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She smiled, then drifted off to sleep.
He walked down the hallway, holding the deck of cards in his hands, anxious to get to his mother. Hopefully, he was arriving early enough like the nurse had suggested, so that his mom would be able to play a game of Truco.
He got to the first hurdle and it wasn’t the same woman as yesterday. If he had to guess, it was a temp.
“Who are you here to see?” the young woman asked.
“I know where I’m going. My name is Mateo Aranda. Just give me my nametag and I’ll go upstairs to see my mother, Graciella Aranda.”
The girl typed his mother’s name into her computer and stared.
“Hold on a minute.”
She picked up the phone, then turned around and bent over, obviously trying to not let him hear something. It was at that moment that he knew something was wrong. But it couldn’t be. The nurses told him that she would be stronger in the morning.
The young woman turned around and gave him a wobbly smile.
“Hold on for just a minute. Someone will be right down.”
“Has something happened to my mother?”
“You need to wait for just a moment.”
Mateo took a deep breath. The girl didn’t even look twenty. She was just a temp. But, she knew something, and she wasn’t telling him.
“Tell me,” he barked.
“Sir, please.” She was practically in tears.
The elevator dinged and they both turned to look at it. The big guy named Rodney came striding over to them.
“Tell me,” Mateo barked again.
Rodney put his hands on Mateo’s shoulders.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
So sorry for your loss.
Always.
Always.
They were always so sorry for my loss.
1
Mateo rolled his shoulders as he stepped out of his truck. He had to slam the door shut twice to get it to take, but he was beginning to love the damn thing anyway. Gonna take a lot of work to get her fixed up. A lot of work and a lot of money, but it would be worth it.
The tan and cream fifty-year-old Dodge looked out of place on Gideon’s fancy-assed circular drive in front of his brick colonial-style house. Too bad his teammate had such a long private drive so his neighbors couldn’t see the type of redneck friends Gideon hung around with.
Seeing all the mommy SUVs and vans, he lifted his face into the pouring rain, savoring the peace, until he heard a crack of thunder. The birthday party that started at putt-putt golf and games must have shut down a little early and they all ended up here.
He’d really been hoping to get here half an hour before the rugrats so he could get some peace and quiet but the traffic had been a bitch. Damn, he’d really wanted to sit back and chill with one of Gideon’s good beers before the chaos ensued. Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be.
Of course, none of his teammates’ cars or trucks were around. They were all watching the game out at the pub that was having two-for-one drinks out near Norfolk, instead of the local watering hole. He hadn’t been able to join them because today was his mom’s birthday, and he always lit a candle at church in her honor.
Always.
