Page 14 of After Him, There Was You
Everett Monroe was a hell of a man, and not in a good way either. The very few memories of him I had which didn’t consist of him emotionally abusing me, my sisters, or my mama were far and few, and of those few, he was more than likely pissy drunk and passed out.
My mama stayed with him until my youngest sister Alexa left home for college. She endured years of abuse from a man who couldn’t keep a job to save his life in the name of being a family, and she showed me the many reasons why such a sacrifice was never worth it.
Setting up such an unhealthy family dynamic was something I promised myself I would never do well before I became a mother.
It wasn’t long after Tyger was born, I came to the realization Trevor and I were forcing a relationship for the sake of our sons. Although we had a deep-rooted level of love for each other, we had different standards of how a household should function, and I knew for either of us to compromise would have been detrimental in the long run.
After a long heart-to-heart conversation, we decided we would be better off as friends, and we never looked back.
“I know, but you didn’t experience the childhood I did either,” she defended. “We both have our crosses to bear I suppose,” she stated in a defeated tone.
“Girl, no. We are not going to allow factors beyond our control to taint our breakfast. We are going to eat and then we are going to do some retail therapy because we deserve it. Deal?”
“Deal,” she agreed and that was all she wrote.
Chapter 8: Beautiful Soul - Zane
Across Town
“How is she doing today?” I asked Shannon, the hospice nurse who had been taking care of my mother for the past couple of weeks.
“She’s in good spirits today,” she stated, offering me a subtly warm smile.
Hiring Shannon was one of the first things I did when I made my move back to North Brooke Port.
Learning the news of my mother’s cancer diagnosis physically knocked me down to my knees, and the day Zeke called with the news was one I’d never forget.
He’d mentioned during conversation here and there how our mama had been losing weight at a significant rate, but every time he would mention it to her, she would discount his concerns. It wasn’t until he found her passed out at home and had to rush her to the hospital a month ago, she finally decided to tell us the burden she’d been carrying alone.
The strongest woman I knew had been battling stage three breast cancer and had made the ultimate decision not to undergo chemo and radiation. When we found out about her stance on her diagnosis, we both gave our all to change her mind, but she had her mind made up and because of her stubbornness, the cancer was taking her life before our very eyes.
Although she had the sickness, I felt as if it was killing all of us.
“Did you get her to eat today?”
“She took a few bites of a grilled cheese sandwich and a few sips of tomato soup. Just enough to take her medicine.”
Shaking my head, defeat consumed me, and I felt helpless. I moved back to North Brooke Port thinking if I was physicallywith her, I could convince her to reconsider the recommended treatment, but she still wasn’t going for it.
We were at the point where Shannon was keeping her comfortable and Zeke and I were becoming regulars at Greenhouse Therapy making sure she had enough weed to keep her in good spirits. Yet with all our efforts to make sure she was as content as she could be, it was breaking us to watch her die.
“I was actually headed to the store since your brother is here. I’m going to see if cooking her favorite meal will be enough to get her to eat more than she has been.”
Knowing she was referring to my mama’s love for lobster rolls, I smiled. My smile quickly dissipated when Shannon let me know she wanted to talk to Zeke and me when she got back.
Excusing myself, I headed to the back of the house where my mama’s room was. The closer I got to the room door, the lighter my heart got, and the more joy spread on my face.
“Uncle Zane!”Chasity, Elise, and Paige cheered when I crossed the threshold.
Carefully, each of them crawled out of bed with their grandma and greeted me. Judging from the amount of caution they were utilizing, I was sure Zeke had let them in on how fragile Mama was. I didn’t know if they knew she was battling cancer, but even as children, I knew more than likely they could look at her and see something wasn’t quite right with the woman who on the average day didn’t have a problem keeping up with the best of them.
After I showered each of my three nieces with an equal amount of love, I hugged Zeke, and then proceeded to greet the most important person in the room.
“Hey, Mama.”
“Hey, Toon,” she greeted with a weak smile, referring to me by the nickname most people in my family called me due to how animated and cartoon-like I was when I was younger.
“How are you doing? Shannon told me you’re barely eating again.”
