Page 41 of Want to Know a Secret?

“We’re going to make cheesecake together, Mom,” I say. “Won’t that be fun? And I’m going to film it.”

Her eyes fall on my camera, sitting atop the tripod. “Film it?”

“Yes! You’re going to be on YouTube! Like a movie star.”

My mother just sits there, contemplating this revelation. I’m still not entirely sure whether she’s up to helping me. But she doesn’t have to do much. She doesn’t even have to talk or stand up. Her dementia is so advanced, there’s not much she can do anymore. But I can give her a bowl and let her do some mixing.

“April!”

I turn around and see Dr. Joseph Williams is standing behind me. Dr. Williams manages most of the patients on the memory care unit, and he’s been my mother’s doctor since even before she was admitted here. He was the one who helped me get her in here, and for that, I am eternally grateful. He’s an amazing doctor—smart and compassionate.

“Dr. Williams!” I cry. “I’m so glad you’re here! We were just going to start filming soon.”

Dr. Williams flashes me a smile. He’s in his early fifties and he always seems so in control of every situation. Whenever I see him standing there in his white coat, I feel comforted. “I knew that. Why do you think I came over here? I wouldn’t miss it.”

My cheeks flush with pride. Dr. Williams is so busy and so important, but he still gets a kick out of my internet show.

It takes me another half hour to get everything set up to start filming. I already have a no-bake cheesecake finished that I toss in a refrigerator. I’m not about to sit around here and wait for the cheesecake to be done. One of my secrets for filming is that I’ve always got a finished product already done before I start the show.

“All right, Mom,” I say to her. “The show is about to start. Are you ready?”

My mother looks up at me. For a moment, her eyes lose that glazed look and she’s her own old self again. She puts her hands on the table and struggles to her feet. “I’m ready.”

Here we go...

“Hello there!” I say as I look directly at the camera. “This is April from April’s Sweet Secrets. Today I’m at the nursing home with my wonderful mother, Janet Portland. She’s going to be helping me out today, right, Mom?”

She stares at me for a moment. There’s a little bit of drool in the corner of her mouth. She doesn’t look like she’s going to say anything. God, I hope she at least is willing to stir something in the mixing bowl.

“Anyway,” I say, “I’ve got a recipe for you today that—”

“April.” My mother’s cracked voice interrupts my monologue. “April is my daughter.”

I laugh and put my hand on her shoulder. “That’s right. I am.”

“April is my daughter,” she says. “And she is pure evil.”

Chapter 20

At my mother’s words, the smile instantly drops off my face. “Mom…”

But it’s like she doesn’t hear me. Her eyes stare straight at the camera, which I desperately want to shut off. But I’m frozen in place.

“She locked me in here.” The blinking red light ensures the camera is catching every moment of her little speech. Thank God we’re not live. “She trapped me here. I’m a prisoner.” Her gaze swivels so that her dark eyes are boring into me. Our small live audience seems frozen in shock as they watch this confrontation unfold. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing?”

The blood drains out of my face. “Mom, that’s not true.”

“You little ungrateful bitch!” she hisses at me.

And before I know what’s going on, she has lunged at me. I don’t know who is cutting my mother’s fingernails, but they are not doing a good job because I can feel her nails ripping through the skin of my neck. It goes on for about two seconds before I feel her being pulled off of me by Dr. Williams and a nurse.

I collapse against the table, breathing hard. It takes three nurses to restrain my mother, who is screaming at the top of her lungs. “Let me go! Let! Me! Go! I want to get out of here! I shouldn’t be here!”

I watch as they pull her away and bring her back to her room. Peggy and Dr. Williams follow down the hallway, but I stay put. I don’t want to go anywhere near her right now.

My heart won’t stop pounding. I gingerly touch my neck and when I pull my fingers away, there’s blood on my hands. Well, at least she didn’t bite me. But my hands won’t stop shaking. How could she have said those things to me? Whatever medications she’s getting, they’re not doing the trick.

After about ten minutes, Peggy and Dr. Williams come out of the room to talk to me. I’ve just been sitting at the table, gorging myself on the no-bake cheesecake I brought. It’s pretty clear we’re not going to be able to film anything today.