“Mrs. Hancock is in room 317,” the volunteer at the front desk informs me. “Up to the third floor and to your right.”
“Thank you.” I throw her a smile over my shoulder as I head to bank of elevators she indicates.
Upstairs I easily find the room. Shirley is no more than a hump in the bed but before I can step inside, Kim gets up from the chair in the corner and presses a finger to her lips as she walks toward me.
“She just fell asleep,” she whispers, as she turns me back into the hallway.
We stop by the nurses’ station where she tells the young woman working on a computer that Mrs. Hancock is sleeping, and we’ll be down in the lobby, before dragging me back to the elevators.
“What’s going on?”
“She’s been up all damn night,” Kim groans, running a hand through her haphazard hair. “First arguing with me about whether or not to call the boys. I wanted to but she was adamantly against it. Says she doesn’t want to alarm them unnecessarily. Can you believe it? Alarm them?” She agitatedly blows a breath through pursed lips before continuing. “Then when the cops came in to take her statement this morning, she claimed she fell down the stairs. Not that they believed her. They don’t need her to file charges against Mike, and I’m waiting to hear if they’ve picked him up yet.”
“Jesus. So other than stubborn; how is she?” I ask, gratefully following Kim to the coffee shop.
“Eating through a straw for the foreseeable future, until her teeth can get fixed and her jaw heals. They had to surgically set her forearm, she’s still groggy from the anesthetic.”
“That bastard,” I growl.
“No shit. She’s going to need looking after for a while.”
I don’t even think; I react.
“She can stay with me.”
I’d like to think, if I’d had a friend I could trust back then, I might’ve gotten away sooner, but any friends were his, not mine.
“I can take her,” Kim counters, turning to the kid behind the counter to put in an order and I quickly add my own.
“You have a wife and young kids at home, as well as a diner to run. You have your hands full. I’ve got the space and the time,” I push while we wait for our orders.
It’s true. Just sixteen months after Kim and her longtime lover, Janice, got married, she gave birth to their first child, Chester. Less than two years ago Janice had Amber, a little girl to complete their family. With two kids under five, a busy household, and a full-time business to keep track of, I’m sure they have better things to do than look after Shirley.
“Fair enough,” Kim says, her mouth full with her cheese croissant. “She can stay with you, but you promise to let me know if you need help.”
“First thing we need to do is convince her to let us call her kids,” I suggest, sinking my teeth into my own lunch and I groan at the buttery taste.
“Have some mercy.” Kim finally glares at me as I enjoy every bite audibly. “I haven’t seen my wife in over twenty-four hours.”
I roll my eyes. “TMI, Kim. Nobody wants to know that shit.”
Of course she finds that funny. She opens her mouth to say something else, I’m sure I don’t need to hear, so I quickly shove the last of my Danish in my mouth and get up to toss my napkin and coffee cup in the trash.
“Let’s go.” I nudge her shoulder as she tosses back the dregs of her coffee.
We walk into the room as a nurse is taking Shirley’s blood pressure. Her eyes are open and briefly on me before she turns her head away.
We’re in for a battle.
Chapter Four
Robin
“I have an appointment tomorrow.”
Shirley looks at me from her perch on my couch as I walk in the door.
It’s been almost two weeks since I brought her home from the hospital, and I’m about ready to pull my hair out. She’s been impassive all this time. Stuck in denial. Unwilling to let us call her boys, talk about packing some of her things, or discuss anything to do with her future.
Not that I blame her. I guess everyone needs time to process their life won’t be the same as it was before. For some it’s difficult to see anything beyond the situation they’re in.
The one thing Kim and I got her to agree to, with the aid of the kind police officer who came to the hospital, was a restraining order against Mike. He’d been charged with domestic assault and battery, but was out on bail walking the streets already.
This morning she promised to contact her dentist for an appointment to fix her teeth after pushing her on the subject for the past week.
Small steps.
“That’s great news.” I smile at her and move to the kitchen island, dumping the groceries I picked up after my shift. “When can he see you?”
“Thursday at two.”
“Either Kim or I can take you, we’ll work something out.”
“Actually…” I look up from emptying the bags on the counter. “There’s something else.” She lowers her eyes to where her fingers are plucking at the throw on her lap. “I have an aunt in Grand Rapids I talked to this morning. She wants me to come stay with her. Only problem is she doesn’t drive. I know I’m asking a lot, but do you think it’s possible to drive me to her place Thursday after my appointment?”
I set down the box of crackers I’ve been holding and go sit beside her on the couch, grabbing her good hand in mine.
“Sounds like you did a bit more than just make a
