Chapter Twenty-Eight
Opal went to visit her mother, which she tried to do at least once a week. Lately, however, it had been a little more difficult to get out there. At first, she'd been busy because of getting fired, looking for work, getting the job at the strip club; all the things that had been going on in her crazy life. After that, she'd become a little too infatuated with the man she was conning out of his inheritance. The guilt was making her feel like not such a great person, and she knew that was going to be hard to hide from her mother in person.
"You don't have to explain why you haven't visited me," said her mom. "Things have been tough, and you work damn hard to make sure I'm taken care of. What more could I want from my daughter?"
"Thanks, Mom. I still should have come to see you sooner."
"I wouldn't have complained if you did, but I understand. I'm so sorry you lost another job. Do you want to tell me about what happened? You weren't stealing again where you?" She had a cheeky smile on her face, as parents do when they tell bad jokes to their children.
"I guess without Dad around, you had to learn how to tell the bad jokes for him. No, Mom, I didn't get fired for apparently stealing again. This was a whole other thing. My boss was being a sleaze bag and I slapped him and told him off. But don't worry, I have a new job as a junior illustrator."
"Ooh, that sounds exciting. I might have liked to see you do that. Did you hit him very hard?"
"It made a very satisfying sound. Left a red mark on his cheek too, and a look of shock on his stupid, smug face." She made a little growling sound, like a frustrated plush raptor might make.
"Are you alright? Need some water to drink?"
"No, thanks. Can we talk about something serious though? I'm glad you're amused about me getting fired again, but—"
"Awe, honey. I think it's terrible, but you need to keep your sense of humor pretty high when you're in and out of doctor's offices and hospital rooms as much as I've been in my life. I think it's the one thing that's really kept me above the line. Tell me about this new job. Junior illustrator, did you say? But Opal, I remember when you started out doing that. The pay wasn't great. Are you going to make enough to get by?"
Opal sighed and smiled. "I know, Mom. I know … you don't have to worry about money though, is all I wanted to say. There's not a chance that I would ever let them take away your spot at this facility. You deserve such a nice place to live, with the on-staff care that you need." It was a nice, one-bedroom place, attached to a specialized medical care facility. There were carers, cleaners, and other residents who were in similar situations as Vanessa was. The cost was very high, but Opal never regretted the decision to send her mother there, not even for a second.
"Thank you, Opal. I don't expect it, but it makes me so happy to know that you'll take care of me."
"Well, you did kind of raise me by yourself after Dad was gone."
"He'd be proud to see what a great young woman you've become. I wish he could see." Vanessa looked over at the framed photograph of her deceased husband, holding the baby Opal all those years ago before he died of cancer. "At least he doesn't have to watch me getting all these constant tests and damned operations.
"Is there any news in that department? I'm sorry, I should have asked." Opal felt guilt, even more than she already did. Here was her mother, always unwell with too many seemingly random issues to keep track of, but no one big thing, and she was worried about her own personal life as though it really mattered. This is who you're doing the plan for, Opal. Boyd would understand, she reminded herself.
"Don't worry, you'd be the first to know. So long as I stick to the doctor's orders, it looks like you should be stuck with me for a lot longer. "But, honey, where are you going to get your money from if you're not working at the restaurant anymore?" Opal had almost forgotten the lie she'd told to cover up the fact that she was working at a strip club. It was only a white lie really. She'd said she was working behind the bar at a restaurant … and they did serve wings at Gus’s shitty club.
"I might have been dating a guy."
"Oh, really? Did he help you get the job?"
"Not exactly. He's kind of rich. So don't worry, because he cares about me too much to let my mother lose her home."
"What? You're not just seeing him for money are you?"
Opal put on her best shocked face. She technically did start to see Boyd for money, even if that money was to come from Carl, but acting fake had become a secondary thing to her lately. "Mother, do you really think that of me?"
"Of course not. Okay, I'm sorry. Tell me all about this new man of yours. Is he handsome?"
"That's an understatement!"