“Sure.” Her kind smile invites me to talk about whatever I need to.
“I know you can’t give me a timeframe, but I wanted to talk about the possibility of having Amelia back home for Thanksgiving.”
“That’s only seven weeks away, I wouldn’t like to say.”
“What do we need to do to make it happen?”
She sighs. “At the moment it’s touch and go. She’s still here because she needs to be.”
“But wouldn’t her being more comfortable in a place where she can maneuver around by herself be better for her?”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “And I suppose you have a place in mind?”
“Actually… I do.”
She chuckles at the look on my face. “This place would have to be equipped with everything she needs. An elevator or stair lift if there’s stairs, lower beds, lots of space.” I make a mental note as she ticks things off on her fingers. “She’d need a place to continue her therapy and unwind, but all of this will cost money.”
“Money isn’t an issue,” I reply seriously.
She nods. “Then I’d suggest getting her a personal physiotherapist.”
“What about you?”
She rubs the back of her neck. “I’m employed by the hospital, I don’t do house calls.”
“But she knows and trusts you.” She seems comfortable with Traci and happy to let her help her in her recovery, I’m not sure how she’d react to someone completely new.
She sighs. “It’s something I’d definitely be willing to do.” She pauses. “Let me talk to a few people and get back to you.”
I smile, thinking of the possibility of having Amelia come home with me where she belongs.
“So, Thanksgiving?”
She shakes her head. “I’m not promising anything. Get everything put into place and then we’ll all talk.”
“I can’t believe he’s doing this,” I fume to Carl as we load the last of Amelia’s things into my SUV and hers.
“He’s a businessman,” he says simply as he shuts the trunk of Amelia’s car.
“Yeah, well he could’ve given
us more than twenty-fours hours.” I shake my head. “Anyway, the quicker we get out of here the better, she’s never coming back here again.”
He eyes the building one last time. “If I knew my daughter was living in a place like this, I would’ve come and pulled her out of here myself.” Hand on Amelia’s car door, he says, “I’ll follow you.”
I nod and he climbs into Amelia’s car that’s been sitting there for the last four months. I’m surprised it hasn’t been stolen or broken into in a neighborhood like this. When Carl was called as her emergency contact, I was glad to hear the landlord wanted the apartment back.
I climb into my SUV and drive back to my place to store her stuff there until she’s out, or at least that’s what I told Carl. I’m nervous as hell but I’ve been working my way up to telling him my idea I’ve spoken to Traci about.
I wanted to make sure it was possible, that Amelia could actually come back to my place and it be safe for her before I talked to her parents. But now’s my chance.
Carl whistles as he parks in my garage and climbs out of Amelia’s SUV, checking out my cars. “Hell of a collection.”
I chuckle. “I like cars, have since I was a kid.”
“Hell of a place you’ve got here, too,” he adds. “How much do you earn again?”
We both laugh and start unloading the boxes from the cars and taking them into the third guest room, the one closest to mine. My hand brushes over one of the boxes labeled “records” and I call Carl over.