AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The doctor, who has been hanging around in the lounge, puts his hand on my shoulder. “Not going well?”
I growl. “That’s an understatement.”
Fitzroy gives me a wry smile. “I’m not sure an ultimatum was the wisest approach.”
I collapse into a chair and scrub my face with my palms. “She gave me no choice.” I let out a moan. “Not sure how to move forward.” I remove one hand to fumble for my phone.
“Mr. Martin?” A brisk voice hails me from the lounge entrance.
Abandoning the quest for my mobile, I look up at the woman in crisp nurse’s garb who regards me expectantly.
“Can I help you?” I ask.
“I just came from your mother’s room. She wants to speak with you and is worried you left the hospital. I told her I would try to find you.”
Getting to my feet, I repeat my mantra.Be conciliatory. Be conciliatory. I want to find some way out of this impasse without surrendering the thing that’s most important to me—my future with Micki.
A muscle in Maman’s right cheek twitches as I walk into the room. She holds out a small, heavily veined, shaky hand and I take it between mine. Her skin feels like tissue paper. I stand next to the bed, neither of us able to begin a conversation.
After what seems like eternity, Maman rasps, “Sit down, mon chou.”
I drop her hand and pull over the chair. Once I’m positioned, she holds out her hand again, the connection seeming so necessary, even if we can’t communicate any other way.
Her voice a mere whisper, she says, “I am so sorry. And so selfish.” Silent tears roll down her cheeks.
“You were doing what you thought would bring the most happiness, and you believed your idea of happiness and mine would be the same.” I clear my throat. “Now we have to find some way to both be happy.”
“Why do you want me to move to Chicago? If you aren’t going to move here, perhaps that means things stay just the way they are.”
My feet shuffle as I move the chair backward and forward. “Nothing will stay the same. You can’t live alone.”
“I don’t need to. François can return.”
“That’s not a solution. Once he is well enough to leave rehab, Uncle François will move back to a facility in Montreal. If you don’t move to Chicago, assisted living here would be a possibility.” I squeeze her hand gently. “But I can’t be here often, and I want you nearby. You can’t live alone, and being in Chicago means I can make sure you have all the best care. And Micki and I will, well, you won’t be alone.”
Sniffles erupt along with a few tears as I tell her, “I know you want grandchildren.” I pause and gaze into hope filled eyes. “I have some ideas about that, too.”
“You and Micki? You’d be willing…?”
She doesn’t finish the thought—a request I’d have to say no to. But I have some other ideas. “Let me put some plans in place. And I have to talk to Micki about the immigration piece.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Micki is a lawyer. She can find out how to make everything work because you should be able to claim status as the mother of an American citizen.”
“You’ve given up your Canadian citizenship?” Her voice is low, but the sourness of Maman’s face could curdle cream.
“Once a Canadian, always a Canadian. I have dual citizenship now. It would be the same for you. You don’t lose your identity.”
“What’s your plan?”
I can’t believe she is giving in so easily. Perhaps now that she knows I will never marry Angélique, she is choosing me. Warmth pervades my chest. She and Uncle François are my only family. I’ve done my best for him. That’s all I can do. Maman is a different matter, and I’m relieved I won’t lose her. I give her hand another squeeze.
“You need to be settled as soon as possible, and the doctor agreed if I can provide a flight that has the proper equipment and medical staff on board …” Is this a little white lie? The doctor didn’t forbid the travel, just didn’t advise it for a longer period than I want to wait. “We’re working on the timing. If it can’t be soon, in the meantime you’ll get cardiac rehabilitation in a nursing home. I’ll take care of all the arrangements.”
“What about the house?”
“I’ll contact a real estate agent for the sale, and then you’ll have a nice nest egg to invest.” It’s my house but I don’t begrudge her the money.
