by Judy Baer
Hannah refrained from telling her that that was what bills were wont to do.
“I’ve spent very little out of my account since I moved to the Matthews,” she said calmly, although her heart was racing. “I just deposited another paycheck. The bank statements are coming here—you can check for yourself how much is in there. It should be plenty.”
Trisha remained silent too long.
“Trish, you didn’t...”
“We just went shopping a couple times, Hannah. Emma and Jane were buying these cool leather purses and I found one, too.”
“How much?”
“Three hundred dollars.”
Hannah had never owned a bag that cost more than fifty dollars in her entire life. She was stunned.
“And Jason and I started dating a little. He’s a nice guy, Hannah. A Christian. We mostly meet at the library to study, but sometimes we decided to take a break and go somewhere to eat. Jason likes Calliope.” She named the most trendy and expensive café near campus. “He doesn’t have much money, though, so I thought it would be okay if I treated. I just put it on the credit card. I never really looked at what things cost until I got the monthly bill.”
“What are you saying, Trish?”
“There isn’t enough money left to pay the mortgage, Hannah, not for even one month and especially not for two.” Before Hannah could open her mouth, Trisha added, “That’s why I took the jobs, Han. They’re both part-time and by next month I can have most of one month’s mortgage paid off. I’m afraid they’ll just have to wait a little longer for the rest.”
“Trisha,” Hannah said sternly, not even trying to keep the horror and dismay out of her voice. “Banks just don’t wait until people get around to paying their mortgages! They will be sending me irate letters before long. Do you realize that what you’ve done could ruin my credit rating?” Hannah felt a catch in her voice. “After how hard I’ve worked to keep it up? And I could lose my house!”
“I am so dumb!” Trisha, in tears, flung herself back against the couch. Then she looked up. “Maybe we could get someone to loan us the money?”
“Let’s get the numbers together—the bills, the mortgage, what you have earned. I’ll put it with that paycheck I just deposited and we’ll see where it takes us. Come over to the house tomorrow. Mr. Matthews will be out of town. We’ll sit down and figure out where we are.”
“I’ll return the purse,” Trisha said in a small voice, “and the other stuff I haven’t opened.”
“You bet you will,” Hannah said grimly. “I’d have you return all that food from Calliope, too, if I could.”
Trisha was weeping and Hannah was still trembling when she left the house. Tyler was sitting on a rocker reading the magazine he’d picked up.
“Did you get things settled?” he asked. “I learned everything there is to know about the charms of a convection oven, the latest wrinkle treatments and what to do if I ever get hormonal. Don’t you have any sports or mechanics magazine around here?” he joked.
Hannah tried to gather her wits. It only alarmed her more that what she really wanted to do was fall into his arms and sob.
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you okay? You look terrible,” Ty said when they got into the car.
“Thanks a bunch—that makes me feel much better.”
“Well, you do.”
“Other than being furious with my sister, I’m just fine.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“You don’t need to be bothered with her antics. Suffice it to say, she’s much more immature than I gave her credit for being. I’m a failure as a parent!”
“I don’t think it’s you who has failed. At some point kids have to take responsibility for their own actions. She’s in college. It’s time.”
“I always tried to protect her from things. Apparently, I protected her too much.”
Ty looked at her expectantly, but she didn’t continue. They rode in silence to Clara’s place. It was suspicious, Ty mused, that it was these little errands for Lily and Clara that consistently threw he and Hannah together. Still, he was beginning to look forward to Lily’s to-do lists.
It took John a long time to come to the door. He opened it a crack and mumbled his usual greeting, “Whatdayawant?”
“How’s Clara today?”
“What do you want to know for?” He was even more surly than usual. “She’s sleeping.”
“My grandmother sent her another gift,” Ty said with exaggerated patience.
“Clara hasn’t used the last gift she sent.”
Hannah could see by the set of John’s shoulders and his mulish expression that today wasn’t the day to argue. She pulled on Ty’s sleeve. “Come on, we’ll come back another day. When John is feeling better.”
She thrust a prettily wrapped box into the man’s hands. “It’s a new blouse. A pink one. Please give it to her.”
John scowled, grabbed the box and closed the door in their faces.
“Can’t we report him for something?”
“Not unless we have something to report. Clara hasn’t complained. She seems grateful to have a place to live.” She pulled on his sleeve again. “Come on. There’s nothing more we can do here today.”
* * *
Ty had already left for the airport when Hannah arose the next morning. She puttered around the kitchen, making coffee, soft-boiled eggs and toast for Lily. When Irene arrived, she carried the breakfast upstairs.
When Irene returned to the kitchen, Hannah was sitting at the table, her hands wrapped around a mug, staring out the patio doors into the garden.
“It’s different without him, isn’t it?” Irene said, not having to define who she was discussing with Hannah. “The house always feels, oh, full when he’s here. It’s like his personality takes up the extra space. There’s more laughter and,” Irene smiled, “more orders when he’s here.” Orders that usually contradicted Lily’s.
A crafty look lingered on Irene’s face. “He likes you. I can see it. He likes you a lot.”
“How long have you worked here, Irene?” Hannah asked in an attempt to divert the older woman. That was good to hear, but she didn’t want to make too much of it.
“Since Mr. Ty was in college. He’s grown into a fine man.”
Undeniably.
“What are you and Lily going to do today?” Irene took a small pork roast out of the freezer to thaw.
“I’m not sure. I’ll let Lily choose.”
“She loves it that you’re here, you and that darling boy of yours. It’s what she’s always dreamed of, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s always wanted another woman in this house—and children. A granddaughter-in-law and great-grandchildren.”
“We’re hardly that.”
“It’s the closest she’s ever come.”
Hannah simply couldn’t resist. “Why do you think that is?”
“He had someone he’d planned to marry once.”
Hannah leaned forward, listening intently.
“Miss Anita was a beautiful woman,” Irene recalled. “She could have been a model, that one, but what was best about her was her heart. Pure gold. Ty was head over heels in love. They were young, of course, but I could tell he believed she was The One. He believed that he and Anita could have a marriage like his grandparents had, and that was something he’s always wanted.
“Well, Anita and a girlfriend decided that they’d have one last fling before the wedding, so they went to Paris. Anita planned to buy her wedding dress there. It was all very exciting and romantic and then...”
“Go on,” Hannah encouraged, rapt.
“They rented a car so they could see the countryside and had a terrible accident. Both were killed.”
“How awful!”
“I’ve never seen a more broken man than Mr. Ty after that. He came to grips with it after many, many months but he has never truly believed there was anyone else for him. Anita was not
only his fiancée, but his soul mate. When he couldn’t have her, he turned all that intensity and love he’d showered Anita with onto Lily. He didn’t want to look for someone new because he didn’t believe she existed.”
Irene frowned. “If you ask me, he’s been hiding behind his responsibility for Lily all these years. He dates but never lets anyone close. He rarely brings someone by to meet his grandmother. I don’t think he wants to go through that kind of heartbreak again so he doesn’t allow relationships to get too deep.
“By now it’s habit, I’m sure. He’s just not interested in going through anything like that again.”
Hannah understood. She’d experienced much the same thing after Steve’s death. Being alone was preferable to being devastated again. She’d trained herself to ignore signals that could draw her to someone else. Hannah had built a tidy, cozy little shell around herself that she never left. Pity the poor man who tried to get by that.
Yet Ty had somehow managed to get by her defenses without her even realizing it. Perhaps it was because he’d had a similar hurt and had built his own shell and knew the barriers that needed to be broken down. He was more like her than she’d ever dreamed.
Hannah considered her response before voicing it. “It’s rather sad, isn’t it? Having this big, beautiful house with only the two of them in it?”
“Very sad. This house needs babies, not just wheelchairs.”
That comment put images in Hannah’s head that she didn’t want to visit. Ty, babies, someone new for Lily to spoil.
When she went to Lily’s room to help her dress, Lily seemed restless.
Hoping to cheer her, Hannah said, “Today is your day. What do you want to do? A movie? Checkers? Knit?”
“I want to visit Clara.”
Alarm bells went off in Hannah’s head. One of the things that Ty had expressly ordered was that Lily not go out until after her next clinic appointment. It was his overprotective streak, Hannah thought, but he believed Lily was safer at home. That might be good for her physical health, Hannah knew, but not her mental one.
“Your grandson will be back in a few days. Maybe he can take you—”
“Ty is a ball and chain around my neck!” Lily protested. “He treats me like I’m porcelain, not flesh and blood. He learned that from my husband, bless his heart, but I’m sick of being somebody’s china doll. I want to see my friend.”
“There’s no guarantee that John will let us in.” She thought about yesterday. “He’s not very friendly.”
“All the more reason to drop by. What does he have to hide?”
“I don’t think it’s wise, Lily.”
“Well, I do!”
Lord, what have I gotten myself into now? Help!
Irene called from downstairs at that moment, giving Hannah a chance to escape. Lily’s chin was set stubbornly and her eyes were narrow. Hannah had no idea how she was going to get out of this one.
It was a miserable day and an even more miserable night. Lily refused to go anywhere or do anything except see Clara.
Lily could be contrary in ways Hannah had never imagined.
Even Irene remarked about it. “She sent back both her breakfast and lunch trays. She hasn’t done that in a very long time.”
“How long?” Hannah asked wearily. Lily had also refused to bathe and dress or even brush her teeth, at least not unless Hannah agreed that she could visit her friend.
“When Ty’s grandfather was alive, she used to do it every once in a while. Of course, the men always give in right away. You’re much more determined to outlast her than they were. They knew better. They already knew they couldn’t outlast Lily.”
“Never?”
“Not that I remember.”
“Then I really blundered into it, didn’t I?”
“I think so.”
“What am I supposed to do, Irene? Ty doesn’t want her leaving the house.”
“He’s a little unreasonable, too, don’t you think? I see where he gets it. He’s bound to have inherited some of his grandmother’s traits.”
Only Danny was allowed into Lily’s room that evening. At about seven o’clock Hannah managed to have him “sneak” in some snacks for him and Lily—granola bars and ice cream cups, things she was sure Lily would think were Danny’s doing and not her own.
After Danny went to bed, Hannah decided it was time to confront this issue head on.
“I didn’t invite you in,” Lily said sourly when Hannah burst into her room.
“Sorry, but I don’t need an invitation. I’m hired to carry out Ty’s orders, remember?”
“Then you are both being silly. I’m not a prisoner!”
“Of course not. But I’m not comfortable doing something he expressly forbade.”
Lily must have seen the turmoil on her face because she said gently, “I realize that, dear, but Ty doesn’t know everything. My heart literally hurts for my friend. I have to see her. It’s as much for me as it is for her. Please understand.”
Hannah did understand. What’s more, she thought Ty was ridiculously overprotective. Of course, Lily was all he had left. Could she blame him?
“You didn’t eat today. Can I get you some soup? A sandwich?”
“I don’t plan to eat until I see Clara.”
“You can’t starve yourself.” Ty would be livid if that happened.
“I certainly can. You won’t force-feed me. He’ll only be gone a few days and that will convince him when he comes back that he can’t make such rules for me anymore.”
What would be worse? Taking Lily to see Clara, or having Ty come home to discover that Lily was on a hunger strike? She shuddered to consider.
* * *
Hannah slept little, thinking about what she should do. She prayed for an answer, but none seemed forthcoming. By morning she had a raging headache and no idea what would face her in Lily’s room.
Irene was there when Hannah arrived, concern written on her face. “She won’t get up, Miss Hannah!”
Lily was firmly planted in her bed, arms crossed, expression daring anyone to obstruct her.
“Lily, you can’t...”
“I can and I will. Take me to see Clara and I’ll be good as a lamb. Please, Hannah?”
There was a pleading note in the old woman’s voice that Hannah couldn’t miss. It might be worse not to take her, she realized. Lily was working herself into a tizzy.
“You’ll be a lamb? An angel? A perfectly obedient patient?”
“Oh, yes. You know me!”
That was the trouble—Hannah did know Lily. She wasn’t sure that Lily was even capable of behaving.
In for a dime, in for a dollar, Hannah thought, as she helped Lily dress for their adventure. She’d gone too far to back out now, even though she was afraid what this might cost her.
Chapter Fourteen
“I’m so happy you finally saw reason, dear,” Lily said happily as they drove down the street to Clara’s house.
“I didn’t see reason. I just had to decide about the lesser of two evils,” Hannah said miserably. “You making yourself sick, or Ty yelling at me.”
“If my grandson fusses, I’ll tell him a thing or two. I know he’s being good to me, but it drives me crazy sometimes.” She turned to Hannah, her eyes twinkling. “Actually, I’m not nearly the spoiled old lady Ty thinks I am. I’m much more reasonable than he realizes, but he expects it of me so I give him want he wants.”
“Lily!”
“Don’t tell him, dear, and ruin his fun.”
Hannah groaned inwardly. Lily had both of them right where she wanted. And right now, she wanted to be with Clara.
They pulled up to the house and parked.
Clara’s sister greeted them at the front door. “Hello, Hannah. Who have we here?”
“This is Clara’s friend, Lily. Mr. Matthews’s grandmother.”
Margaret clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, my goodness! I’ve heard so much about you! Please come in.”
&nbs
p; They made their way slowly to Clara’s room because of Lily’s bad foot—and, Hannah thought—because Lily was taking her time, eyeing the place. It was tidied up as it usually was, but the ever-present grime was still there. It looked as though someone had spilled grease on the hallway carpet recently and it was in dire need of a cleaning.
At the door, Lily turned to Hannah, “I’d like to be alone with her if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” Hannah knocked, opened the door and helped Lily to a chair. The cry of delight from Clara assured her that they’d both be all right.
Hannah returned to the living room and Margaret handed her a cup of coffee. “It sounds like my sister was glad to see her friend.”
“It seems so.” Hannah accepted the cup.
Margaret seemed as hungry for conversation as her sister, but after an hour of chatting, Hannah decided to check on Lily and Clara.
The two women were sitting together, poring over an old photo album, gray heads touching.
“It’s probably time to go, Lily,” Hannah said gently.
Lily put her hand over Clara’s. “I’ll be back, don’t you worry.”
The look they exchanged nearly broke Hannah’s heart.
Lily said nothing until they were back in the car. Then she laid her head against the seat and closed her eyes. “It’s worse than I thought. She’s so lonely and stuck in that tiny room. That lazy nephew does nothing for her. Oh, Hannah, it breaks my heart! We have to do something to help her.”
“Did she ask for help?”
“No, of course not. She’s grateful to have a place to live.”
“Then what can you do?”
“I don’t know yet, but I will figure it out.” There was steely determination in Lily’s voice—and something else, something Hannah hadn’t heard before. “There are homes, facilities, places where Clara will get better care. I just need to find something suitable.”
She looked sharply at the old woman who sounded as though she was short of breath. She was pale and clammy and rubbing her arm as if it hurt her. “Lily, are you okay?”
“Just upset, dear. I’ll go home and lay down for a bit and everything will be fine. I didn’t mean to become so worked up but... Oh!” Lily pressed her hand to her chest.
