Shadows 02 Girl in the Shadows (20 page)

"Mrs. Westington speaks very highly of you," Doctor Battie began. "She says you're quite the mature and responsible younglady."
I looked at her. surprised. I had thought her opinion of me had gone dawn since my secret rendezvous with Tyler in the motor home,
"Never mind all that," she said.
"I called you in here to help me convince her that she should follow my orders."
"What are they?" I asked.
"She has to go to the hospital. I'm alarmed by her blood pressure and I want to do some other tests. I'm going to miss something here if you don't go. Loretta." he told her.
"I can't do that." she said.
"If you don't, your granddaughter could very well lose her grandmother. How would you like that?"
"You're a terrible alarmist and blackmailer. Doctor Battie," she told him.
He laughed. "Look. I can't prescribe the right medications for you or medical services if I don't know exactly what's happening, now can I? You're being unfair to me, Loretta. You're not letting me do my job properly and that will make me look bad. You want to hurt my reputation, my livelihood, my family?"
"Oh, stop it," she said. She looked away and then she turned to me. She was obviously surprised by her own physical weakness and finally a little frightened, "I'll go if you promise and swear you will not leave the house until I return. You will not let anything or anyone drive you away and you will look after Echo."
"I promise," I said quickly.
"Of course, the girl's going to be terrified. There hasn't been a day in her life that I wasn't there for her."
"We'll make her understand," Doctor Battie said.
As it turned out, he was an expert in signing. too. We brought Echo into the room and he explained it all carefully to her, reassuring her. When he asked her if it was all right to have her grandmother go to the hospital, she nodded enthusiastically.
"All right. I see I'm outnumbered here," Mrs. Westington said. "I'll go tomorrow,"
"No, you'll go right now. directly," Doctor Battie said. "Whatever you need from home can be brought to you later, The quicker you get this started, the quicker it will be over. Loretta."
"Did you ever see such a man?" she asked me. "Are you all right with it?"
"Yes, of course. I am. and Trevor's there to help as well."
"When he doesn't have his nose in a clump of grapes."
"You still producing that Chardonnay?" Doctor Battie asked her.
"Not me. That foolish man I have working for me stubbornly continues."
Doctor Battie laughed and then pulled me out of the examination room and explained where I was to take Mrs. Westington. He said he would make the calls and have everything underway.
"Don't let her talk you out of it at the last moment," he warned.
"She can do that and she's dangerously close to having a serious stroke. I'm afraid," he said.
It brought tears to my eyes. "I won't." I promised.
All the way to the hospital, she questioned the wisdom of what we were doing. "Leaving you alone there. I don't know. I don't know. I'm sure it's a mistake."
"We'll be fine. I'm not going to let anyone drive me out. I promise."
"You call me if there is even the slightest bit of trouble with those two," she said. "I won't go in unless you make that a promise."
"I will."
"I can tell when someone lies to me. I can smell it," she said.
"I will," I insisted, even though
I
wouldn't unless it was the last possible resort.
She looked at me askance and then smiled to herself. When we arrived at the hospital, there were attendants and a nurse waiting just as the doctor had promised. Of course, she thought they were making things worst, creating a bigger commotion than was necessary.
Very quickly she was behind a curtain, dressed in a hospital gown, and hooked up to machinery that would give the doctor the information he wanted. The sight of her in a hospital bed was hard for me and absolutely earth-shattering for Echo. The gown and the medical apparatus diminished her. She looked tiny and far more fragile outside of her own home, where she ruled like a queen.
"Come here," she told me, and drew me closer to the bed. "When you get back to the house. I want you to go directly to my bedroom. In my closet on the floor you'll see a brown wooden box. It has a tiny lock on it that is far from strong enough to keep Rhona or that Skeeter out of it, and inside I have some valuable jewelry and some money. Actually, a lot of money. Take it and ask Trevor to hide it somewhere for me. Be sure Rhona doesn't see it."
"I will," I said.
"Be sure," she emphasized.
The nurses began to surround us. so I told Echo to kiss her good-bye. I promised to bring her back after dinner.
"Wait," Mrs. Westington said. "I have a stew in a container in the freezer. You just have to defrost it. Echo likes the creamy corn with it and there's some apple pie left over and fresh bread in the pantry. When you heat the stew, don't make the fire too high because--"
"We'll be all right. Mrs. Westington. Don't worry. I cooked for my uncle for a long time and helped my mother, too, for years."
"Good. Good," she said. "Confound this getting old!" she cried at the nurses, as if they were somehow responsible.
I smiled at them. They were in for it. I thought, and guided Echo out of the room, to the elevator and out of the building. I was afraid Rhona and Skeeter would be back before we got home, but they weren't. Trevor came running out of the winery to greet us when he saw Mrs. Westington wasn't with us.
"She's in the hospital," I told him quickly, and explained it all.
"Well, that's best, and good for you for making sure she did the right thing for herself. She's the last one she thinks about these days."
I then told him about the wooden box and went into the house quickly to find it and get it to him.
And
I
didn't do it a moment too soon. Right after the handover, Rhona and Skeeter's van appeared in the driveway. I went back inside and told Echo she could help me with dinner preparations. At least that would keep her mind off things, I hoped.
Skeeter and Rhona came bursting into the house, laughing as usual and sounding a little high on something. They stopped first in the living room to look for Mrs. Westington and then appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"Well, look at our little cook working away. Where's my mother?" Rhona demanded,
I paused and turned slowly, "Your mother had a bad dizzy spell. I took her to the doctor and he wanted her to go to the hospital for some tests. That's where she is now."
"My mother's in the hospital?"
"After dinner. I'm bringing her some of her personal things," I added, and returned to the dinner preparations.
Echo was signing at her. but Rhona ignored her completely. "What happened exactly?" she asked, stepping into the kitchen.
"I told you. A dizzy spell."
She exchanged a look with Skeeter, who raised his eyebrows. The news appeared to sober them both quickly.
"Well now, it looks like things are going to change around here," Rhona said. She looked at Echo, who was still signing her concern for her
grandmother. "Stop that. You're being annoying." Rhona told her.
"How can you yell at her like that? She's just afraid for her grandmother. She wants you to comfort her, to--"
"Don't tell me how to talk to my own daughter. What nerve! I want you out of this house tomorrow. Tomorrow, understand? Do you?" she screamed.
"No one's going anywhere unless Mrs. Westington tells them so," I heard.
And so did Rhona and Skeeter. They both turned to Trevor, who had entered the house.
"We don't want to do anything that will upset her anymore than she is, now do we?" he added, walking toward Rhona and Skeeter.
Rhona stared at him and then she smiled coldly. "Of course not," she said. She turned back to me. "Once someone sees she can't get anymore out of my mother, she'll probably hightail it out of here anyway." She stepped closer and looked at the food. "I imagine my mother prepared all that before she got sick."
"Yes, she did." I said.
"Good. Call us when dinner is ready. We're both ravishingly hungry, aren't we. Skeeter?"
"Ravishingly," he said, and they laughed again.
She glared at me one more time and then, smiling like a cat who had her prey trapped, shifted her eyes to Skeeter. He nodded and they left the kitchen and went upstairs, their laughter rolling back behind them.
She didn't notice or care that Echo was crying.

.
"Don't you worry," Trevor said after they left. "I ain't canna let her take over here. Things are different from the way they was years ago. She doesn't have her father around to take her side. Don't let her frighten you or discourage you either."
"I won't. I made a promise to Mrs. Westington that I wouldn't leave before she returned and I intend to keep it," I said.
"Good. Food does smell good. That woman can cook." he said, looking over my shoulder,
"Just give me another fifteen minutes or so and I'll have it all ready. Trevor."
"I'll be back," he said. smiling. Then he looked at the door and said, "You come to me if she causes any trouble at all."
"I will."
I turned my attention to Echo and tried to cheer her up. She was caught like a leaf in the wind, spinning and turning over with confusion. I had her set the table. I wasn't looking forward to eating with Skeeter and Rhona. but I didn't see any way out of it, and for the time being it was better to avoid conflict as much as possible.
"Where's our dinner?" Rhona shouted from the top of the stairway. "I told you we were hungry. What are you doing down there?"
I started to bring everything to the dining room. "Everything's ready. You can come down to the table," I replied.
"That's better," she said. "If you're going to be my mother's little helper, than you're my little helper, too, while you're here freeloading. C'mon. Skeeter," she called, and the two of them came down the stairway and walked into the dining room.
Trevor showed up immediately afterward, having changed his shirt and brushed his hair.
"Well, look how fancy the help are. Skeeter," Rhona said. "Puts us to shame."
"Sure does," Skeeter said.
They dug right into the food.
"Echo says grace first," I told them. "How can she do that?" Rhona asked.
"Why don't you watch and see." Trevor told her, and nodded at Echo.
They paused and looked at Echo. I nodded at her, too, and she began her signing. thanking God for our blessings,
"What the hell is she saying? She could be saying she wants a new dress or something for all we know."
"I thought Skeeter could read sign language."
"A little," he said. "but I'm sorta rusty."
"Didn't you ever know how to use it?" I asked Rhona.
"No," she said. "I never had the time for that. My mother knew enough for the both of us anyway."
"Then maybe you should learn it now if you're going to stay here," I told Rhona. "I have the book for you and--"
"Oh, you're such a goody-goody all of a sudden," she replied, twisting her lips. You have the book for me." Her face hardened. "Trying to get on my good side? Hoping I won't throw you out? Forget it. The kid belongs in a special school or something, right. Skeeter?"
"Exactly. She'd get much better help from people who do that for a living.'
"Your mother is actually arranging for that soon and she has the information and--"
"Oh, she does? How convenient," She thought a moment. "How expensive is the school?"
"I don't know."
"Well, it doesn't matter what you know and what you don't. Soon,I'll be making all those decisions anyway. The writings on the wall, as my mother would tell you. That goes for you. too. Trevor. I don't know why you remained here since the vineyard went out. All these freeloaders," she told Skeeter, who was attacking the food as though he had been starving on an island for weeks. He nodded.
"Ain't no worse freeloader than an ungrateful, irresponsible daughter coming around for money," Trevor replied.
"I would watch my tongue if I were you, man." Skeeter said.
"Would you?" Trevor responded, his eyes fixed so hard and coldly on Skeeter. "That's good, only you ain't me, man."
"Right," Skeeter said, smiling and looking at Echo. "Add that to the thank-you's you're giving God. Echo." he told her. Of course, she didn't understand. Both he and Rhona laughed.
I could see the muscles in Trevor's neck tighten. He looked poised to leap over the table at Skeeter at any moment. It was only Echo's frightened eyes that kept him from doing anything more than just glaring back and then beginning to eat. They grew bored with us anyway and started their own conversation about some of their friends and their own plans. Rhona talked as if Mrs. Westington was already dead and buried and she had inherited everything.
"There isn't much point in keeping this property any longer. It's not being used as it should be. There's probably a winery nearby that would love it and would pay a lot for it so they could expand."
"Absolutely." Skeeter said as if he was a real estate expert.
"You'd better start thinking about a retirement home for yourself," Rhona told Trevor.
He ignored her, chewed his food, and looked ahead as though they weren't there.
"So what are you trying to do here anyway?" she asked me. "And what have you already taken from my mother? You'd better let me know or eventually
I'll
have you arrested for stealing."
"All I've taken from her is the love you never accepted," I said. Trevor smiled.
Her smile evaporated. "What things did she want at the hospital? I'll be bringing them to her, not you."
"She asked me to do it and I'll be doing it," I replied firmly.
Echo was signing to me, asking why her mother looked so angry.
"God, does she ever stop that?" Rhona asked, looking at her. "Looks like my mother never taught her dinner manners. All I used to hear from her was that children should be seen and not heard at the table."
"Maybe she just meant you and not all children," I suggested. Again. Trevor smiled. Even Skeeter smiled.
"Oh, you're so smart." She leaned toward me. "I don't care what my mother told you. This isn't your family and this isn't your home and the law will be on my side when it comes down to it. You'll see." She pushed her dish away and stood up. "You'll both see," she said, turning to Trevor. "C'mon, Skeeter. I want to go to the hospital and see what exactly is happening to my mother." She stressed the "my."
"What about the apple pie'? That looks good," Skeeter said, nodding at it.
"Take a piece with you, damn it," she told him.
He shrugged, cut a piece, and rose with it in his palm.
"Hey." he said to me, "if you can cook like this, you can stay," He laughed.
She glared at him and they walked out of the dining room. I saw how lost Echo was with all this. I smiled at her and told her after we cleaned up, we'd go see her grandmother.
Trevor sat back. troubled. "I told you," he said. "I knew things were not going to be good when I saw that bird fly into the building. But don't worry," he added quickly. "I'll fix it."
He was going with us to the hospital, too. We wouldn't be far behind Rhona and Skeeter. I went upstairs to change into something nicer and brush my hair. After that I went into Mrs. Westington's room to get her personal things. The moment I walked through the doorway, I stopped and gasped.
Rhona and Skeeter had practically ripped the bedroom apart in their search for money and valuables. The dresser drawers were still open, clothes sprawled. The closet was open and clothing on the floor. Every box, every cabinet had been rifled. They had even searched her bathroom and her linen closet, not bothering to put the towels and sheets back on their shelves. Echo came up behind me and pulled my arm so she could ask what had happened.
I just shook my head and started to put things away. She helped immediately and we soon had the room looking tidy again. Mrs. Westington was right on target when it came to predicting what her daughter would do. I thought. She was wise to have me hide the box of valuables and money. I gathered up her personal things that she wanted brought to the hospital and placed them all in a woolen bag that looked like something she had made for herself.
"Let's go, Echo," I told her. When we stepped out of the house. Trevor was waiting in the station wagon. As soon as I got in. I told him what I had found in Mrs. Westington's bedroom.
"They'll be all over that house while she's away. Wouldn't surprise me to see Rhona try to sell some of the furniture. I wish I could put everything under lock and key. That Rhona... some child to have raised. I don't think she gave her mother a moment of happiness. Don't worry about any other mess she makes. though. Lourdes will be here tomorrow," he reminded me.
When we arrived at the hospital, I was happy to learn that Rhona and Skeeter had not gotten in yet to see her mother. The nurse informed them she was asleep and they should not disturb her. Rhona was in a pout, threatening not to sit around waiting much longer for her mother to awaken.
"I can't even get any sensible information about her. The doctor's not available and the nurses don't know anything or won't tell anything. Resting comfortably is their stock, stupid response to eveiNthing," Rhona said.
Neither Trevor nor I said anything. We sat in the small lobby on Mrs. Westington's floor and Echo began looking at magazines. I could see Rhona didn't have the patience for this. She paced a bit. Skeeter sat with his eyes closed looking like he could fall asleep in seconds. Finally Rhona nudged him and told him she wanted them to go.
"We'll come back tomorrow. This is a waste of time. If you're still here when she wakes, tell her we stopped by." she told me.
"Okay," I said. "We'll let you know how she is."
"Oh, thank you, thank you." she said with exaggeration. "C'mon, Skeeter."
He shrugged, rose, and followed her out.
"You know what I think," Trevor said. "I think when Mrs. Westington heard it was Rhona looking to see her, she told her nurses to say she was asleep."
I laughed.
As it turned out, however, he was right. Shortly after the nurse told her we were there, we were permitted to visit.
"Are she and that clown gone?" Mrs. Westington asked.
"Yes," Trevor said. "How are you feelin'?"
"How do you think I feel being locked up in here like this?" she snapped back at him.
"You're not locked up. Mrs. Westington," I said. I gave her the bag of personal items.
She grunted and looked at Echo. They communicated with sign language and then Mrs. Westington turned to me.
"You did well with the dinner, but she says Rhona's been on a tear and wrecked my room. That so?"
I looked at Trevor.
"Don't wait for his permission to tell me the truth. I ain't incapacitated yet. What did she do?"
"She's just making all sorts of wild statements and threats."
"She and that man tried to find my money and jewels, didn't they?"
"Yes, but we got it all hidden before they came home."
She nodded, pleased with herself. "They say when you step on a pickle, you never know which way it will squirt. She's one pickle easy to predict. Always was, and you know why? Because she has only one purpose, one goal in her life: to please herself no matter what. Remember that time you found her in the garage in the back of the car with that boy, Trevor? She tried to blame Trevor afterward. No telling how low she'll get. I was a fool to think there was any change in her. You'd think a girI who had lived like she has would have learned something."
"Has the doctor been in yet?" I asked.
She smirked. "Yes, he has. He claims he needs to keep me here to try some medicines on me to see which works best and which don't."
"That's reasonable," Trevor said.
"Oh, is it? How would you like to be treated like some guinea pig?"
"Oh, that's not it." Trevor said. smiling. "No sense in him prescribing something for you that don't work."
"Ain't anyone on my side anymore?" she moaned, and signed to Echo.
Echo went to her and hugged her.
Mrs. Westington looked at me. "Better tell Tyler about this. I guess it's more important than ever she go into that school now. I kept her under my wing as long as I could, but the feathers are getting too thin."
"Now you gain' to start that gloom and doom talk again?" Trevor asked.
She narrowed her eyes when she looked at him. "Are you going to stand there and tell me you haven't seen any sins that concern you. Trevor Washington?"
He glanced at me and she caught it. She was just as keen as ever. I thought happily.
"Go on, tell me what you've been doing. Burning candles, throwing salt? What are you doing to remedy this situation?" she demanded,
"None of your business." he told her, and she laughed.
The nurse entered. "The doctor wanted us to keep her visiting hours restricted for the first few days," she said.
"Days?" Mrs. Westington cried. "I'm not here for days."
"We have to go anyway," I said. "We have lots to do."
"You don't worry none," Trevor said.
"Oh, no. I'll just lay here hunky-dory. The cook puts glue in the mash potatoes and the meat they expect you to eat must first be beaten for hours on a rock."
"I'll bring you something," I said.
"She has to watch her salt intake," the nurse said. "That's very important right now."
"Sneak it in." Mrs. Westington said loud enough for the nurse to hear. She turned to Echo and told her to be a good girl while she was away and listen to both Trevor and me. They kissed good night. I put my arm around Echo and we all left the room. Trevor's face made me nervous. He looked so worried.
"She'll be all right," I said, trying to reassure myself as much as him.
"For now." he said. "But there comes a time when time ain't on your side no more. You start to hate clocks and calendars and the only birthdays you like are the birthdays other people have. My mama used to say you can dam up water, you can shut out the wind, and you could get out of the rain, but you can't hold back that minute hand. No. sir. Don't try. Just hang on and hope for the best.
"Now you got me doin' it." he said. laughing. "You got me talkie' doom and gloom."
He joked about it. but I was beginning to believe that was all I was capable of doing.
"Let's treat Echo to an ice cream," he suggested. "Get her mind off doom and gloom."
"Okay. but I'm not having any." I said firmly.
Later. when we drove up the driveway, we were surprised to see two other cars beside the ugly van in front of the house.
"What's this now?" Trevor wondered aloud.
When we stopped and got out, we could hear loud music coming from the house.
"I don't like the sound of this," Trevor said. "I'll go in with you two."
When we entered, we realized all the noise was coming from the living room. There were five other people there, all drinking and smoking. I recognized cocaine on the coffee table. A short, dark-haired woman was just about to snort it when we appeared. Rhona was sprawled on the sofa, her head against Skeeter. who had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. There was another young woman on the other side of him, her blouse open down to her navel and her breasts quite visible. She was smoking a joint. Two men, one with hair as long as Skeeter's. were sprawled on the floor. A rather heavy balding man was in Mrs. Westington's chair, his bare feet on the side of the coffee table. There were open beer bottles, glasses, pizza boxes with pieces still in them, and a container of melting ice cream that was leaking off the table and onto the floor. No one seemed to notice or care.