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“I see you’re still feeling good.” I knew from Tamara’s reports that Mom had her good and bad days.
She shrugged. “Some days are better than others, I suppose.”
“Where’s Tamara?” I asked. A moment later, Tam came in from the backyard where, I assumed, she’d been working in the garden. She pulled off dirty gardening gloves and tossed them in a basket near the door before going to the kitchen to wash her hands. “How’s the garden?”
“It’s good! I was just putting the pansies in. Morning glories were in last week. What’s new with you?” Heat rushed my cheeks before I had a chance to respond, and Tam picked up on it right away. “Ooh, what’s his name?”
Dammit. I wasn’t going to get into this today.I looked at my feet and exhaled slowly. “Dex,” I mumbled before looking up to meet Tam’s gaze.
“Great name. Is he hot?”
“Tamara!” Mom chided.
I laughed and nodded. “He is pretty hot, if you like silver foxes.”
“I do.” She shot a look at Mom. “Okay, fine. What’s he like?”
I took a seat at the kitchen table and sighed again, giving in to the inquisition I was facing. “He’s great. He’s really nice. Always asking questions, trying to get to know me. I feel like he likes me for who I am, you know? Not just what’s in it for him. He’s so generous. Like, really generous. And smart. He’s definitely smarter than I am.”
Tam frowned. “He said that?”
I shook my head quickly. “No, not at all. I can just tell. He can talk to just about anyone, about almost anything. Everyone seems to like him. And he likes to try new things, which makes hanging out with him a lot of fun. He’s actually taking me to a concert tonight. We went to a baseball game last weekend.”
“Really? At least he’s interesting. What’s he do for a living?”
I picked at the place mat Mom had set out, trying unsuccessfully to suppress my grin. “He’s in investment analysis or something. Something math-y. He says he’s just a number cruncher, nothing important. But I think he must be important, at least to his company. They’re always giving him things. You know, little perks. That’s how we ended up at the baseball game last weekend, actually. The concert tonight, too. Those tickets are from his company. I guess they sponsor events or something, because they’re always giving him free tickets to something or other.”
Tam grabbed a yeast roll from the basket on the table and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. “And how’d you meet?”
My stomach turned to ice. I knew I shouldn’t have brought him up. “At a party,” I hedged.
“Aren’t you a little old to be going to parties?” Mom asked. “Unless it was a bachelor party for one of your friends? Those friends of yours always seem to be getting married these days. I guess it’s time, now that you’re all about thirty, to start settling down. When I was young—”
“No, it was… um…” I bit the bullet. “It was at a big fancy banquet I was invited to, actually.”
Mom squinted at me a little strangely. “What do you mean, a banquet? Is this something for work?”
“I… It was the Michaels Foundation banquet.”
“What’s the Michaels Foundation banquet?” Tam asked.
Mom leaned against the kitchen counter and eyed me. “It’s a charity, that’s what. They give out money to the needy every year.”
“Mom, I—”
She held her hand up to silence me. “Listen to me. You know how I feel about charity.”
Tam hummed quietly. “What did you do?”
“Nothing! I mean… okay, I applied for a grant from them, yes. But Mom, it was—”
“Bennie, I know you meant well.” She took a slow breath and sat down across from me. “I know you meant well, requesting money from this… foundation. And even though this isn’t how I would have gone about it, I want you to know I appreciate it.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “The truth is, I’ve already started to get overwhelmed with the number of medical bills that I’m going to have. And I applied for some experimental treatments, you know, applied to join some studies, but those aren’t guaranteed, and there are costs involved with those, too. So, I want you to know, I’m thankful for your help. It means a lot to me that you’d go out of your way to help me.”
“Mom, I—” My throat was thick, and I had to swallow before I could keep talking. “Of course I would. I’d do anything to help you, Mom, just like you did for us. I don’t want you to worry about anything other than your treatments, okay?”
“Of course, baby. But I don’t wantyouto worry about my bills. I’ve always handled my money without help from anyone.”
“Don’t be silly, Mom,” Tam piped up. “Take the help. It’s not an insult when people help you.”
