Page 102 of A Me and Him Thing
Mr. Langston quickly types on his laptop. “You’re correct. Curtis is always escorted into the facility by a parent.”
We watch as Curtis sits with Allison, holding her hands and speaking to her nonstop. We can’t hear everything he’s saying, though. Just bits and pieces. Allison doesn’t respond to him. At all. She’s as blank as always. He leans forward and kisses her forehead several times.
And she lets him.
She lets him hold her hands, and she doesn’t pull away. She lets him reach out and gently massage one shoulder.
Allison does not shy away from Curtis. Not at all.
It has to be another dagger in Ren’s heart. I reach out and hold his hand. He doesn’t pull away either.
“I can’t watch this,” Ren says under his breath.
Rhoda sits in the foyer, reading a book. She’s just there to chaperone her son. Apparently, she has no interest in Allison.
But when the protein-packed pudding is delivered to the room, Mama Bear is the one who receives it.
Mama Bear is the one who flutters with a huge smile, “Oh, I’m just going to give it a good stir as usual. It’s so unappetizing when the ingredients start to separate.”
Carol’s sitting in the corner, her eagle eyes on Curtis and Allison. She doesn’t let her eyes stray from her charge.
Mama Bear takes the bowl of pudding to the same counter Jack used. She vigorously stirs the pudding.
What happens next surprises us all. She pulls out a small vial, unscrews the lid, and pours a white powder into the bowl. Then she continues with her manic stirring, hiding the evidence of any additive.
“Rhoda?” Ren mumbles. “Wait. What is happening?”
“There we go, Curtis, honey. It’s ready for Allison to enjoy.” Rhoda hands the bowl over to Curtis.
“That’s all I need,” the police officer says. “I’m calling for backup. I need a recording of that video clip ASAP. I’ll take it in for evidence. I’ll testify in court that the video was not tampered with in any way. Also, stop the pudding from being fed to the patient immediately. I would also like the pudding as evidence. I’ll have it sent to toxicology right away.”
Mr. Langston says, “Consider it done.” He spends a few minutes on the phone instructing Carol to cause delays without being obvious about it. Help will arrive shortly.
Then to Ren he says, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Chambers. This is unprecedented. We will take measures to ensure this can neverhappen again. Both Todd and Rhoda Rothman will be removed from the approved visitor list immediately. As well as their son.”
“Wait. Mr. Rothman comes too?” Ren’s eyes are just a tiny bit wild.
“Yes. As I said, Curtis is always escorted by a parent. If you’ll excuse me, I have several things to take care of before the police make the arrests.” Mr. Langston leaves the room, but his cool exterior has broken. Before he left, he was mopping the beads of sweat from his forehead with a hankie.
Ren holds his head in his hands. “I let my ridiculous neighbors visit my helpless wife. I knew they were nuts. What was I thinking?”
“Hey,” Jack says, “they had us all fooled. After Allie’s accident, they were suddenly the kindest people in the world.”
“I should’ve been suspicious. It should’ve been obvious,” Ren berates himself.
“Suspicious of what? Who would even imagine that they would do such a thing?” If I hadn’t caught Jack putting sweetener in Allison’s food, my mind never would’ve gone there.
“Hold. The. Boat,” Jack says. “If it’s been Mama Bear all along, then who was sneaking her the meds while Allie was living with us? Is Curtis in on it or not? From what we just watched; it looked as though Curtis had no clue what his mother was up to. Do you agree?”
“It did look that way. In fact, it looked like Curtis is still smitten with Allie.” Ren frowns, still processing everything. “Why would he drug her if he still loves her?”
“I’m calling Susan.” Jack calls Susan on his cell. We can only hear what Jack’s saying. “Hey Susie. Yes, we caught them. Yes, I said them. His mother is in on it. We weren’t expecting that. Just wondering, when Allie lived at home, did Rhoda send over food? Is that what Curtis fed to Allie? Do you remember? I know it was several years ago.”
Jack is quiet for a moment as he listens to Susan’s response. His eyes are on us as he says, “Yes, that was very kind of Rhoda to make special food for Allie’s lunch. I’m sure it took the load off you. Wait. Hang on a sec.”
Jack stares at the video monitor. “Who’s Mama Bear whispering to on her cell?”
Two police officers enter the foyer, but Mama Bear doesn’t put down her phone. As a matter of fact, she’s whispering very quickly into the receiver until one of the officers takes her phone. They force her to turn around as they handcuff her, while reciting her Miranda Rights.
