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At first glance, I saw it was a handwritten prescription, and I thought of running after her to give it back. But then, after giving it a better look, I saw it was for oxycodone … written in my mother's handwriting.
The doctor's name printed on the top was Dr. Erin House, OB/GYN, and I thought about what Laura had said.
“… I saw her at my doctor’s office. She was the secretary there, and …”
“Holy fuck, Mom,” I muttered, crumpling the stolenpaperand stuffing it into my pocket. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Or better yet … who was she doing it for—herself … or the guy in her apartment?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
BIG EMPTY
“… in the chocolate flavor?”
I gave my head a quick shake before focusing my attention on Mrs. Montgomery, holding up a container of dietary fiber chews.
“I’m sorry,” I said before clearing my throat. “What was that?”
Her scowl deepened. The woman looked like a toad. “What, do you have cotton in your ears?”
“Mrs. Montgomery, I’m sorry. I just …” I swallowed to chase away the thoughts of my mother and the prescription she’d written out for herself. “I’mkindahaving a tough week, but—”
“Lifeis tough. Get used to it,” she snapped.
“Oh, believe me, I’m more than used to it,” I fired back, a harsh bite in my tone.
The old woman studied me with a hardened glare. Our relationship was hot and cold. Some days, I could get a little hint of a smile from her while, others, I was lucky if she even looked me in the eye when she spoke to me. I was always polite though. Always kind and willing to take her sharp and heated comments, for the sake of my reputation in town and my job. But today, I was tired. Mentally and physically exhausted. And I couldn’t find it in me to be anything but.
She held my gaze with an iron grip, her mouth twitching with irritability and whatever snappy comeback she hadwaiting. But then she surprised me by thrusting the container toward my face—as close as she could get with her short arms and four-foot-nine stature—and said, “These. Do you have them in chocolate?”
I slowly took the container from her while cocking a brow and narrowing one eye, wondering what the hell had kept her from firing back at me. “Um, give me a sec while I check the stockroom.”
“Fine. I’ll wait here.”
I hurried for the door at the back of the store, where I searched the rows of boxes, bags, and towers of cans until I found what she was looking for. I grabbed a box of twelve containers of chocolate dietary fiber chews to restock the shelf and hurried back to where Mrs. Montgomery was still waiting.
“Here you go,” I said, pulling out my box cutter and slicing through the tape. I pulled out a container and handed it over. “Chocolate.”
“Hmph.”
She dropped it into her cart and turned to walk away, but then she stopped. She glanced over her shoulder and looked up at me.
“Whatever’s on your mind, it won’t last forever. And before you know it, it’ll be just another memory.”
My lips rolled between my teeth as I let what she had said sink in, and then I nodded. “I know. But that doesn’t help what’s going on in the present though.”
“No. But you might want to think before you let it affect your life. Ask yourself … does this matter? Does this serve me to care? And if the answer is no”—she reached out and tapped my aproned chest with a knobby finger—“then you might want to reconsider the next time you ignore your friends for something that doesn’t belong in your head in the first place.”
I sniffed and felt the corner of my mouth lift in a reluctant smile. “Mrs. Montgomery … are you saying you’re my friend?”
She clicked her tongue and began to push the cart away. “Don’t go making assumptions, Mr. Mason. They’ll only make an ass out of you.”
Howard appeared by my side as she disappeared down the next aisle, and I said, “That old bat just called me her friend.”
“Well, yeah,” he replied as he wiped his hands against his apron, “she speaks very highly of you.”
I guffawed at that. “Get out of here, man. That woman hates me.”
