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We are done at the doctor a few hours later, and I have my old, sweaty cast swapped out for a new one that smells infinitely better.
Jessie and I drive back to Grady, but I ask him to make a stop before he takes me home.
He spends most of the drive telling me stories about what Nora, his toddler, has been up to. She always keeps her parents on their toes. And then he tells me that he and his wife, Tracy, are thinking about having another one. It’s crazy how my wild-child brother has turned into such a family man.
All three of my brothers have, actually.
And then, there’s me—the independent, negative Nancy who might end up dying alone.
That thought weighs heavy on my mind the rest of the drive, so thankfully, it’s not long before we are pulling up out front of Momma’s house. Jessie parks the truck, grabs my crutches, and helps me out before we make our way inside.
Jessie calls out for Momma, who hollers that she’s out back. Slowly but surely, I walk toward the sound of her voice.
When I get through the back door and onto the deck, I see her sitting in her lounge chair, watching Nora playing in her baby pool.
She looks up at me and smiles at me to my surprise. One of the genuine, classic, warm Annie Mitchell smiles.
“Hey, darlin’,” she greets. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to come talk to you,” I reply, sitting down in the chair next to her.
“Well, it’s a nice surprise.”
After I’m comfortable, Nora finally notices me. With a toothy grin, she squeals, “Nenna!” When she first started talking, she couldn’t pronounce Jenna. And now, none of us will correct her.
She grips the side of the small pool to keep her balance while her chunky legs step out of the water. Momma stands up to wrap her grandbaby in a towel before Nora waddles over to me. Scooping her into my lap, I wrap my arms around her.
“Nora, you’re going to get Aunt Nenna all wet,” Momma warns.
Shaking my head, I reply, “She’s fine. A little water never hurt anyone.”
Jessie walks outside at that moment with a giant sandwich in his hand. “Clearly, you haven’t told Momma the story of how you hurt yourself in the shower the other day.”
Momma’s eyes go wide. “What’s he talking about?”
“I fell in the shower,” I say through gritted teeth, angry at the fact that Jessie has a huge mouth.
“Goodness! Are you okay?” Momma asks. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Jessie interferes once again. “She didn’t need to. Her knight in shining armor showed up in the form of Shane McPherson.”
Momma’s mouth drops open. “Shane rescued you? While you were in the shower?” She leans forward and whispers, “Did he see your lady bits?”
With an obvious annoyance, I say, “First of all, I don’t need to be rescued. Ever. Shane just helped me out. And second of all, he didn’t see my lady bits. I was covered with a towel.”
Nora interrupts our conversation. “Nenna, come swim with me?” She points at her pool.
Before I can respond, Jessie says, “Maybe Nenna can swim later. We are going to go see Mommy at work, baby girl.”
“Nenna, will you come over later?” She asks, playing with a couple of my wild fly-away hairs.
“Well, Nora, considering I have some free time now, how about one day, Daddy brings you over to spend the night with Aunt Nenna?” I offer.
Her cute freckle-filled cheeks pull up into a big smile. “Okay!”
Jessie walks over to pick her up. “Momma, are you able to give Jenna a ride home? I want to take Tracy some lunch at the store.”
