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Her face falls, but I don’t leave her hanging long.
“You don’t have to be a good girl, and I’ll still sneak you into my room.”
Chapter38
Thai, Texts, and Thirsty Bitches
MIA
“Iassume this is normal?” I ask Cal quietly, hoping she doesn’t overhear me.
We got to his mother’s house about ten minutes ago with takeout from a nearby Thai place.
His mother isn’t responsive right now. She’s been stuck in a loop since we got here. She opens the kitchen cabinet and stares inside for at least thirty seconds before she closes it, then opens it again. Rinse and repeat. Gloria said she started doing it about fifteen minutes before we got home.
Cal was so sweet to the dear lady from next door. His appreciation for what Gloria has done for his mother is so genuine, and he wears it right on his sleeve. Knowing him the way I do, it’s not an act. That’s just him. What you see is what you get.
While he stares at his mother, his pained sigh batters my heart.
He tsks, shaking his head. “Nothing is normal anymore.”
Springing into action mode, I offer to help the only way I can. “I’ll set the table and get the food situated. Maybe she’ll snap out of it with some dinner.”
“Thanks, tiger,” he mutters, his vision locked on his mom and his face pinched tightly.
As I start my task, he approaches her again and rests his hand on her shoulder. “What are you searching for, Ma? Do you know what you want in here?”
Nothing.
I grab plates from the nearby cabinet and shoot him a sympathetic look before finding the silverware drawer and piling a few utensils on top of the plates.
He grabs the binder, thumbing it open in front of her. “The recipe book? Is that what you want?”
Her only response is to glance at the book and then return her sight to the open cabinet.
Again, Cal tries to distract her, tugging her shoulder a tad stronger to distract her from the cabinet. “Ma, it’s time to eat. Are you hungry?”
She mumbles unintelligibly and shrugs him off.
His posture sags, but he shakes it off and tries again, this time with more authority in his tone while still being his compassionate unicorn self. “Come sit down, Ma.”
“No, Danny,” she shouts forcefully out of nowhere, raising her elbow to brush him off. “Let me find it, dammit!”
Cal takes a step back from her, hands shifting to a defensive posture. I can’t see his face, but it must be wrought with anguish. The cords on the sides of his neck are protruding, and his jaw is set in a firm line.
Danny— Daniel Allen Klein— was his father. She must think he’s his dad.
Ouch.
Not recognizing her sonandmistaking him for his deceased father. That’s a double-edged blade into Cal’s tender heart.
I want to help them, yet I don’t want to intrude. Maybe Cal doesn’t want assistance.
I’m sure he can handle the situation better than me, but he’s been trying to talk to her for nearly fifteen minutes, and it’s not working.
After quickly setting the utensils on the table, I pad to his side and squeeze his forearm. “May I try something?”
His glassy eyes meet mine. He gives a subtle nod and steps back a few paces.
