Page 59 of New River Gorge(ous)
“My mom put the cart way before the horse?”
“Yes. But it’s on the internet,” I say as I crumple into a heap on the pink shag carpet. “And Beck has his own story, and…” I dissolve into sobs.
“Honey,” Mom says, her voice significantly softer now. “You can tell her to take it down.”
“But it’s still outthere, Mom,” I whine. “I have hundreds of texts, and now I have to tell everyone what she did.”
“Sweetheart… It’s quite likely that she’s not totally right in her mind.”
I roll my eyes. Meemaw is definitely in her right mind, except for this post. It’s so strange. She’s been known to make questionable decisions a time or two, and definitely to not think through the full implications of her actions. But this is the first time I’m wondering if she really is starting to slip.
The thought squeezes my conscience. Whether she was fully aware of what she was implying when she posted that, it needs to come down.
I pull as much courage as I can muster and walk out the door of my room to face Meemaw and have a stern conversation with her about boundaries.
As I walk, I skim through my texts. There are at least ninety from Matt asking mewhat? And other friends texting me ring emojis and congratulations memes. Paige’s text says, “We need to talk.”
I start to text her back, but stop when I hear Beck’s voice in Meemaw’s living room.
“Take. It. Down. June,” he says through gritted teeth. “You had no right to do that to me or Brooke.”
I peek to the side to see Meemaw sitting tight-lipped on the sofa, her head hanging low. Beck pulls out his phone. “Miss Lily, Miss Rose, Miss Sharon, Miss Ruth,andMiss Helena all called to ask me why I haven’t brought my new girl around! June! I haven’t had anewgirl for more than twenty minutes, and now the entire community thinks we’re getting married! Did you think about that?”
“I’m sorry,” Meemaw says to the ground, and a tear slips down her cheeks. “I just really want to see my Brooke happy.”
Beck softens. He walks to Meemaw’s spot on the couch and drops onto the cushion next to her. He turns slightly and catches me, his eyes full of some unidentifiable emotion. “Miss June,” he says slowly and then draws in a breath as he locks his gaze with me. “I want Brooke to be happy too. I want nothing more than that. But that’sourbusiness to decide.”
Meemaw shakes her head in agreement. “I…” she stutters. “I know that, but I just plain old got excited and forgot that I shouldn’t do that.”
Beck meets her eyes with all seriousness and whispers. “June, are you forgetting things more often these days?”
Meemaw nods.
“Have you mentioned that to your doctor?”
Meemaw shakes her head.
Beck scrubs a hand down his face and frowns. “Can I help you make an appointment with the specialist? I’ll take you if it’s on my day off.”
Meemaw bobs her head, but it’s like a light has gone out and all of her youthful virility has vanished.
32
Beck
I hadn’t really suspected things were going on with June’s memory, but maybe I should have. She’s just always been so eccentric that it’s hard to know what’s a problem and what’s simply June being June.
Brooke hovers in the hallway, her fist over her mouth as she watches me ask June about her memory and seeing a specialist. When she agrees to go see a specialist, Brooke lets out a sob and flees down the hall.
I glance at June, who shakes her head sadly with a wry smile. “You should go…” Her voice cracks. “You should go to her.” She pats my hand with her own leathery one and tips her head toward the hallway.
I squeeze her hand back before I stand and then stride down the hallway. Brooke’s door is ajar, and she’s flopped on the twin bed, sobs wracking her body. I knock lightly once, but Brooke must not hear because she doesn’t so much as look at the door. I push it open a little more and knock louder.
This time, her red-rimmed eyes and splotchy cheeks rise to meet mine. She wipes her eyes furiously, but it doesn’t make a difference.
“Sorry.” She hiccups.
“Can I come in?” I ask, keeping my voice as soothing as possible.
