Never Let Me Go

by Lydia Rose

  “Yes,” Katherine said rolling her eyes. “More doing and less talking.” Katherine begged and Mary did exactly as she had explained to her.

  Coming back to the real world was easier to face after their glorious trip. Mary knew she had to resign herself to never having a relationship with any of her family members. Maybe it was for the better she thought. There was only one person she knew she would miss in her life and that was the woman sleeping at her side. Katherine’s hand rested comfortably across her stomach and in her sleep she moved closer and moaned in Mary’s ear.

  “I love you so much,” Mary said to the sleeping woman.

  “That trip did you a world of good,” Jennifer said to Mary one morning.

  “It did, Jennifer. I can’t wait until we can do it again.”

  Jennifer smiled before she walked into her office to start the day. The weeks passed and Mary was beginning to feel like her old self. She loved coming home and making dinner for her and Katherine. They would spend their evenings in front of the television or in bed making love. Mary felt like she was living her dream. The two women were like an old married couple and she couldn’t be happier.

  “Secretary Willow’s office,” Arlene said answering Katherine’s phone one afternoon.

  “I need to speak with her,” the woman said quite rudely.

  “Ms. Willow is on the phone. Who is calling, please?”

  “This is Sara Hall.”

  “What is this regarding?” Arlene asked losing patience with this rude woman.

  “It’s regarding her girlfriend’s mother,” she said almost snarling.

  “Can I have her call you back?”

  “Yes.” Sara gave Arlene the number and hung up.

  “What a bitch,” Arlene said walking over to Katherine’s door. She knocked lightly and entered the room.

  Katherine still had the phone in her hand, but she saw the look on Arlene’s face and knew something was wrong. “Phil, can I call you back?” she listened and then hung up the phone. “What’s wrong?” Arlene handed her the message, but didn’t know the name. “Who is this?”

  “Mary’s sister. What a rude bitch.” She mumbled, but loud enough that Katherine heard her and laughed. “She said it’s regarding Mary’s mother.”

  “Shit,” Katherine said and began to dial the number.

  “Call if you need reinforcements with that one.” Arlene left the office.

  “Is this Sara Hall?” Katherine asked when someone answered the phone.

  “Tell my sister that her mother had a stroke and she needs to come home and take care of her.” Sara used no greeting. Her voice only showed her contempt for Mary.

  “How is your mother?” Katherine asked.

  “She’s home, but not very mobile. I have a family to take care of and can’t be there all the time. Let my sister know.” Sara hung up without another word.

  Arlene came back into the office. “Was I right?”

  Katherine nodded. “Royal bitch. Mary’s mother had a stroke.”

  “Is she okay?” Arlene asked moving closer to Katherine’s desk.

  “She said she’s home, but not very mobile.” Katherine looked at her watch. “Would you call Phil back and tell him I’ll call him later.” She began to gather her things. “Mary should be home by now. I don’t want to tell her this over the phone.”

  “I thought Mary didn’t really have a good relationship with her mother?” Arlene asked.

  “They don’t, but she is still her mother.” She rushed out of the office and made her way home.

  “You are home early.” Mary called from the kitchen. “Is everything okay?” Katherine hung up her coat and went into Mary’s arms. “What’s wrong, Kate?” Mary pulled out of Katherine’s arms and looked at her face.

  “Your mother had a stroke,” she said softly and handed her Sara’s phone number. “Your sister called my office.”

  “Is she dead?” Mary asked as her legs began to wobble.

  Katherine led Mary to a chair and sat her down. “She said she’s home.” She handed Mary the portable phone and took a seat next to her lover as moral support.

  Mary tried to punch in the numbers, but her hands were shaking too much. Katherine gently took the phone out of her hand and dialed the number. “Sara, it’s Mary.”

  “Did your girlfriend tell you?”

  “Yes. How is she?”

  “How do you think she is? She had a stroke.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “A week ago.”

  “Why isn’t she in a rehab facility?”

  “Because that’s expensive.”

  “They have insurance.” Mary was losing patience with her sister.

  “Dad said they don’t pay for everything and he doesn’t have the money for things like that.”

  Things like that? Mary’s mind was spinning. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So who is taking care of her?”

  “I go there at lunchtime to check on her. I can’t be there all the time. I have a job and a family to take care of.”

  “So she is basically alone most of the day?”

  “That’s why you have to come home. You don’t have a family.”

  Mary couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Sara, I have a job and life here in Washington. I can’t just pick up and come home to take care of mother.”

  “You are such an ungrateful daughter. It’s more important for you to be there with your lesbian lover than to take care of your own mother.”

  “Mother? That woman has never been my mother except to criticize me.” Mary hit the off button on the phone.

  “Are you okay, honey?”

  “I can’t believe those people. They think my life isn’t important. That I can just drop everything and come home and be a nursemaid.” Katherine put her arm around Mary. As soon as she did that, Mary began to cry against her shoulder. “What do I do?”

  Katherine pulled her closer. “You do what you have to, honey. She is your mother.”

  “Mother. The woman had nothing but vile awful things to say to me the last time I saw her.”

  “But she is still your mother.” Katherine continued to hold Mary as she cried.

  Mary knew Katherine was right. As much as she wanted to just forget that Sara had called she knew she couldn’t. “You want me to move home?”

  “Of course I don’t,” Katherine said looking at Mary. “There has to be something we can do without you having to move home.”

  “There is no we, Kate. This is my problem.”

  “Mary, this is our problem. You are my girlfriend,” she said grinning. “This is a problem for both of us.”

  “I have to call Sara back and get mom’s doctor’s name. I have to speak with him before I decide what to do.” She picked up the phone, but Sara wouldn’t speak with her. Sara’s husband apologized. “Do you know the name of my mother’s doctor?”

  “Doctor Harold Spencer,” he said softly.

  “Thank you.” Mary hung up. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”

  *

  “Thank you for returning my call, Doctor Spencer. I’m calling about my mother’s condition.”

  “I tried to get your father to admit her to a rehab facility,” he sighed. “He said it was too expensive. I explained that the insurance would pay for most of the treatment.”

  “Is my mother capable of walking?” Mary asked.

  “No. She has a very good chance of recovering, but not without therapy. The cost would be minimal to your family.”

  “Can you get her into a rehab facility?”

  “Yes. The insurance company already approved it.”

  “I’m in Washington, DC, but I’ll go there Saturday morning to see her.”

  “Will you be able to convince your family?” he asked softly.

  “They won’t have a choice. Can you make arrangements to get her in on Saturday?” Mary asked ready to write down the name of the facility.

  “Yes.”

&nb
sp; “What is the name and address of the place?” Mary asked. Doctor Spencer gave her the information and he gave her a number where she could reach him on Saturday to finalize the arrangements. “Thank you, Doctor Spencer.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Katherine insisted on making the trip with Mary. She insisted that they were in this together and she wouldn’t allow Mary to do this on her own. They pulled into the driveway of her parent’s home. Mary unlocked the door and went up the stairs immediately. The master bedroom was empty and she hurried back down the stairs. “She’s not upstairs.”

  “Maybe they admitted her?” Katherine asked seeing the worried look on Mary’s face.

  Mary shook her head and went toward the back of the house. She found her mother in the back bedroom off the kitchen on the floor. “Mom,” she said rushing into the room, “what happened?”

  “I fell,” Sybil said in a slurred voice. Mary looked at Katherine and they both lifted the woman back onto the bed. “I wanted to go to the bathroom.” The words were unclear to Katherine, but Mary seemed to understand everything the frail woman was saying.

  Mary could see that her mother was wearing an adult diaper and it had soaked through to her nightgown. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Kate, would you get me a wet washcloth from the bathroom?” Mary went to a drawer in the dresser hoping she could find a clean nightgown. Then she grabbed another adult diaper. Katherine returned with the washcloth and a clean towel.

  “I’ll wait outside. If you need help, call me.”

  “Thank you, honey,” Mary said before Katherine left the room.

  “Let’s get you out of this gown,” Mary said smiling.

  Sybil grabbed Mary’s hand. “You were right. I am being punished.”

  Mary pulled hand free and lifted the gown. “Don’t say that, Mom.”

  “It’s true,” Sybil insisted.

  Mary cleaned up her mother and put on a new gown. “Do they leave you alone all day?” she asked looking at her mother’s face.

  “Everyone is busy with their own lives.”

  “Where is dad?”

  “In the fields.”

  Mary laid her mother back down and went into the kitchen where she called Doctor Spencer. She returned to her mother a few minutes later with a glass of juice. Katherine followed Mary into the room. “Mom, you are going to a rehab facility. Doctor Spencer is sending an ambulance to transport you.”

  “No.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “Your father…”

  “I don’t care what he says. You can’t be left alone like this. I’m going to pack a bag for you.” Mary touched Katherine’s arm before she left the room.

  Katherine stood there with her arms crossed across her chest watching the old woman. She waited for her to make a comment about her daughter’s sexuality.

  “I don’t understand,” Sybil said softly.

  Katherine raised an eyebrow and moved closer. “What don’t you understand?”

  “You both are beautiful. Why don’t you want a man?”

  Katherine had to listen very hard to understand her. “We both like men, but not in that way.”

  “Why do you love Mary?”

  “Why?” Katherine asked shocked. “Because she’s smart, funny and kind.” She smiled as she spoke. “Mary is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love her so much. If I could marry her, I would.”

  “She loves you too,” Sybil added.

  “I know. We’re a perfect pair,” Katherine said with a shrug before Mary came back into the room.

  “Let’s get your robe on before the ambulance arrives. I also have to call Sara and let her know where you are going.” Mary went back into the kitchen and called Sara. This time Sara answered the phone. “I’m at mom’s house. I found her on the floor when I got here.” Sara didn’t comment. “I’m taking her to the rehab facility. You tell dad that if he tries to remove her before the doctor says she can leave, I will contact a social worker and have you two brought up on charges for elder abuse.”

  “Mary comes home to save the day. You think you are it, don’t you?” Sara said snarling.

  “No. I’m just doing the right thing. Tell him that I will pay for any additional charges that the insurance doesn’t pay for.” Mary slammed down the phone and hearing the bell ring, went to the front door.

  The ambulance pulled up in front of the rehab facility and the attendants removed Sybil from the back. By the time Katherine and Mary had parked the car the gurney was in the foyer of facility. “Ms. Rogers, let’s do the paperwork now while we get your mother settled.”

  Mary nodded and looked at Katherine. “I’ll go with her so she isn’t alone.” She followed the gurney to her room.

  Once they had Sybil in bed, a nurse came into the room. “Hello, Sybil,” she said cheerfully. “I’m Dana. Is this your daughter?”

  “No,” Sybil said quickly.

  “I’m Katherine and I’m just a friend of Sybil’s daughter.”

  The nurse eyed Katherine and then smiled as she moved closer to Sybil. “My daughter is gay too,” she said to Sybil, whose eyes opened wide at the statement. “You are in good hands here. We will you have you as mobile as we can and help you with your speech.” Dana turned to Katherine. “Do you two live nearby?”

  “No. We’re from Washington, DC.”

  “Do you have other children, Sybil?” Dana asked trying to diagnose Sybil’s speaking.

  “Two others,” she muttered.

  “Do they live nearby?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. You’ll have people visiting you all the time. Your husband?”

  “Yes, but he runs a large farm. I don’t know how much time he will have to come here,” Sybil said lowering her eyes, embarrassed that she admitted that information to a stranger.

  All eyes turned to the doorway when Sara walked in. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked looking at Katherine.

  “I was just keeping your mother company while Mary filled out the paperwork.”

  “Then you can leave.”

  “Stop,” Sybil said as forcefully as she could.

  Sara took a chair next to her mother, but the scowl remained on her face.

  “I guess I’ll leave you alone.” Katherine stood up.

  “Thank you,” Sybil said before Katherine could leave the room.

  Katherine met Mary at the elevator. “Where are you going?”

  “Your sister is here,” she said with a smirk.

  “Did she chase you out of the room?”

  Katherine just shrugged. “I’ll wait for you downstairs. Take your time.”

  When Mary walked into the room, it was her mother and Sara in the room. “Are you comfortable, Mom?” Mary asked without acknowledging her sister. Sybil nodded. “You’ll have the television on and the phone shortly. The nurses have my number so if you need anything, they’ll call me.”

  “Where are you going?” Sara finally asked.

  “Home,” Mary said without looking at her sister.

  “Great. You just breeze in and dump mom here and run away.”

  Mary moved closer to her sister and looked down at her. “This facility is going to help mom recover from her stroke. I can’t believe you all left her alone. I found her on the floor when I got to the house. I only hope that mom doesn’t have further damage.” Mary turned to her mother. “I’ll come back to visit you in a couple of weeks.”

  “Thank you, Mary,” her mother said. Sara snorted at her mother’s comment.

  Mary left the facility before the tears that were forming in her eyes fell. As soon as she saw Katherine in the entryway she immediately went into her arms and cried. “Everything is going to be okay, honey,” Katherine said pulling her close. “If you want to spend the night here, we can.”

  Mary shook her head. “There is nothing more we can do. Let’s go home, but I would like to come back in a few weeks to see how she is doing.”

  “Of course. Anytime you want to
come back, we will.”

  “You’ll come back?” Mary asked holding onto Katherine’s waist as they walked to the car.

  Katherine stopped walking and looked at Mary. “You are my family, Mary. So your mother is part of my family too.” Katherine chuckled. “Even if your mother can’t stand the idea of that.”

  CHAPTER 26

  By the end of the first week, Sybil had hoped to have made more progress, but her speech and walking wasn’t any better. The therapists had said it would take time and she was doing well. When she was returned to her room in the evening, she laid there staring at the television, but not really seeing anything. Sara had stopped once during the week and Hank Jr. only called her on the phone. Her husband came once and said he would come again over the weekend. It was only Mary that had called her every evening to see how she was doing.

  “Hi, Sybil. How are you feeling this evening?” Dana asked as she breezed into the room. She made an effort to come into Sybil’s room to have a short talk with her. Dana had heard from the day nurse that Sybil didn’t have much company and it was only her Mary that called every day. “Are you tired from your therapy?”

  “Not too bad,” Sybil answered hoping Dana would sit and talk with her longer tonight.

  Dana went and tucked in the covers on the bed. “How long have your daughter and Katherine been together?” she asked, realizing from the moment she met the two women that Sybil wasn’t happy with the relationship.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do they live together?” Sybil nodded her head up and down. Dana chuckled. “Use your words, Sybil. We want you to improve.”

  “Yes, they do.”

  “What does your daughter do?” Sybil asked trying to keep the conversation going.

  “Mary works for a congresswoman.”

  “How exciting. What about Katherine?”

  “She’s Secretary of Agriculture.”

  “Oh. So she’s a secretary too?”