Chapter 32
Little Brother
It was after midnight and Celia was lying on the couch. She had the choice of being in the back of the house, in the great room, or in Randi’s old room. She had decided to go down two small steps and stay in the great room.
Her mom had made her a nice bed on the huge sofa. Mike had wheeled her down with ease over the two steps. Thankfully, the Christmas decorations were all gone and that kind of helped to get Randi off her mind. Still, when she thought about it, the anger welled up.
Being back in the house was helping some, too. She knew it was time to move on but the fact that this house was not yet in her name, plagued her mind.
Also the pain was on her mind. Mike had been right. The pain meds had worn off and she was not feeling her best. She was thinking about trying to get off the couch and walk to the kitchen to find something to eat or drink. Something was making her want to eat. Maybe it was the medicine, or maybe, it was boredom.
She sat up but realized the pain wouldn’t be worth it when she saw a light come on in the kitchen. She leaned forward but couldn’t see who it was. “Who goes there? And can you bring me something chocolate?”
From the footfalls, she could tell it was a man. A second later, Mike stuck his head around the corner. “Sure, but someone is at the gate. I heard them buzz. I was just coming out to see who it is, or at least ask them that same thing, ‘Who goes there?’”
“Really? At this time of night? It’s close to midnight. Who could it be?”
“Actually it’s 12:45. I’ll be back in a minute and see what I can find for you to snack on.”
“Thanks.” Celia waited and wondered, at this time of night, who could it be? If Martin wanted something, he would just put in the code and come in. It could be some kind of prank, and if so, they could call the police.
She knew the intercom was in the garage so there was no way she could hear who it was or what was going on. She hoped that Mike would play it safe and not go wandering out to the gate on his own.
The idea that he might do something stupid like that caused her to lean forward again to try and see what was going on. It was no use. She couldn’t see anything but the light coming from the kitchen.
She reached for the phone. If she had to, she would wake her mother who would probably be asleep by now. She had taken the back bedroom but was on the same floor. She’d wanted to sleep by Celia in a chair, or on one of the other smaller sofas, but Celia had convinced her that it wasn’t necessary.
Finally, around eleven she’d gone to bed assured that if Celia needed anything, she could page her with one of the phones. Now Celia was thinking she might have to wake her mother so she could go check on Mike.
Five minutes went by and she heard footfalls again. She heard cabinets opening and closing and then heard more footfalls. The minute she heard Mike coming, she flipped on a small lamp. “What’s going on?”
“It seems that we are having company at this late hour. I hope you’re up to entertaining.”
“Of course I’m not! Who in the world would want to come around at this time of the night?” She reached out and took a small cup of pudding and a spoon from Mike’s hand.
“Would you like some milk with that?”
“That sounds good, but I hate to bother you.”
“No bother. I think I’ll have one, too.” He stepped out of the room and she looked after him.
“Who’s coming to see us? This is not a good time of night to have company. Did you open the gate? Just send them packing. I am in no mood to… entertain, as you called it.”
She heard footfalls again. She had just taken a bite of pudding, looked up and asked, “What kind of person goes around visiting at this time of the night?”
“Why, family of course!”
“Roger?” Celia asked, setting down the pudding as she looked up. The tears came fast and she held out her arms. “It’s so good to see you. No one told me you were coming.”
“I didn’t call. I wanted it to be a surprise. I checked in with Mom and she told me what happened and that you were in need of some help, so here I am.”
She hugged him again, not caring about the pain that it caused. “It’s so good to see you,” she said, as he pulled out of her arms and sat down on the couch beside her.
“How are you? I’m so sorry to hear this happened. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’m here to take care of you. I owe you after all.”
“Thanks, but what do you mean, you owe me?” Celia tried to wipe away the tears on her face. She was not one to cry at the drop of the hat, and she hoped that she stopped this when her body was healed from the accident.
“You don’t remember the summer I broke my leg and you had to wait on me hand and foot? Well, it’s payback time and I’m here to take my medicine.”
Celia’s brow furrowed and she leaned back taking a spoon of her pudding. After her bite, she nodded. “It’s all coming back. If I recall correctly, you had a little bell you rang. Mother bought it for you and by the end of the month, I wanted to shove it up your—.”
“Celia, that’s no way to greet your brother.” Mike came into the room and set a glass of milk on the table.
Laughing, she leaned over to pick it up. “You didn’t live with him that summer. It was terrible. He had me doing everything he could think of. I’ll have to work overtime to get back half of what I did for him.”
“Well, you just start naming it. I’ll even get you a little bell if you want. I’m here for you, Sis, any time of day or night. All you have to do is ask.”
Celia finished her pudding, and then looked from Mike to Roger. “It’s so nice of you to offer. I don’t guess the fact that I’m staying in this fine mansion in sunny California had anything to do with your visit, did it?”