Kenzie
I’m so excited about meeting Lilly for lunch today. She went on a date with Keaton last night, and I haven’t told her about my date with Remy yet. I’ve just finished a tutoring session with poor Billy, who is almost an entire grade level ahead of where he needs to be, but his mother insists the poor kid needs tutoring, and since she’s paying me I’ll just keep on tutoring him. I make sure he gets plenty of fun time on my tablet, because, to be honest, whether she likes it or not, he deserves it and he’s still working on math. Now that she’s picked him up it’s time for me to meet Lilly at our favorite little diner.
I pull up to the diner. She’s already here. I walk in to find her in our favorite booth. Barb is here as well, so she greets me with a hug and puts a glass of water on the table for me. “Do you ladies know what you want?” Barb asks with a smile that lights up her face. She’s a pretty woman.
“I’ll have my usual,” I tell her, referring to my tuna on rye, and Lilly asks for her usual salad. Barb jots it down and walks away to put in our order and take care of another table of customers.
“So, how did your date with Keaton go?” I ask, excited to hear about it.
“It was good. He is very sweet, but I’ve heard he’s a bit of a player.”
I laugh. “Takes one to know one,” I tell her with my brows raised. Lilly was a bit of a player back in the day. She would totally date three guys at one time in hopes of finding Mr. Right. Her words, not mine. I never believed in dating like that. You date one guy, and if he’s not for you then you break it off and move on.
Lilly sticks her tongue out at me and says, “I may have been a player at one point in my life but I grew up. The question is, has he?”
I shrug. “I guess only time will tell. I see his work trucks around town. I know he’s worked hard to build a good construction crew, but I have no idea how he is in relationships. What did you guys actually do?”
“We went for a small bite to eat and then we played mini-golf and got ice cream. It was fun.”
“It sounds like fun. I wish I could tell you more about him, but I don’t really know the guy. I haven’t been back all that long, and I only met Remy because his mama sent him to my house with some treats as a welcome to the neighborhood.”
“I haven’t really met his mom, but she sounds sweet.”
“She is so sweet. She invited me to be on the block party planning committee so I would get to know some of our neighbors. Most of my neighbors are quite snobby, but she’s very sweet. Typical southern mama who takes no shit from her boys,” I tell her with a small side smile. “Are you seeing Keaton again?”
“Yeah, he asked me out this weekend. I think we’re going dancing,” she says as a smile spreads across her face. “How about you? What’s up with you and Remy?”
“We’re going out Saturday evening. He said he wanted to take me somewhere fun, but won’t tell me where, says it’s a surprise.” I wiggle my brows and smile. I feel like we’re back in high school getting all giddy over our boyfriends.
Barb puts a plate in front of each of us. “Enjoy, ladies, and I’ll be back to check on you soon.” We each thank her and dig into our lunch.
“What are you up to today? Do you need to go to Nana’s?” she asks, and it makes me a bit sad. I feel bad I haven’t seen her in a few days, but I needed a break. I spent a ton of time there taking care of her and cleaning her house. It’s a lot on top of my own responsibilities, and once school starts I’ll have less time.
“Yeah, we have a nurse who stops in now to help out with her, because it’s too much for Aunt Kenderly and I. Plus, when school starts I’ll have even less time. We have the block party in two weeks, and then it’s back to school.”
“That’s cool that you guys have a nurse to help out now. Is she good?” Lilly asks me with a bit of concern.
“We only met her on Friday and she’s starting today. She’ll be there when I get there.” I check my watch. “She’s supposed to be feeding her lunch right now, as a matter of fact.” I finish off my food.
“I have to get back,” Lilly says as Barb drops the bill on the table. She instantly picks it up and pays it. We both hug Barb and tell her we’ll see her again soon.
“Want to do lunch again, same time, same place?” Lilly asks.
“Only if you promise to let me pay next time. You’ve paid the last two times,” I complain.
“Okay, fair enough. I’ll see you Wednesday.” She gives me a hug and climbs into her car. I wave as she drives off to work. I take off to Nana’s.
When I pull up, I see the nurse’s SUV is in the driveway, as is Aunt Kenderly’s truck. I park in the street and run up the lawn to see Nana sitting on the porch.
“Hey, Nana. Have you had lunch yet?”
“No, and I’m starving. I don’t know what’s going on in there, Joanne.”
I sigh, but quickly recover. “I’ll go check on your lunch. You just stay right here.”
She nods and says, “I’m not going anywhere,” in her tired, raspy voice.
I walk in to find Aunt Kenderly bothering the nurse. “What’s going on?” I ask, confused as to why my nana hasn’t had her lunch yet. It’s almost one o’clock.
They both look at me and the nurse says, “I’m trying to get your nana on a balanced nutritional lunch, and your aunt is fighting me on it.”
I raise my eyebrows and give Aunt Kenderly a look that screams really? “Dear Lord, she’s in her eighties, she doesn’t need to worry about nutrition. She needs to enjoy the time she has left.”
“Auntie, I totally understand what you’re saying, but I think it’ll be okay for Nana to eat the one healthy meal that the nurse provides a day. You need to let her do her job.” I then turn to the nurse. “Can you try to be somewhat flexible and give Nana things she’ll enjoy?”
“Absolutely, I’m making things from the fridge so it’s not like I’m bringing stuff in that she won’t eat,” Nurse Emily says, looking at my aunt.
“Auntie, will you give me a hand upstairs while Emily gets Nana lunch?”
She sighs, but agrees. We both head upstairs to the spare room. I shut the door, and take a seat on the bed. “What’s this really about?” I pat the bed for her to take a seat next to me. She sits and starts to fiddle with her fingers. “Talk to me,” I say gently.
She sighs, but looks up at me. “I don’t know. She just came in with this take-charge attitude and it set me off. She’s acting like because she’s a nurse she knows it all and what’s best for your nana. Well, news flash, she’s my mama and I know just as well as she does what’s good for her.”
“Oh, Aunt Kenderly, she’s not trying to replace you. Emily knows that’s your mama, and she wants what’s best for her so she’ll be around longer.”
“I know, but it was just a lot to take in on her first day here.” She looks down at the floor.
“Let’s go back down and see if we can’t find a common ground to work on.”
She reaches over and hugs me.
“Thank you so much for being here and helping me with all of this. It’s getting harder and harder to see her go through this.”
“I know,” I tell her. “Don’t stress it, but let’s work it out. I’m going to be around less when school starts in a few weeks, and we need her here to help out.”
We both walk back down the stairs, and as soon as we get to the first floor, Emily is there to greet us. “Listen, Kenderly, I’m really sorry. I love what I do, and sometimes I forget how hard it is for the family to have a nurse in the house helping out. Please know I really just want to help take care of her. I didn’t mean to come on so strong.”
“I know, and I’m sorry I’m being so sensitive about it. You’re right. This isn’t easy, but we need you. Kenzie starts teaching in a few weeks, and I’ll be on my own more.”
“We’ll come to a compromise, I promise.” Emily gives my aunt a warm smile, and I’m starting to feel better. For a minute I thought Aunt Kenderly was going to blow a gasket and kick the woman out.
My aunt nods her agreement and says, “Shall we bathe her after lunch so she’s all set for the night?”
“Sure, and then I’d like to try to get her to play a game or do something to stimulate her mind. Is there anything in particular she likes to do?”
“Why don’t we ask her while we’re giving her a bath? It’ll take her mind off the fact a stranger is helping bathe her,” Aunt Kenderly says with a small smile.
“Good idea,” Emily says. I’m starting to feel like I’m not needed, so I think I’ll make a meal while they bathe her.
“Is there anything defrosted that I can cook to prepare a meal while you two bathe her?” I ask, wanting to do something productive while I’m here.
“There’s chicken in the fridge,” my aunt says.
“Joanne, I’m done with my lunch,” Nana calls from the kitchen.
Emily looks at us, confused.
“Joanne is my mom, her daughter. She confuses us now.”
Emily nods and says, “I’m sorry. I know that can be hard too.”
I thank her and run into the kitchen to find Nana trying to stand all by herself, “Nana, please wait for help,” I say, taking her elbow. “Where do you want to sit?” I ask her, but then Emily and Aunt Kenderly come into the kitchen.
Aunt Kenderly takes her arm and says, “Mom, how about we go take a bath?”
As they walk off toward the bathroom, my cell phone rings and I’m secretly hoping it’s Remy, but when I look, I see it’s my friend Jazzmine from Boston. “Hey, girl,” I say into the phone as I start cleaning up from lunch.
“I miss you,” she whines.
I laugh. “I miss you too.”
“How are things going down there?”
“I met someone,” I say with excitement.
“No way! That’s great!” she screams into the phone. “Who is he? Tell me about him.”
“Well, his name is Remy, and he’s a sweet southern boy. Born and raised here in Georgia, and he’s now stationed at the Army base for the next few years until he retires.”
“I bet he’s all buff, huh?”
“Yeah, I mean we’ve only gone on one date so it’s not like I’ve seen him naked or anything, but yeah, he’s pretty hot,” I say with a giggle.
“What are you doing to enjoy your summer off?” I ask her. Jazzmine is a teacher at the school where I taught. We met on the day I began setting up my classroom, and we clicked. Her class was next door to mine, so we always had each other’s backs and would watch one another’s class if need be.
“Oh, you know me. I’ve been hitting the beach and chilling with Marcus,” she says like it’s no big deal. Marcus was her boyfriend, but they decided they got along way better when they were friends instead of in a relationship.
“Still just friends?” I ask her as I pull the chicken from the fridge.
“Yeah, he drives me crazy, because when we’re friends he’s so easygoing and so much fun, but the second we try to make it more he turns into an ass.” I feel bad. She sounds so frustrated.
“You’ll find someone, Jazz,” I try to comfort her.
“I doubt it, not with school starting.”
“I thought you said the teacher taking over my classroom was cute.”
“He is, and I’m hoping he’s single because I can tell you I’d be on him for sure.” She suddenly starts to cheer up.
“Listen, girl, I don’t mean to cut you short but I have a package of chicken in front of me that I need to get cooking for my nana’s dinner tomorrow. Can we catch up later?”
“You got it. It was good to hear your voice,” she says. I can hear in her tone she genuinely misses me.
“You too, Jazz, my offer still stands. You can take a school vacation to come stay with me for the week.”
“We’ll make plans soon,” she says before saying goodbye and cutting the call. I get busy cooking the chicken, and a few minutes later, Nana comes walking out of the bathroom freshly bathed, with Aunt Kenderly on one side and Emily on the other. They’re all laughing about something and I don’t care what it is. I’m just happy I was able to calm everyone down so poor Emily didn’t end up fired.
“It smells good in here.” Emily comes into the kitchen.
“I cut up the chicken, breaded it, and I’m cooking it in a little coconut oil.”
“Mmm, I love coconut oil, and it’s definitely good for you,” Emily says with a smile. She looks over her shoulder to make sure we’re alone and then says, “Thanks for your help today. I didn’t know what to do.”
I smile at her. “No worries. Aunt Kenderly is really sweet as a peach but you need to realize her father has passed on, and so have her sister and brother-in-law. Nana and I are all she has left.”
She gives me a sad nod. “I understand. I promise to try and keep that in mind as I work with her,” she says with a sympathetic smile.
“Thank you.” I give her a warm smile to show my appreciation.
“Great, now that we’re past that. Nana is resting in the living room and would like to play Go Fish. Are you in?”
My smile grows. “Of course I’m in. Who can pass up a game of Go Fish?”
My phone buzzes on the table. I check it and see a text from Remy.
Remy: How’s Nana?
I smile at the idea of him taking time out of his day to check on her.
Kenzie: She’s well. We’re about to play Go Fish.
Remy: Nice. Have fun and I’ll talk to you after work.
Kenzie: ;-) Have a good rest of the day.