“You know what? That does sound good.”
Thank you, Riggs. “Okay. After that, we can play Rummy.” The card game is one of her favorite pastimes.
There’s a twinkle in her eyes I haven’t seen for some time. “And you can tell me all about your trip. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have you back.”
It takes an hour to get the kitchen in order before I can even think about starting the lasagna. That’s when I discover I have only about half of what I need.
“I’m heading to the store to pick up a few things,” I tell her. “Do you want anything?”
“You know what sounds good? I don’t know what’s gotteninto me, but remember those sour gummy worms?”
I loved them when I was a kid. She couldn’t understand how I could eat them. She said they were like biting into a lemon. “Sure, I’ll pick up a bag. Anything else?”
“No, that’s it. Thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll be right back.”
That’s so interesting. Riggs was right. Her tastes have completely changed.
At the store, I run into Randy. He’s picking up a case of beer. “What a weekend, right? I still can’t believe we got to do stuff with Riggs and Ash. My Instagram is blowing up.”
I still can’t believe I had no clue who they were. “You’ve watched a lot of their videos?”
“Yeah, all of them. I love the one where they were on the Hua Shan Trail in China. They were scared shitless.”
I don’t know why, but they didn’t seem like the type of guys who could be scared of anything. And the way Riggs described his brother, it sounded like he didn’t know what fear was. “Even Ash?”
“Yeah, they both were.”
“Interesting. Maybe I’ll try to watch that one later.”
“Search their channel for ‘Path of Death.’ It’s intense.”
“Okay, I will.”
Nice to know that Ash has his weaknesses like the rest of us mere mortals. And Riggs, too, for that matter. Seeing them for the first time, you’d think they were visiting from Mount Olympus.
I set my basket on the counter at the register.
“How’s your mom doing?” George asks.
He’s wearing his usual greenapron. He and his wife, Mary, own the store. They have a daughter my age, Jennifer, but everyone calls her Jen. As an artist, she sells her paintings to tourists in Depoe Bay on the coast. That’s where everyone goes to watch the gray whale migrations from Alaska to Mexico, then back to Alaska. It’s one of Oregon’s biggest attractions.
Her paintings are amazing, and I’d love to own one someday. She gives them as wedding presents, which means I’ll never get one that way. And I don’t happen to have fifteen hundred dollars just lying around.
“Mom is as good as can be expected,” I tell George. “You know how it is.”
“I wish there was something we could do. Mary is just sick about it.”
When they first found about Mom’s diagnosis, George and Mary told me to come shop for whatever groceries we needed and not to worry about paying. It was an incredibly generous offer, but I refuse to be a charity case. I told them I would take them up on their offer if I needed to, but we’re doing okay for now. They’ve accepted that, but Mary still drops off a casserole or pie every week. I haven’t had the heart to tell her mom never eats anything she brings, but Josh and Keagan sure do. They love her cooking.
I plug my debit card into the card reader and enter my PIN. “I wish Mary wouldn’t worry about us, but it’s nice that she cares. I’ll tell Mom you asked about her.”
The total comes to $17.64. It’s been a long time since I’ve paid for something without a sick feeling in my stomach. Ms. Southerby’s bonus gave me some breathing room. Thank goodness.
Mom ate a healthy portion of lasagna. I’m so glad, and it gives me hope that I’ll be able to find more things she’ll like. We play Rummy while she snackson the sour gummies. Seeing her eat them like a little girl makes me laugh. She’s talking, smiling, even joking with me. I’m guessing the sugar has something to do with her elevated mood.
I wish we could have more days like this, just the two of us doing something she enjoys, but I feel like I’m always two steps behind on everything that needs to get done.
