AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Fifteen
Bear
“BEAR,” GRETA CALLED. “Your phone is ringing.”
I flushed the toilet and turned off the light. “You know where I left my phone?” I asked.
“No idea,” she laughed. “It sounds like it’s ringing in the kitchen.”
I jogged down the stairs and flipped on the kitchen light. My phone sat on the kitchen table and a number I hated to see was calling.
“I’ll make dinner,” Greta called from the top of the stairs.
It was half past six, and Greta and I had finally surfaced from the bedroom. Once we got a taste of each other, neither one of us wanted to stop.
Now reality was crashing into our perfect day.
I grabbed my phone and connected the call. “Bear,” I grunted.
“Hello, Mr. Graves. This is Glenna from the Hills Park Assisted Living calling.”
Greta moved up behind me and put her arms on my shoulder.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Glenna’s tone dropped, and her voice softened.
The world shifted around me, and my vision blurred. “What’s wrong?” This was the phone call I tried to convince myself I was ready for, but I really wasn’t.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but your mother passed in her sleep this afternoon.”
I didn’t hear anything else she said. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, and blood thundered through my ears.
“Bear,” I heard Greta call.
I dropped the phone from my ear and my arm dangled at my side.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Tell me.” She moved to stand in front of me and reached up to cup my cheek.
I shook my head and closed my eyes.
“Did he get another girl?” she asked.
God, as bad as it sounded, I wished that was what had happened. “No,” I chocked. “All the girls are fine.”
“Then what is it?” she asked softly. “Tell me.”
“Mr. Graves,” the woman on the phone called. “Mr. Graves!”
I looked down at the phone, but I couldn’t put it to my ear.
Greta took it from me. “Do you want me to talk?” she asked.
She had no idea what was going on, but she was there. I nodded and closed my eyes.
She put the phone to her ear and threaded her fingers through mine. “Hello?” she called. “Bear isn’t able to talk right now.”
I could hear the woman talk, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying to Greta. A gasp escaped her lips, and she squeezed my hand. She listened for another minute and ended the call with a promise to talk more later.
She dropped the phone to the counter and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so sorry, Bear,” she whispered.
I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her hair. Greta cried for a woman she didn’t even know, and I cried for the woman who had raised me for thirty-one years even though she hadn’t known who I was the past five years.
We shuffled over to the recliner, and I sat down with Greta in my arms.
I felt everything at once, but I was also numb.
Greta’s hand stroked my head, and she pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Tell me what you need,” she cooed.
“I have to leave,” I bit out. I didn’t want to focus on what I was feeling. There were things I needed to do back in Colorado. For five years, I had been preparing for this call, and I knew what needed to be done.
“Okay,” she whispered. She tried to hide her gasp of sadness. “Take however long you want,” she whispered. “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now.”
I didn’t want to feel right now. I couldn’t. It wasn’t real yet. “Come with me,” I blurted impulsively. I had been alone the last five years, but for the past three weeks, I had been surrounded by people who just honestly cared about everyone. That was what I needed right now.
“Okay,” she replied. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
“It’ll take a couple of days to get everything squared away.”
She nodded and looked up at me. “Okay.” She caressed my cheek and sighed. “I’m here.”
I laid my head back and closed my eyes.
My last tie to Colorado was gone. Without a goodbye, I was alone.
