is my home,” she says firmly. “And even with a broken ankle, I can still whip your ass if I have to, so don’t let it come to that. When can I expect you?”
I move the phone away from my mouth and exhale hard, looking up at the ceiling. Fuck. I can’t see any way out of this. My mom needs me. She’s never let me down, not even once, and I won’t let her down, no matter how hard it’ll be to go back to Greentree Falls.
“Tonight. I’m in New York, but I’ll catch the first flight out and rent a car.”
“Good. I won’t be making supper, but I can always stir something up for you when you get in.”
“Mom, don’t worry about that.” A couple women smile as they walk past me in the hallway outside of Jack’s office, and I reflexively smile back.
“I’ll be on crutches, but I’m not expecting to be waited on,” my mom says.
She’s always been headstrong. I picture her trying to help Aunt Jo, who isn’t a small woman, into her house and falling, and suddenly, I don’t feel like I can get to Greentree Falls fast enough.
“Mom, be careful, okay? Make sure everything’s good before you leave the hospital. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t leave. I’ll come get you when I get to Greentree Falls. Maybe they can keep you overnight for observation.”
“Erik, they’ve poked and prodded me all over. Don’t you worry about that.”
“I’m calling Cade Donovan to come help get you home then,” I say, knowing my best friend from high school will take care of Mom the same way I would. “He’ll be calling you, so make sure you answer your phone.”
“I don’t need help getting home.”
“Well, you’re getting it. He’ll look in on Aunt Jo, too.”
“She’s probably wearing a nightgown and a shower cap. She doesn’t want some strange man coming over to her house.”