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Her blue eyes sparkle. “I’m so happy for you. I’d like to meet him again. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him. Is he still as good-looking as he was back then?”
I’m not going to tell her she saw him last night. The last thing I want to do is upset her when we’re having such a good day together.
“He’s hotter than he was when he was younger. He’s coming over this evening, so you’ll get to see for yourself.”
When she claps her hands together, I laugh. She seems as excited to see him as I am.
“Well, forget about making me dinner then. You two should go on a date.”
I shake my head. “No. I want to have dinner with you. We can invite him to join us.”
Part of me worries he might be annoyed that he can’t have alone time with me for the second night in a row. Surely he’s going to get tired of me not being available when he is. Only getting to be Daddy for an hour a night. Not being able to have sex whenever we want. Plans being ruined because my mom has a bad day. I’m sure it will get old quickly. Then what? We’ll be over before we truly get started?
My heart physically hurts. Thankfully, the doorbell interrupts my painful thoughts.
“I got it,” I say as I rise from my seat.
Greer stands on my porch. “I hope it’s okay that I stopped by without calling first.”
My face splits into a grin as I step back to let her in. “Of course it’s okay. How are you?”
She nods, then glances toward the kitchen. “I’m good. More importantly, how are you? How’s your mom?”
“It’s been a good day. One of the best she’s had in weeks. Want to say hi?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
I take her hand to lead her to the kitchen and give it a gentle squeeze. “She might not remember who you are, so don’t be upset if she calls you by a different name.”
Giving my hand a squeeze back, Greer smiles softly. “I won’t. Don’t worry. I’ve done some reading about the disease. I won’t correct her if she thinks I’m someone else.”
I pause mid-stride to look at her. “You read about dementia?”
She nods. “Of course. When you first told me she was diagnosed, I wanted to learn more about it so I could be there for you both. I’ve failed at the being there part, and I’m sorry.”
My eyes widen, and I almost take a step back. “Greer, I never expected you to be there. She isn’t your responsibility.”
“That’s the problem, Summer. You should have expected me to be here. I’m your best friend. But I fucked up too. I’ve been letting my own mental health get in the way of me being a better friend. That’s going to change going forward. I want to help with your mom as much as you’ll let me.”
A fresh set of tears spring to my eyes. “Did Dane say something to you?”
The corners of her lips pull back into a soft smile. “He told me she’s been declining more rapidly and that you might need help. All of us want to be there for you. That’s what friends are for.”
I let out a long sigh. “I guess we’ve both been failing. I never knew you were struggling again. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She gives me a sad smile. “I didn’t want to burden you. Kind of like you didn’t want to burden me, I’m guessing.”
We stare at each other for several seconds before we wrap each other in a hug.
“Let’s promise to not keep stuff from each other anymore. We need to lean on our friends in times of need,” Greer says.
“Okay.” I nod. “Promise. No more keeping stuff.”
When we finally release each other, I grab her hand and tug her back to the kitchen where my mom is still sitting with a magazine in front of her. She looks up as soon as she hears us.
“Who’s your friend, Summer?” she asks as she eyes Greer.
“Mom, this is Greer. She used to live next door.”
