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“This is where your grandmother lives?” Becca asks.
I understand her confusion. I’d look at the sprawling, double story house and wonder how an elderly woman would manage too.
I nod. “This is my mother’s place. Grammy came up here to live in a retirement home, to be closer to Mom. She lasted about five days there, before she was convinced all the men were trying to get into her pants. So Mom gave up and just moved her in here.”
I’m closer with my mother than I am my father, but for obvious reasons, I see a hell of a lot more of Dad. I come up here when I can, although it’s not very often, but we handle it with regular phone calls.
She shakes her head. “Wow. Big commitment. That must be hard work for your mom.”
“It is, but you do what you have to, I guess.”
The moment Mom answers the door, Becca relaxes. I knew she would. Mom is pretty laid-back and easy to get along with, and so is Becca. Mom gives me a hug, then her gaze settles on Becca. She smiles at me and raises her eyebrows. I shake my head. How did I know she’d get the wrong idea?
“Hi. I’m Renée,” Mom takes Becca’s hand and shakes it. “Are you a friend of Liam’s?”
“No, she’s just some random girl I picked up on the side of the road.”
“No need to be rude,” Mom sniffs. “It’s not like I’m privy to what’s going on in your life.”
I sigh and rub my eyes. My mother is of the belief that if I don’t have something to tell her every single conversation, then I’m obviously holding back on her. Never mind the fact that I’m a boring guy who works too hard.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Becca says, shaking my mother’s hand.
“Likewise.” Mom smiles. “You seem like a nice girl. How did you two meet?”
“I’m a friend of Jake’s,” Becca is quick to say.
I glance at her, my eyebrows slightly raised. Then again, if the choices are we met at a strip club, or she’s my student, I’m not sure which would be better received.
“Jake. Of course. How did the bachelor night go?” Mom asks. “Those nights are always too rowdy. I hope there weren’t any strippers,” she adds, raising her eyebrows at me.
I chuckle and wrap my arm around Becca’s waist, who looks mildly terrified that I’m about to dump her in the shit. She’d be right, though.
“Ask Becca. She organized it.” I grin. “What do you think, does ping-pong girl count as a stripper?”
“Oh? You planned Jake’s bachelor party?” she asks, the slightest trace of disapproval in her voice.
As laid-back and casual as my mother is, there are certain things she gets her back up over, and pre-wedding festivities, especially when they involve things like strippers, are not something she’s comfortable with. I glance at Becca, realizing I should’ve warned her before we got here. And I definitely shouldn’t have announced that she planned the party.
I think I better keep what else happened, to myself.
“Where’s Grammy?” I ask, keen to change the subject.
“She’s in the living room.” Mom nods straight ahead, like I wasn’t here only a few weeks ago. She makes a face. “Sorry, force of habit.”
“Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee before you go?”
My stomach rumbles at the mention of coffee. Usually by now, I’d be on my fifth cup, but today, I’d somehow managed to survive on one.
“Sure. I’ll just go and say hi to Grammy.”
Becca follows Mom into the kitchen, so I walk into the living room. Grammy sits in her chair, near the TV. Her eyes are closed, but I can see the soft rise and fall of her chest.
I watch her sleep for a moment, my hands buried deep in my pockets, so I can’t fidget with them. Lately, all thinking about Grammy does is bring me sadness. I hate even admitting it, but it’s like I instinctively know she doesn’t have long left.
Maybe that’s why I call and visit her as much as I can. I know it’s not enough and that I should try harder, but time is so short as it is. I turn around, ready to sneak back out, but just as I do, she stirs. Her eyes flicker open and take a moment to fixate on me. Then a moment longer to recognize who I am. She smiles so widely that I can’t help but smile back.
“Hey Grammy,” I murmur.
I crouch down next to her chair and take her hand. She beams at me, a smile that makes my heart soar and places her hand over mine.
“I’ve missed you, Liam,” she says.
Wow. She actually knows me today. It’s the first time in a long time I’m not my uncle Sam, or my father. Or at her worst, a total stranger.
