“Any fun plans this weekend?” He switches topics.
I plan to make some peppermint bark fudge for the staff at Heritage Hills. Would he think that was fun? I lift my hands palm up and shrug.
The elevator settles, and then the door opens. I give a little wave, tuck my head, and skedaddle, the tiny general inside my head yelling a swift retreat.
“Mackenzie.”
Jeremy’s voice makes me stop and turn, my clutch held against my belly.
“Next time, how about not dominating the conversation and letting me get a word in, yeah?” He grins and waves, then leaves.
Next time.What a horrifying and thrilling notion.
It takes a few minutes for the elevator to travel back up to the ninth floor, collect Keri, and travel back down again. When the doors open, her face can barely contain her excited smile.
“So?” she asks.
I start walking, and she has to jog a couple of steps to catch up to me. “Never do that again.”
“What? Why?” She puts a comforting hand on my arm. “Whatever you said, it couldn’t have been that bad.”
I slow my steps. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Nothing at all?” She blinks. “You guys rode down in complete silence?”
That probably would have been easier and less embarrassing. “No.”
Understanding dawns in her eyes. “So, he talked and you...”
“Nodded and shrugged like an idiot.”
Keri’s grip on me tightens until I’m forced to stop walking.
“You are not an idiot.” She enunciates each word slowly. “You need to stop talking about yourself like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to yourself.”
I stare at her.
She stares back and crosses her arms. “We’re not leaving until you apologize. Say, ‘Mackenzie Delphine Graham, I’m sorry for filling your head with nonsense about yourself. You are kind and caring, and anyone would be lucky to have you in their lives.’”
I snort, but the icy stare Keri wears refuses to melt. Good gracious, she’s serious.
“Fine.” I repeat what she said, but the words lack conviction. I may be kind and caring, but I am also a social screw-up.
She hooks her arm through mine and pulls me along. “Let’s go see your mom.”
I hip-check her, glad not to be on the receiving end of her glare anymore. “And Alejandro.”
She shimmies her shoulders and waggles her brows suggestively before dissolving into a fit of giggles.
The cold air is a shock to the system as we step out of thebuilding. I zip my fleece-lined jacket up higher, stopping just below my chin. My breath puffs out, evaporating in white wisps before my eyes. The sky is dark above us even though it’s only six o’clock. Winter days are short here in Wisconsin. Keri and I catch the sunrise and about an hour of light in the morning, but the sun clocks out every day before we do.
We climb into Keri’s Subaru and fifteen minutes later turn into the parking lot at Heritage Hills. My stomach sinks to my toes, the familiar guilt weighing me down. I try to mask my expression before Keri notices. She’s already gotten after me enough today. Besides, I know what she’ll say. That Heritage Hills is the place my mom chose. That even though I may not like her decision, it was her choice to make.
And I know that, deep down. Before her mind became too far gone, she wanted to have as much control over her own future as she could. I protested, pleaded for her to let me take care of her, but she wouldn’t listen. She made a different choice, and I have to live with that.
