Page 7 of Forever Mine

“You are not a bother. We’ll get right on it. I’ll call you back, okay? I love you, Nana,” I tell her.

“Love you too, Monica Rose,” she replies before ending the call.

“Is she okay?” Em asks quietly.

“She fell and had surgery on her hip. I need to find a rehab place to take her,” I respond. “Fucking hell, Em. She doesn’t have medical insurance. No way Medicaid is gonna cover all of this. The hospital bills will be through the roof, not even including rehab. What am I gonna do?” I can feel tears building in my eyes as emotion clogs my throat.

“We’ll figure it out. Come on. We have some Googling to do, and I need to put this back on the stove,” Em says softly as she shuttles me back into the living room.

A quick Google search while Emily finishes dinner shows me that we only have two rehabilitation facility options. I call both, and only one is accepting new patients. Even with Medicaid, the weekly cost for Nana will be around one thousand dollars.

“Either I gotta find a corner and start selling myself, or I may need to sell a kidney,” I joke with disdain as we sit down to eat.

“I have some savings, Mon,” Em says quietly.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s not your grandmother, and I didn’t ask for your help.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. Nana’s the only grandmother I’ve ever known, and you and I know she’d sell the shirt off her back to help either of us. You don’t get to tell me how to spend my savings. Helping Nana would be an honor,” Em says. Damn. Thought I couldn’t feel any worse, but my bestie managed to put me in my place.

“I didn’t think of it that way, Em. I really don’t like asking for help,” I admit.

“I know. But this is why I have savings. It’s for when my family needs help. You and Nana are my family. Lord knows my sister doesn’t give me the time of day, so you’re all I’ve got,” she jokes. I snort. Em’s sister Stacey is a weasel. Em is better off without her. “Let’s get Nana settled in at whatever rehab place will take her, and then we will figure out the next steps, okay?”

I nod. I’m lost for words. I don’t know what I did to deserve Emily Benson. She’s the best person I know.

Two weeks later

“Bambino! What is that grin for? You look like you’re busting at the seams with glee,” Nana comments as I waltz into her room at the rehab facility. Her physical therapist has her up and standing with a walker.

“Look at you, Nana! Obviously going places,” I tease, and she chuckles.

“Gotta get the hell out of this joint. Old people smell,” she smarts. The therapist has difficulty hiding his smile.

“My Nana is a gem, isn’t she?” I say.

“That she is,” he says as he rises to stand and turns to look directly at me. Oh my. “She’s told me all about you. I’m Shawn.” He gives me a panty-melting grin, and I see my Nana give me a thumbs-up from behind him before tottering and grabbing onto the walker.

“Oh! Nana, I forgot to tell you! I passed my realtor exam. Can you believe it? I’m gonna be a realtor!” I exclaim. She gives me a big grin.

“How did you do that in two weeks?” she asks.

“It was a ninety-hour course, and it was all online. So I basically lived on the computer when I wasn’t working, but it’s fine. I can start working in real estate while also working my retail job. I’ll be raking in the dough here soon,” I tell her.

“That sounds like you’re going to be really busy,bambino. How will you have a social life? You can’t meet a nice young man if you’re constantly working,” she says pointedly as she drags her eyes from me to Shawn and back to me again.

“I better ask you now before you start double-duty, Monica. Can I take you to dinner?” Shawn asks with a hopeful grin.

Wow. Didn’t think I’d come to visit my grandmother and leave with a date.

“Um, yeah. Okay. Sure,” I say shyly.

“Great. Can I have your number?”

I rattle off my number, and he plugs it into his phone before sending me a text.

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