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She leans forward until her face is all I see. “Listen to me, little girl. Consider my helping you is all those tips I should have given you on your shifts at Galileo’s.”
A watery laugh escapes. “Yeah. That might pay for one of her pills.” As Florence indicated, hospital stays aren’t cheap and as I learned, my mother doesn’t have the greatest insurance even if she does have some.
“You don’t need to be here trying to cater to someone’s fantasy; you need to be clasping your reality as close as possible for as long as you can. If you’re here when something happens, you’ll look back later and regret not being with her. You’re not going to be able to get this time back, despite how much you wish you could.” Her eyes flash a desperate agony that sears through me. But just for a moment. After quirking me her patented lady of the boudoir smile, Florence tosses her blond hair back. “Besides, I need a tax break.”
“You try to be such a hard ass.”
“Ask anyone on that floor, honey. They’ll tell you it’s true,” she drawls.
“No, it’s not, Florence. You gave me hope. I hope sometime I can return the favor.” I bite my lip to hold the tears away because I know if I start crying now, I won’t stop. I have to get out of here. I stand up and reach in my pocket for my access card to Devil’s Lair. “So, I guess this is it.”
“What’s the first thing you plan on doing when you get home since I’m throwing you out hours before you’re supposed to be out of here?”
“Catch up on sleep,” I immediately answer. But in my mind, the need to get a hold of Ethan is pulling at me hard. “I suppose I need to go get my things.”
“Before you go.” Florence reaches back and plucks up a piece of paper which she hands to me. “This is a list of the best probate lawyers in the area. Call any of them. Get your mama’s affairs in order. They know to bill me.”
I grind my teeth together as I fold the paper and slip it into my jeans pocket. “Thank you.”
“You know, Fallon. You remind me of myself…before.”
“Before what?”
“Just…before.” That flash of agony flickers across her face before it’s masked. “Now it’s late and it’s foggy. Get out of here and drive safe.”
“Florence?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask a personal question?”
“Do I have to answer?”
“When…” I start and stop because I can’t quite get the words out. “When it’s time, will you join us… after? You’ve become a friend, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.” I can’t say after my mother dies. The words aren’t ready to pass my lips, just like I’m not ready to let my mother go from my heart.
Her blue eyes dampen and sadness overtakes her countenance. “Without question.”
I open my mouth, but no more words of thanks can come out. At a time of desperation, this woman saved me from unknown despair and broken promises that would have irreparably damaged the last few months of my mother’s life. Now, I’m about to walk out the doors of her lair unscathed.
Not able to save my mother, but able to make memories to hopefully heal my heart when I look back to our last days together.
Do I need more than that?
No, what I need are the people I love to know so I can finally break down and fall apart. Sorry, Mama. It’s time for me to lean on the people I love to get me through. In this case, some promises are going to have to be broken.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Conversation Starter: Is there anything you wouldn’t do for love?
—Viego Martinez, Celebrity Blogger
There she is. Fuck, she’s two hours early.
I snatch up my phone and text Thorn.
Ethan:
Things are about to go down.