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“If she’s a monster, it’s not her fault. She was made that way.” Vernon looked down. “Despite all that, I still love her.”
CHAPTER21
Ava (Day 4)
The sun beatagainst my skin drying off the water from the pool. Luckily the plastic covering my tattoo hadn’t budged. I wasn’t the greatest swimmer because I learned in the ocean against the waves. A pool was different, you didn’t have to try so hard to stay afloat.
I rather enjoyed it. Joseph banged on Dottie’s door at seven in the morning to go swimming. I was in no mood to wake up that early, he didn’t care. He had the day off from school and wanted to spend the entire time in the pool. Dottie begged me to go with them.
“Ava, watch!” Joseph shouted from the diving board.
I waved to let him know I was. The little twerp did a backflip into the water. Okay, that was cool. “Nice job!” I yelled.
“See, isn’t this fun?” Dottie slapped my leg as she came to sit next to me.
“It’s not bad. The kid is cool.” I nodded toward Joseph.
“What about the pool? Way different from when dad taught us in the ocean,” she laughed.
“Yeah, swim fast, or a shark is gonna get you.” I mimicked what our dad used to say to us.
“Or, If you drown, I’m not saving you.” Dottie mimicked his other saying.
The door to the back patio slammed open. Dottie and I turned. Ethan and his dad were in the middle of their meeting, and also turned. He kept his word that I wouldn’t be let out of his sight. Even last night when I insisted I sleep in my sister's room. He slept in a chair in the corner.
Two nurses steadied a woman between them. My stomach turned. It was my mother. Yeah, I was being childish. I had been avoiding her for days. The move was hard on her. It was something else that was my fault.
The nurses brought her over to Dottie and me, then set her down. She smiled at us, “What a beautiful day.”
My mom’s hair was curled and fell around her shoulders. She had on loose white pants and a matching white button-up. Her eyes lost the haze they had for years. She appeared content.
“It really is,” Dottie beamed.
“How’s Joseph doing?” My mother looked toward the pool.
As if he heard his name, Joseph climbed out of the pool and ran toward my mom. “Grandma Carrie.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “How’s your time? Did you speed up on the dive?”
“Still a little slow. I’m working on it.” He bounced from heel to heel.
“Come on. I'll time you.” She stood. The nurses steadied her as she got up.
What the heck?It had only been a few days. I counted on my fingers. Four. It had been four days, how did I miss so much?
Once my mother was out of earshot, I turned to Dottie. “How?”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Dottie clapped her hands.
“How?” I watched as my mother pulled out a stop watch and yelled, ‘Go!’ Joseph dove into the water and swam as fast as he could. My mother cheered him on. It wasn’t the same woman I grew up with.
“Doctor Ameer said it could be the proper medication or it could be Joseph.” She leaned in closer. “You still can’t mention dad, but she is getting better.”
“Why is she having trouble walking?” A nurse kept her hand on my mother’s back.
“The medications. Dr. Ameer said that will go away and soon she will be good. Not perfect, but good. I think it’s Joseph to be honest. The first night he went into her room and told her all about swimming. She looked right at him and said she wanted to see him swim.” Dottie smiled so wide, she showed all of her teeth.
This was a miracle. If for no other reason than this, I would owe Ethan and Tristan my life. They gave my mother her life back. It was something I took when I killed her husband.
