Page 100 of Totally Shipped
“Thea.”
Rex doesn’t elaborate, and I’m glad about it. Thomas Malone doesn’t need to know our business. We’re only here because we needed to drop Key off first thing, then we’re headed to the hospital.
“Daisy needs somewhere to feed and change Thea, so we’ll come in for a beat before going to see Meemaw.”
Not waiting for an answer, Rex walks up onto the stoop and pushes the front door open. “Come inside, Daisy. Let’s get you settled..”
Nanda pulls herself away from Key. “Please, whatever you need. I can’t thank you enough. I can’t. Whatever you need.”
Everything is too much for Thea, who starts to yell her noisy little head off. Nanda leads Daisy inside, and Leander follows, carrying the diaper bag.
We’ve only been in civilization for four (or is it five?) days, and already we are all so grateful for diapers. Holy cow are we!
I watch as Daisy ducks her head under the glare of Thomas.
Fuck that guy—seriously.
“Walk us through the problems with Meemaw,” Rex says. “Tell us everything—now.”
That’s the fucking ticket, Rex.
I’ve known Tough Love since I was in grade school. Neither of us have ever spoken to him like this before, but fuck this. “Yeah,” I add. “Talk to us like we don’t know anything about it, like we’ve been fighting for our lives on a deserted island for twelve months.”
“Would you like to come in first?” Tough Love answers, keeping his cool.
“Strange you’re inviting us into a house that isn’t your own,” I mutter, as first Rex, then me and Killian enter the house.
It smells just the same. Lemon-scented cleaner and wood smoke. The tick-tock of the grandfather clock was as low and resonant as ever. The clock was far too big for the little room, but it was a family heirloom. Pops had a story about his grandfather buying it from a store in the white part of town. It had been a struggle, but he had been determined to bring back this mother-of-pearl in-lay clock for his new wife, after she’d spent a year admiring it in a store window.
Through an archway, Nanda is pouring soda into a cup for Keyara, who is sitting on her father’s knee. Key is stroking the condensation of the side of the glass, mesmerized.
“You boys want some cold drinks?” she asks.
Neither Rex nor I answer, but Killian gives her a thumbs up.
“Meemaw,” Rex says again.
Tough Love sighs and takes a seat. “It was a couple of weeks after you went missing,” he says, “she wasn’t complaining on the phone, but I came down to check in—I could see she wasn't right. I did come and check in with her, you know. She was beside herself when you went missing.”
He scowls, like we upset her on purpose.
“When I got here, I noticed her feet were a real mess. Well, both her legsandfeet were really swollen. That, with her constant wheezing, didn’t seem right. I had Brandi take her to the doctor.”
Brandi was Meemaw's neighbor, mid-sixties, sweet as pie. Of course Brandi took Meemaw to the doctors. I’m sure Tough Love was much too ‘busy’.
“Brandi gave me an update; Mom needed beta-blockers. She’d had some tests at the hospital and the doctors said her heart was just…failing. Mom didn’t want any intervention—she could have had a pacemaker, but after you and Gray disappeared, she didn’t see the point. Fatalistic, you know how she was.”
“How she is, not was,” Rex replies through gritted teeth.
“Well, she’s been up and down since then, but her breathing has got progressively worse, and she can hardly move. Then last week Brandi came over and was scared enough to call me, said Mom wasn’t making much sense, delirious and coughing. I told her to call for an ambulance. When they arrived, they said she was in end-stage heart failure and rushed her to the hospital. Mom has been there ever since. They don’t expect to last much longer…”
I realize that I’m clenching my fists so tight that my knuckles are turning white. I tried to force myself to breathe.
“Is she conscious?” I ask.
Tough Luck looks at me, like I don’t have the right to ask. Fuck that—I love her.
“Is she conscious?” Rex repeats.
