Page 11 of Toni and Addie Go Viral

Toni

“Lil? Mom?” Toni walked up so she was alongside her mother.

Lilian was a petite woman, barely over five feet tall.

Thin, delicate like a tiny doll, with soft gray hair that fell to her waist. Toni paid extra to have the caretakers keep Lilian’s hair the way she liked it, because the mention of cutting it off had set her mother to wailing.

“Who are you calling ‘Mom,’ Patty?” Lilian Darbyshire glared at Toni. “Are you calling me old?”

“Not at all.” Toni smothered a sigh. Toni’s first reaction was often one she had to bite back.

They weren’t enemies; they just rarely agreed on anything, even the fact that her mother was, in fact, as old as many of the other residents.

Her precise age was a matter of argument, as Lilian had always changed her answer. She was in her sixties, though.

“Where are we?” Lil asked, looking around suspiciously. “There are a lot of old people here. Are we visiting someone, Patty?”

“We are.” Toni was used to being called “Patty” by now. Apparently, Aunt Patty was more memorable than Lil’s only child. Occasionally on good days Lil recognized Toni, but those days were rarer and rarer.

They arrived at the front desk, and in quick order, they were buzzed through. Like any good memory care facility, the patients couldn’t simply leave. To Toni, that was the biggest asset to a facility.

When they got to Lil’s room, Toni opened the door and motioned her mother inside. The room was a bit like a very nice college apartment. She had a sitting room, a bedroom, and a kitchenette. The kitchenette only had a small fridge, table, and chairs. No stove or knives.

“Why are my pictures here?” Lilian walked to a row of photos, all in new plexiglass frames. She looked at her small stereo and the framed album jacket from her one and only chart-topping song.

“You moved in here.”

Lilian teared up. “Did Anthony lose the house?”

Toni wanted to admit that yes, he had lost the house, but there was no good in upsetting her mother. “No, Lil. This is like a resort. They prepare all your meals, so you don’t have to cook.”

Lilian laughed. “I bet Anthony loves that. I don’t think I’ll ever be a great cook.”

“Well, most women won’t ever be great singers,” Toni rebutted.

“Oh, Patty, I lucked out in the sister-in-law lottery,” Lilian said, glancing at Toni and then at the framed record jacket. “So what’s new with you? Any pretty young things caught your eye?”

And Toni found it odd that she felt more accepted as Lilian’s “sister-in-law” than as herself. Would Lil still ask about dating if she remember that Toni was her daughter? Would she invite her to gossip? Or say she lucked out to be in her family?

“Let’s finish getting you unpacked while we talk.” Toni had managed to get most of her mother’s things squared away, but the clothes were left to handle with Lil’s help.

I’m not entirely on my own, Toni amended.

The agency—her literary agency—had forwarded part of her advance before the publisher even paid.

Emily had made that happen, specifically so Toni could get her mother settled.

Close to Toni. The rest, the debt and whatever else, she’d figure out later.

The house sale should be closing soon, and the “on signing” check for the deal would come soon.

Everything felt almost okay. Still overwhelming, but okay.

“I know that look, Patty,” Lilian said as she perched on her bed and started putting dresses on hangers. She handed each to Toni as she did so. “What’s her name?”

“Addie,” Toni said. “Her name is Adelaine, but she goes by Addie.”

Lil paused and caught Toni’s eye. “No husband?”

“You know how I feel about that,” Toni said, sharper than she intended.

With a nod, Lil said, “What’s so special about this one?”

“She makes me smile. She’s vivacious.” Toni hung another dress in the closet. The woman loved her clothes.

“She’s pretty, too?” Lil prompted. “You always did like the dolled-up ones.”

“Maybe I should blame you for that,” Toni teased, holding what looked like a silk waterfall of a dress up pointedly.

“I can’t catch a man’s eye walking around in trousers and men’s shirts like you do,” Lil countered.

Toni smiled. “Lucky for me, I’m not interested in men.”

Lil laughed and then asked, “Did you catch this Adelaine’s eye?”

“Of course I did, I’m a Darbyshire.” Toni postured like she was elegant, and Lilian giggled. The sound of that laughter eased a pressure in Toni’s chest.

It wasn’t real, wasn’t the mother-daughter relationship Toni used to want, but when Toni was mistaken for Aunt Patty, it was the closest Toni and Lilian ever were.