Page 77 of From Nowhere

“Tia and Amos. Well, mainly Tia.”

Mom frowns. “Is she still holding a grudge?”

“An eternal one.”

“Oswald, you can’t let her tell you how to live your life.”

“I need their help. That puts me at their mercy.”

“They love Lola. They’re not going to abandon her because you want to move on with your life,” she says.

“No. But I don’t want Lola living in a house where the adults are at each other’s throats. And I don’t want Tia bringing up the accident more than she already does. They love Lola, but they show their love differently than you show your love. Tia has always been tough on me, and she was tough on Brynn too. She’s never been a coddler. So she didn’t approve of every choice we made raising Lola. As is, she’s frustrated that Lola’s therapist hasn’t miraculously cured her or forced her to get into a car.

“If I push her by stepping out of line, she and Amos will pack up and leave. It won’t be about Lola. She’ll blame it on me. She’ll let Lola know that it’s all because of me.”

“I could help with Lola,” Mom says.

I don’t say anything.

“She’s ten, not two.” Mom blows out an exasperated breath because she’s offered to help with Lola before now. I haven’t felt comfortable leaving Lola with someone who is legally blind.

Mom continues to make her case. “And Ruth can help.”

“Ruth is already helping by staying with you,” I say, swiping my hand along the cobwebs inside the shade of her standing lamp.

“Oswald, Ruth does very little to help me. Ask her, if you don’t believe me.”

“You can’t drive.”

“What does that matter when Lola won’t get in a car?”

She’s not wrong.

“Now, what can I do? Would you like Lola to stay with me while you take your new lady friend on a date?”

A date.

We’ve done that.

I want a night.

Can I tell my mom that? Or is that basically saying I need her to watch Lola so I can get laid?

I don’t push my luck. “What if Lola spent a Friday or Saturday evening with you?”

“A sleepover?”

I rub the back of my neck. “It wouldn’t have to be.”

“What if you don’t want your date to end with dinner?” Mom smirks.

“Grandma, can I take Paxton out of his cage?” Lola yells from the bedroom.

“Come here, Lola,” Mom says.

“Please don’t say anything,” I beg.

Lola pokes her head around the corner. “What?”

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