The Deception (17 page)

"My grandfather passed away about seven years ago. He was the one who insisted we only speak Castillian Spanish whenever we were in his home. Nowadays, the firm has me come in and translate for clients from Mexico and Central America who aren't proficient in English. Apparently, I'm picking up their dialect."

Alex ended the call and quickly got ready to leave. Forty-five minutes later he escorted Carrie into the lobby at Sierra Arroyo. As they signed in Carrie quickly introduced him to the receptionist, explaining that two other friends were also on their way. She left him in the lobby, explaining that she wanted some time alone with her mother. He told her to take all the time she needed.

Carrie found Hilda in her mother's room along with a hospice worker named Maryanne. Linda was in a deep, sound sleep. Her face looked ashen and Carrie noticed her fingernails had a strange purplish hue.

"How long does she have?"

"Not long," replied Maryanne. "I'd say probably a few more hours."

"What if you're all wrong? She could still get better."

Hilda gently pulled Carrie off to the side. "Carrie, honey, she's fought the good fight, but she can't fight it any longer. She has no strength left. She's been trapped in a useless body for far too long. Now it's time to let her go so she can move on to someplace better." Carrie began weeping openly. Hilda wrapped her arms around her. "She loves you, Carrie and I know she's been worried about you. Even though she can't talk she's still been able to communicate with me, in her own way, mother-to-mother."

"Really? So what has she had to say?"

"She was relieved after you and Doug broke up. She thinks you could do better."

"She does?"

Hilda nodded.

"You know, Mama never disliked Doug, but she did mention once or twice that she didn't think we were the best match either. I guess that's one of the reasons why I held back on marrying him."

"Mothers know best," agreed Hilda. "Then, after you told her you'd reconnected with your friend, Alex, she seemed to be a lot happier. I can tell she really likes him."

"Yes, she always has. Alex and I were childhood friends. He spent a lot of time at our house over the years and my mother and Alex's mother used to take turns shuttling us around until we got our driver's licenses. Mama always talked about how much she adored him. She even used to say she hoped we'd get married someday, but then we ended up going to different colleges and we lost touch with one another."

"And now he's back," said Hilda.

"Yes, he is. Through a strange twist of fate, Alex Montoya is back in my life. He brought me here today, Hilda. I want to spend a little time alone with her, and then I'm going to let Alex come in and let him spend some time with her too. My other friend, Allison, wants to see her as well."

"I'm glad, Carrie. She may look like she's asleep, but trust me, she'll know they're here and I know she'll be happy to see them, especially Alex."

Carrie asked Hilda and Maryanne to step out of the room so she could have some time alone with her mother. An hour later she came into the lobby. Steve and Allison were there with Alex. All three came up and put their arms around her. Once again
,
Carrie began weeping.

"I think we're ready for you to go and see her," she said once she regained her composure. "Allie, why don't you go first? Then when you're done, it'll be Alex's turn. After that the rest of us will go back in."

Allison nodded and Hilda came to escort her to Linda's room. Steve and Alex tried to get Carrie to eat something while they waited but she refused. Once Allison returned Alex left with Hilda.

"She looks almost normal," he said as he walked up to her bedside. "She's hardly aged a day since the last time I saw her. She's quite a bit thinner, and her hair's a lot longer, but other than that she looks much the same."

"I'll leave you two alone for awhile," said Hilda as she stepped away. "Feel free to talk to her. She can still hear you."

"Mrs. Daniels, it's me, Alex." As he took Linda's left hand, she immediately squeezed his. "I know, and it's good to see you too. It's kind of a long story of how I've come back into Carrie's life. I don't know how much she's told you, but I don't want you to worry about her, okay. I promise to take very good care of her."

Linda squeezed his hand again. Alex filled her in about going to law school, becoming a lawyer, and how happy he was to have finally found Carrie again.

"You know, Mrs. Daniels, I've thought a lot about Carrie over the years. She's the best friend I ever had, and I promise that I'm not going to lose her again. She and I will be best friends forever. You can count on it."

Linda gave his hand a final squeeze. They heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The door opened and Allison and Carrie came inside.

"Thanks, both of you, for coming," said Carrie. "It really means a lot to me. I'll call you later, Alex."

Alex and Allison looked at each other. "We're not leaving," said Alex as he pulled up two more chairs. "We're your friends. We're staying here with you."

Carrie let out a sigh. It was no use arguing. Deep down, she was pleased.

"So where's Steve?"

"He went out to get some sandwiches," replied Allison. "You have to eat sometime Carrie. We'll do our meal breaks in shifts so your mother won't be alone."

The three took their seats and as the hours passed they noticed Linda's breathing was becoming more and more labored. It was a few minutes past one o'clock the following morning, when she began to stir and slowly open her eyes.

"Mama?"

Linda looked at Steve, Allison, and then Carrie. When she finally looked at Alex, her eyes held his before darting back and forth between him and Carrie.

"Well, Alex, it's about time."

Her voice wasn't much more than a hoarse whisper, but she'd somehow managed to get the words out. Everyone sat in stunned disbelief as Linda closed her eyes and nodded off. They listened closely as she took three more deep breaths. The last one ended with a long exhale, and then the room was silent. No other breaths followed.

"Mama!" wailed Carrie as she rose from her chair. "Mama!"

Her friends surrounded her and all three hugged her at the same time. Carrie sobbed as the door opened. Some of the staff discreetly slipped into the room to confirm that Linda was indeed gone. They quietly left as Carrie's friends tried to comfort her. By then, all four were weeping.

"Carrie, is there anyone we need to call?" asked Allison, once she was able to compose herself.

"No." Carrie, shook her head. "Both of my grandparents are gone. Mama had an older brother, but he was killed in Vietnam. She and I never knew any of my grandmother's family, there was some sort of a rift, and my grandfather was an only child. I don't know if my father's alive or dead, nor do I care. It was always just Mama and me."

She started crying and once again her friends tried to comfort her. After she'd calmed down, Steve and Allison told her goodnight. Alex stepped out with them to give her some time alone with her mother. It was nearly two-thirty when he tapped on the door. A hearse had arrived to pick up her mother's body.

"No," said Carrie, shaking her head. "Tell them to leave."

"Carrie-Anne, it's time for me to take you home. You've been here nearly sixteen hours. You're exhausted, and so am I. You need to get some rest. I'll tell them to wait until after we're gone."

Alex stepped out, returning a short time later. They both said a final goodbye before he wrapped his arm around her and led her out of the building.

W
hen Carrie woke up, it took her a moment to realize she was in Alex's guestroom. Her first thought was that it had all been a bad dream, but as she looked around the room she spotted the bag filled with her mother's meager possessions sitting on top of the dresser. It hadn't been a bad dream. Her mother really was gone. She rolled over to glance at the clock on the nightstand. It was going on eleven-thirty. The morning was nearly over. She climbed out of bed and reached into her suitcase for a t-shirt and a pair of shorts before heading off to the bathroom. Ten minutes later she emerged and headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Carrie-Anne. How are you feeling?"

Alex was seated at the dining table in the small nook off the side of the kitchen. He was busy going through a thick folder, stacking and collating various papers. Carrie noticed he was wearing a pair of tortoise-shell glasses. They gave him a distinguished look, which she found intriguing.

"I'm okay, I guess." She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat across the table from him. "So where did you get those?"

"What?"

"The glasses. I like the way they look on you."

"Do you now? Well, thank you." So Carrie liked his look. "After putting in such a late night, I needed to take out my contacts for awhile."

"I see." She took a sip of her coffee. "So, when did you start wearing contacts?"

"About the time I finished law school." He shuffled more of the papers around. "Carrie-Anne, I hope you don't mind, but I've started going through your mother's folder."

"No, I don't mind at all. In fact, I was going to ask you to do that for me. I've only gone through parts of it so I have no idea what all is in there."

"That's what I thought. I've found a copy of her will." He handed it to her. "She intended to leave everything to you. At the time it was written she had a condominium, some stocks and bonds, and a savings account."

"All of which is long gone now. I tried to sell the condo, right after she had her stroke. Unfortunately, the real estate market had crashed. It was worth less than what she'd owed and the bank ended up foreclosing on it. Since then I've had to use up all her other assets to pay for her care."

"That's what I thought," said Alex as she handed it back to him.

"She had some jewelry that once belonged to her mother, but there was no documentation attached to any of it, so I put it in my safe deposit box. They're family heirlooms and I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone take that away from me."

"It's okay Carrie-Anne. No one's going to rob you of your grandmother's jewelry."

"Thanks, Alex."

He presented her with another document. "She says her wish is to be cremated, but she's left it up to you to decide what to do with her ashes. If you like, I can call the funeral home and arrange the cremation for you."

"Thanks, Alex, I appreciate it." She took another sip of her coffee. "You know, I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now I can't think clearly."

He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. "That's what friends are for, Carrie-Anne. But I need to ask what you'd like to do with the ashes."

She took a few more sips of her coffee as she thought it over. "Alex, do you remember back when we were kids, how every summer she'd take us camping up in the mountains?"

"How could I forget? Those camping trips are some of the happiest memories of my childhood."

"Mine too. So what do you think about driving up to Flagstaff next weekend and scattering her ashes out in the woods, where she always took us?"

"I think that would be perfect and I know she'd love it. Would you mind if Steve and Allison came along?"

"Not at all," she replied. "I want them to be there. I'll call Mr. Greene tomorrow. There are clergy people who volunteer at the nursing home. Mama wasn't much of a churchgoer, but she did believe, and I'd like to have someone give her a proper eulogy. I want Hilda to be there too. She was Mama's main caregiver and they shared a special bond."

"My parents would also like to come, if you wouldn't mind. They knew her too."

"Of course they can be there. Didn't you tell me they're living in Nevada now?"

"Yep. My father got transferred to Las Vegas shorty after Mark went off to college. They're in Boulder City, which means they're only a few hours' drive from Flagstaff. I'll let them know and we'll figure out a place where we can all rendezvous. My mother is also planning on calling you sometime later on today."

"She is? I'd like that." Carrie leaned back into her chair took a few more sips of coffee.

"Carrie-Anne, I know we asked you this last night, but is there anyone else you need to call? Perhaps some of your mother's friends?"

"No. Unfortunately, most of Mama's friends drifted away in the months following her stroke. The only one who stayed true to her was Bernie."

"Bernie?"

"Yes, Bernie Carson. He was a sous chef at the restaurant where they both worked. They had this... relationship, if you know what I mean."

"You mean they were lovers."

"Yes," she admitted. "Mama met Bernie about the time we finished high school, but please, don't get the wrong idea. It wasn't any kind of fling. They truly were in love, but they never got around to getting married. I think Mama was a little gun-shy about marriage, you know, because of my father. Anyway, Bernie was never the same after Mama had her stroke. He died of a heart attack about a year later."

"I'm sorry to hear that."