“We’re still waiting on her official discharge. I think the social worker is trying to get the doctor to agree to a conservatorship so that Lilith has to go into a home. If she doesn’t stop her meddling before Amelda gets here, I’m afraid she’s going to find out… what happens when you mess around with us,” Mom said.
“A conservatorship? Like through the courts?” I asked.
“Yeah, but it’s not going to happen. I think she’s annoying the doctor with it as much as she’s annoying me. He knows we’re capable of taking care of Lilith, but he needs to hurry up and get the paperwork done so we can get out of here,” Mom said.
“Okay, well, call or text me when I should head over that way, and Mom…”
“Yeah, honey?” For the first time I heard the weariness in Mom’s voice.
“Don’t hurt the social worker,” I said.
“I’ll try,” she said with a chuckle.
It was several hours before I heard from my mother again. Thorn was home from work. I’d spent the afternoon cleaning and making fried chicken.
“You didn’t rest at all, did you?” he asked as I put a plate of chicken and pasta salad in front of him.
“I have too much energy,” I said. “Waiting for my Mom to call about Lilith is killing me.”
“How about a movie after dinner?” Thorn asked. “We can get a new release and you can pick.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
Thorn gave Laney a bottle while I got online and rented the animated movie I’d been wanting to watch. Since I had a kid, I no longer felt silly about watching stuff like that. Even if Laney had no idea what was going on, she could still be my excuse. Plus, my nerves were too shot for anything more than some cartoon princess adventure action.
“Not a horror movie?” Thorn asked with a cocked eyebrow. “I thought you’d be all over that new zombie flick. You’ve been waiting years for a sequel, right?”
“I’m not in the right headspace for it,” I admitted. “Plus, I don’t know if I should watch that stuff with Laney around.”
“She has no idea,” Thorn said.
“We don’t know that for sure. Sometimes, I think she’s picking up on things she shouldn’t be aware of,” I said.
“I think all moms think that,” Thorn said.
“I’ll watch it myself sometime,” I said. “I can watch it on my laptop with headphones on while she’s napping. Then you don’t have to be subjected to it either.”
“I would watch it for you,” Thorn said.
“I know,” I answered, but before I could say anything else about it, my phone rang. “I’ve got to take this.” I practically jumped off the sofa.
“We’re on our way to Lilith’s place,” Mom said when I answered.
“I’ll meet you there,” I said.
When we disconnected, I went back into the living room to get Laney ready to go. I found that Thorn already had her dressed and in the sling which he helped me put over my shoulders.
“I could watch her while you go,” Thorn said.
“It’s okay,” I answered. “I think it would be good for Lilith. She’d probably like a visit.”
“I know, but I feel like I have to offer,” Thorn said.
“Well, thank you.”
“I guess I’ll just stay here and watch the rest of the movie,” Thorn said. “The cat and I can make a night of it.”
“I’m going with her,” Meri said and ran to the front door.
“I’ll watch it myself, then,” Thorn said.
“You’re really going to watch the rest of the movie?” I asked as I slipped my shoes on.
“I’m invested,” he said.
I laughed. “I didn’t think princesses were your thing.”
“Princesses are my favorite thing,” Thorn said before kissing me.
“We won’t be too late,” I said. “I just need to be there for a bit.”
“I understand,” Thorn said. “Now hurry up and get out of here so I can eat the rest of the fried chicken.”
Laney fussed a little on the drive over to Lilith’s house. I was worried that it was some sort of bad omen, but it turned out she was just hungry.
As soon as we got inside, I turned on all of the lights on the first floor. I’d intended to make it bright and cheery for Lilith when she arrived, but that was nearly impossible. Even with all of the lights on, there were still shadows everywhere.
It was a nice night, so I ended up sitting on the front porch and giving Laney a bottle while we waited. Meri kept himself busy down in the grass stalking something. Sometimes he could be such a cat.
Laney had just finished her bottle when my Mom’s car turned into the driveway. I went down the front steps and out to the car.
Mom took Laney and burped her while Dad and I got Lilith into the house. She immediately decided she was hungry too, and I took it as a good sign.
“I’ll make her something,” I said as Lilith sat down in her parlor.
“Some tea too,” Lilith called after me as I made my way to her kitchen. “Now, give me that baby,” she said to my mother.
“Coming right up,” I said.
I went into the kitchen and put a kettle of water on the stove. While it heated, I checked the pantry for tea. Lilith had about a million different varieties. Some of them were labeled with nothing more than little doodles.
If I made her a cup of the mental focus mushroom tea, she’d know. It would probably tick her off too. In the end, I went with a nice cup of honey vanilla chamomile. She probably needed to relax after such a harrowing experience. There was no way Lilith got enough rest in the hospital. No one ever does.
I plucked the bag from a lovely white box with a picture of a chamomile flower on it and set it next to a clean cup on the counter. The
