“You don’t need a nursing home.” Cody sat closer to his aunt. “We can get you a care aid. You don’t have to leave your home.”
“My dear.” She gave him a look.
I knew that look.
He winced.
“Most of my friends who were in my building when I moved in have either passed or moved out. I’m feeling a little lonely.”
“I’ll visit more often—”
“You will not.” She said this sharply. “You already do so much, my dear. I’m just ready for something new. The home has all levels of care. I’m starting out with the lowest level. As time passes, and my care needs increase, I can change levels. In other words, I can stay there for the rest of my life.”
“You could move in here. We can take care of you.”
“My dear.” Again, with the look.
He again winced.
“I’m not doing this to hurt you. On the contrary—I’m doing this to help myself. Annette moved there six months ago and loves it. I put my name on the waiting list, and they’ve found a spot for me. This is the right move for me, Cody. And you can visit as frequently as you like. Oh, and there’s a therapy dog who visits.” She gazed upward. “Chia. Belongs to the Cox boy. His grandparents are in there. Lovely couple and darling young grandson. Married to another sweet boy.”
“Boy?”
“Well, you know. I think Simeon’s about forty and Ryan’s a bit younger.” She gazed back and forth between the two of us. “An age-gap thing. You know.”
I nearly choked on my bite of mousse.
If this Simeon fellow was forty and still aboyin Genessa’s eyes, then maybe I wasn’t as old as I felt.
“Anyway, there’s another reason for me telling you all this.” She turned her blue eyes—so like Cody’s—on him.
He nodded.
“I’m gifting you half the proceeds of the condo.”
“No, you can’t.” Cody shook his head. “You’ve already given me so much.”
“My boy, I have way more to give.” She gave me a surreptitious look.
I didn’t have a clue about what.
“I bought stock in this American tech company. Friend of a friend knew some upstart in Seattle. I had some extra cash lying about, and I figured I’d have a go.”
“Oh.” Cody frowned.
“And I also invested some in the stock market after the crash of ’87.”
This time, I frowned. I remembered that event. Which only proved how damn old I was.
“I decided to cash everything in at the beginning of December. All of it. Now feels like a good time to get out of the market. I could’ve given you the shares, but then you’d have to pay a capital gains tax on anything you earned beyond that amount.”
Cody rubbed his forehead.
“Darius Evans. Great accountant. Dating that nice Pritchard girl.”
My head snapped up at that.
“Mallory? Colton’s sister?” Cody caught my gaze.
