Mama Knows Best

by Taylor, Reece

  I arrive at the office, and the nervousness I was feeling earlier is soon gone with the hustle and bustle of seeing patients and learning the office routine. It’s a constant flow and very organized. I’ve studied for over a year on what tests to order and how to assess patient needs. It feels good to put my skills to work. I break for lunch and decide to text Tyler.

  Me: You may have some competition!

  I immediately get a return message.

  Tyler: Oh really? Whose ass do I have to come kick?

  This causes me to laugh. Poor Dr. Collins doesn’t have a clue his ass is in danger.

  Me: I think I may be falling for Dr. Collins! He’s awesome, now if I can get him to leave his wife you’re outta here.

  Tyler: Hmmmm guess I’ll have to talk with Mrs. Collins and tell her she has to hang on to her man. I take it you’re having a good day?

  He’s so sweet. I love this part of dating, when all is sunshine and rainbows and that mushy feeling you get as you’re getting to know someone.

  Me: I am having a good day. Dr. Collins is so funny, and I believe we have the same warped sense of humor, which could be dangerous.

  Tyler: Oh do tell …

  Me: We had a patient who has around four weeks left until her due date, and she was begging him to induce her labor so she could have the baby. Dr. Collins told her, “Tomato ripens better on the vine than the window sill.” The patient just stared at him with a confused look, and I had to explain while trying not to crack up that she was too early to induce and the baby needed to grow some more.

  It took everything I had not to laugh in the girl’s face. He has wonderful little jewels like that which he drops all the time, and I’m loving it.

  Tyler: Sounds like he’s a character.

  I picture Tyler smiling at my enthusiasm, and I know he’s probably about as interested in this as he would be watching paint dry.

  Me: I gotta get back to work. Later:)

  I silence my phone and head back in to finish off the afternoon of my first day. When I get home, I have to file a report to my clinical manager on the patients I saw today. This is going to be my life for the next year and a half—or a very similar schedule, just a different doctor’s office. Every six months I change types of practices—first, women’s health, then a pediatric practice, and finally, I work in a general practice office. For now, though, I’ll be working in the office of Dr. Collins three days a week and then I’m picking up a few shifts at the hospital for extra cash. The grant I obtained is helping with expenses, and Mama told me I didn’t have to work, but I don’t want to depend on her for money. I’ve lived on my own for too long to go back to having to ask my mother for cash.

  Thinking of my mother brings back the worry I have about her that I’ve been keeping in the back of my mind. She’s been having these “spells”, and they have my brother, Lee, and me very concerned. My mother is only forty-nine which is way too young to be forgetting where she’s going or what she’s doing. Since I’ve been home she seems to be fine, but we have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Wednesday, and I’ve informed her I will be there. I want to know what he thinks is going on. Liza, who is with her all the time, is acting weird about the whole situation, and every time I try to question her she changes the subject or distracts me. I would be lying if I didn’t admit the way she’s acting has me more worried than anything else.

  The first two days of my week fly by with me working at the office and then filing my reports in the evening, studying for a test I have this week, and talking to Tyler. I’m happy with how things are going with my school work and hope my orientation at the hospital goes just as smoothly. Today is my off day, and I’m going with my mother to her doctor’s appointment. She’s seeing a new doctor who moved into town after I left for college. I find it strange my mother has switched from Dr. Miller, who we have used for years, but who am I to dictate which doctor she chooses to see?

  I come downstairs to catch her and Liza arguing, and they immediately stop the moment I enter the room. Wonder what that’s all about? Liza and my mother grew up together, her parents worked for my grandparents, and she grew up on the property they owned along with Mama. The two are more like sisters than employer and employee, as a matter of fact, Mama didn’t want to hire Liza years ago as a maid, but Liza said she would go to work for someone else. Mama worried they wouldn’t treat her right, so she gave in. Their relationship may seem odd to other folks, but it’s the norm in my family. Liza has always been here, and I love her like another mother. She even tried to run interference between my mother and me when things went south with our relationship.

  Liza only has one child, a son the same age as my brother Lee. He was always good friends with Lee. They grew up much the same way Mama and Liza did but didn’t form the bond the ladies did. They seemed to move in separate directions once they started school. Trevor went to college on a football scholarship and is now living in New Orleans working as a physical therapist for the Saints football team, and Lee went to law school. I hung out with Trevor a few times while I was living down there. He got Cam and me tickets to a football game, which was awesome fun.

  Liza’s husband, Jefferson, is our farm manager, and I know he has helped my mother tremendously since my father’s death. I don’t know what we would have done without him throughout the years. My mother has a good head for business and has always had a knack for working the stock market, but she was clueless in managing the farm. This is where Jefferson came in and took care of the day-to-day operation of the plantation. They have a great partnership that has worked beautifully for years.

  I shake my head at the two women who are giving me strange looks. They’re so weird sometimes.

  “Are you ready to go see Dr. Estes, Mama? I’ve been doing some online research and have found a couple of drugs that may be good for you. Studies are showing they’re slowing down the process of early-onset dementia and have in some cases stopped it for years.” What’s up with these two? Liza just glared at my mother, and she’s looking off and not meeting my eyes.

  “Oh my, look at the time. I guess we better go or we’re going to be late.” Mama then begins to usher me out the door, all the time Liza is shooting daggers from her eyes at the back of my mother’s head. I can’t imagine what has her so fired up today, but I blow it off as I concentrate on the meeting ahead of us.

  After the short drive into town, in which my mother nervously chattered non-stop, we’re sitting in Dr. Estes’s office waiting for him to come in and meet with us. I’m anxious to hear what he has to say about her condition. I can’t quite explain the feelings I had when Lee called to inform me Mama was forgetting things. She had even forgotten where she was going and ended up in another town a couple of times. If I’m honest, it scared the hell out of me. My mother is too young to be having these issues. Part of the reason I was so receptive to accepting the grant and coming home was so I could find out what was going on with my mother. We may have our issues, but I still love her and want her safe.

  Lee couldn’t leave his practice to move home, and I was the most logical choice especially when my schooling brought me back here. Dr. Estes enters the room, and it’s the first time I’ve met him. He’s around my mother’s age and quite distinguished looking—a very attractive older gentleman.

  The moment the man enters the room my mother starts fidgeting and is looking down. I don’t get why she’s acting so nervous. If she doesn’t like this doctor she could see our old one, as a matter fact, I still haven’t figured out why she changed. I asked her about it on the way over here and she gave me some vague, off-the-wall answer about him not taking her seriously, which doesn’t sound like Dr. Miller at all.

  “Ev … Mrs. Burkett and Miss Burkett.” He reaches out to shake my hand, quickly looking at me then glancing nervously at my mother. She continues to look down and won’t make eye contact.
Maybe she’s just embarrassed about what’s going on with her health. She’s still a young woman, and this has to be traumatic. I decide to make it easier and initiate the conversation.

  “Dr. Estes, I understand you’ve been caring for my mother since she has been having these spells, and I would like to know what tests have been run. Also, have you considered drug therapy?”

  I hand him the information I’ve printed off during my research. He takes the papers and skims over them but seems at a loss for what to say. My mother is still looking down and picking at her skirt. She keeps crossing and uncrossing her legs, and I notice the good doctor is watching a little too closely. I clear my throat to regain his attention. This meeting is giving me a very weird vibe.

  “Yes, drug therapy. We’ve discussed this and decided to hold off until your mother can get in for some tests, so we can see exactly what’s going on. They have a specialized scan in Baton Rouge at the neurological unit that can detect almost anything going on in the brain. I’ve put your mother on the list, but there’s a waiting period. We’ve ruled out any type of tumor, so that isn’t a worry. They’re to call her with an appointment.”

  I look at Mama. This is news to me. She glances up, smiles, and nods.

  “I forgot to tell you. I actually have an appointment for tomorrow. I didn’t want you to worry. Liza is going to take me. We’ll probably have lunch with Lee.”

  I narrow my eyes on my mother. There’s no way I can go with her tomorrow but at least Liza is. I feel slightly guilty for the suspicion I have that my mother waited until she knew I wouldn’t be able to go. I have no idea why she would do that and chastise myself for even thinking in that direction.

  “That’s great Mrs. Burkett. I’ll probably get the results in a week or so, and I’ll call you.” Dr. Estes stands, so I stand also and shake the doctor’s hand. He seems to be almost rushing us out of the office. This has to have been one of the strangest doctor’s visits I’ve ever experienced. My mother almost acted as if she were flirting with the good doctor, and he acted interested, then they would act all weird as if they were hiding something. Strange, definitely strange.

  I know my mother is hiding something, but I can’t imagine what. I hope her condition isn’t worse than we know, and she doesn’t want to tell us. The doctor assured me it wasn’t cancer, I hope he wasn’t lying at the request of my mother. I can’t think like that and will have to wait until she tells me what’s going on. One thing about my mother is she can’t be rushed. She will confide in me when she’s damn good and ready and not a moment before.

  Chapter Five

  Macee

  It’s Friday morning, and I made it through my first week home without even a hint of misery. I realize this with some degree of shock, as a matter of fact, I’m happier than I’ve been in some time. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed living in New Orleans with my best friend, but I was so busy with school and work, I didn’t have time for much else. Cam started seriously dating a doctor who worked at the hospital and was with him most of the time, so I was left alone a good bit the last few months I lived there. I didn’t begrudge her finding happiness. Besides, I wasn’t much company with all I had on my plate.

  Considering this, I’ve been out more in the last week than the last two months I lived away from home. I’m also loving what’s happening with Tyler. I haven’t been in a relationship since I broke up with my college boyfriend. I ended that when I started working, and he wanted to continue partying like we were still in college. I’d outgrown that lifestyle, and I really wasn’t that invested in the relationship. He was mostly there for a good time and that was about it. No real substance yet, and I left him behind without any difficulty which he failed to understand. I wondered at the time if I was as frigid and incapable of love as the pissed-off ex implied, but Cam assured me I just hadn’t met the right one yet. I guess she was right because I already feel more for Tyler than I ever did for any the former men in my life, and I’ve only known him a week.

  I have orientation today at the local hospital, Twin Oaks Medical Center, to begin my new job as a labor and delivery nurse. I’m only going to work maybe a shift a week for extra cash, but I am looking forward to doing some patient care not related to school. Tyler and I have made plans to go out on an actual date Saturday night and then maybe spend some time together with friends Sunday. Like I said, my social life has massively improved. Cameryn is thrilled with me doing something besides working all the time. She can hardly wait to meet Tyler, and I’m anxious for her to also. We haven’t gone this long without seeing each other in years, and I’m beginning to really miss my friend. Phone calls are not enough, even with FaceTime, and I get the feeling something is not quite right in her world. She doesn’t usually keep things from me, but she’s been very evasive the last few times we’ve spoken.

  I walk onto the unit at the hospital and feel a quiver of butterflies in my lower stomach. I hate starting new jobs, it’s so nerve-racking learning the staff, doctors, and the way a place operates. Everywhere is different, and it’s a pain in the ass trying not to step on toes while figuring it out. As I turn the corner I notice a nurse sitting at the station. She looks familiar, but I can’t quite place her. She must sense my confusion and initiates the conversation.

  “Hey, MaCee, I’m Jordan Moore. I don’t know if you remember me from high school, but we graduated together.”

  Hell yeah, I remember her. Damn, girl has changed though.

  “Wow, girl! I recognize you now. You look awesome! You’ve changed quite a bit since school.”

  She smiles as she nods her head. I can remember always thinking she was a pretty girl and wondering what her deal was. She never seemed to have any confidence in herself or maybe she was just really shy. She was also slightly overweight in school, but it appears she has shed the extra pounds. Five years has made a huge difference with this chick.

  “Yeah, when I went to nursing school we had a 5K run that some of the other students talked me into participating in. I loved it so much I run all the time now. It slimmed me down, also being a nurse tends to make you a bit more aggressive. Seems I always had a bitchy personality, it just needed some encouragement to come out.”

  I liked this version of Jordan and was slightly ashamed I didn’t try harder to get to know her sooner.

  Jordan shows me around, and I’m relieved they use the same system I had used at my former job which will make things much easier. I meet more of the staff and so far, I only recognize Jordan from school. I ask if I’m going to run into any more classmates, and she gives me the low down on who works at the hospital. Rachel Carlysle, who was a couple of years ahead of us in school, works as charge nurse in the OR. She’s still dating Conrad Dale, Hannah’s brother and one of my brother’s best friends. Also, a couple of the bitch Melody’s old cronies, Allison Thomas and Belinda Adams, work in surgery with Rachel. Jordan tells me they haven’t really changed much—still love causing trouble—but Rachel doesn’t put up with much, so they pretty much keep to themselves. I’m happy to hear that. I don’t need high school drama at work. After our shift is over, Jordan asks if I want to go get Mexican and maybe a margarita or two. I think that is a great idea, so we decide to meet at El Roble, which means oak tree in Spanish.

  I’m wondering why I was so nervous this morning, for now, this job appears to be a good idea. I’m glad I’m becoming reacquainted with Jordan and can hardly wait to connect her and Cameryn. We should have tried harder to get to know her in high school—she has such a quirky sense of humor I know we would have had a blast together—but as everyone who has ever gone to high school knows, it’s a different time and you hope once you mature you grow into a different person.

  We just sit down when I see Hannah and Rachel walk in. I wave them over, and they decide to join us. We have a great time talking during dinner, and the three ladies give me the low down on the latest Twin Oaks gossip. Some o
f the folks they mention I haven’t heard of in years.

  “Did your mother inform you what happened at the last Oak Festival?” Jordan asks, and I shake my head.

  From all these girls are telling me, my mother has been very remiss in her gossiping duties. We mostly talked about family, and I talked about school to her. I feel slightly guilty because it may have been my fault she didn’t share anything about the town with me. I guess she thought I wasn’t interested, and at the time I really wasn’t.

  “Mayor Alwood was caught behind town hall getting a blowjob by Jessica Wright.” I

  can’t stop the gasp of shock. Damn, listening to them you would think we were talking about a soap opera instead of a real town.

  “The mayor is my mother’s age, and Jessica Wright was this mousey chick who is Lee and Conrad’s age, right?”

  Rachel nods her head, and all three women take a sip of their margaritas. We’re getting slightly low, so I flag down our waiter and order another round. I’m so enjoying the company I don’t even worry about how I’ll get home.

  “Jessica was the mayor’s personal—and I do mean ‘personal’—assistant, and his wife was the one who caught them, but she didn’t let anyone know until later that they were caught.”

  All three women start laughing outrageously and are drawing all kinds of attention to our table. Once Jordan calms down somewhat she continues with her story. “Mrs. Alwood was also the master of ceremonies. Once her husband and his assistant were back from their liaison and they were on the stage with her, she announced the winners of a new competition she only just realized was on the venue. She proceeded to inform the whole town that Jessica was the winner of the best behind-town-hall blowjob, and her husband was the winner for the best recipient. Then she dropped the mic—and I mean literally dropped the mic—in front of a stunned crowd and walked off the stage like a boss. I believe in that moment she became my hero. I was so happy I stayed for the awards ceremony. It made my night.”