Page 34 of One Good Reason

Getting up, I kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room.

Bypassing the kitchen, I went back to the front of the house and grabbed the bag I had sat down. Ambling back through the house, I walked into the kitchen and found Mrs. Jessie standing at the island, cutting up fruit.

“She asked for some pineapples. I didn’t want the rest of the fruit to get old, so I decided to just make a fruit salad.”

Placing the takeout bag down, I pulled out the chair and took a seat. “Now Gema knows she can’t have pineapples like that,” I fussed, but not at Mrs. Jessie. Gema was allergic to citric acid. The last incident we had resulted in an overnight stay in the hospital.

“I know. She’s hard to resist, besides, I have Benadryl and her EpiPen handy,” Mrs. Jessie laughed.

“I swear… you let Gema sucker you every time. How was she today?”

“Happy to be back. Your mother said some things to her when she dropped her off. After Bertha went off, she grabbed her purse and left in a hurry.”

“Yeah, she just told me about it. She’s mad cause Gema came home and I’m leaving. I want to thank you again for agreeing to spend the weekend with her. If I didn’t feel like this trip was a necessity, I promise I wouldn’t be going.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Talitha. Not only is it my job but I genuinely enjoy spending time with her. It gives me something to do.”

“I know Mrs. Jessie, it’s just that sometimes I feel guilty about things like this. I try not to take on too much because I don’t want it to take away from my time with her. I’m really all she has.”

Grabbing my hand, Mrs. Jessie gave it a light squeeze. “You’re not all she has Talitha. She has kids and I understandyou’re her primary care giver but baby, you have got to live your life as well. Bertha has lived hers and the last thing she wants is for her to leave and you not have anyone. She wants you to be happy, Talitha.”

“I am happy. Since Papa Joe passed, Gema has been my sole responsibility. I don’t regret stepping up for her. Would it be nice to have a life of my own? Sure, it would. However, those weren’t the cards I was dealt so I have no choice but to deal with it. I don’t trust anyone but you with her health, and I would feel like I failed her if I sent her back home and left her in their care.”

“You know what she said to me earlier. Bertha told me sometimes she wished you would put her in assistant living. She sees how much taking care of her has you secluded from the world. She doesn’t appreciate the fact that you refuse to live your life.”

“She really said that?” I queried.

“She did,” Mrs. Jessie confirmed with a nod. “She feels like a burden most of the time. When I mentioned you going out of town, she was so happy. Chile, she thought you was going with a man!” She laughed.

Wiping the corner of my eyes, I giggled. “I am going with a man, just notthatkind of man. He’s my boss and this trip is for business,” I clarified.

“Well honey, whatever it is, it’s something that you’re not used to doing so she’s happy.”

“I hate that she feels like a burden. I never want to make her feel that way.”

“You don’t make her feel that way. She sees how dedicated you are to her care. The amount of times you’ll drop everything to come to her aid. All she wants is for you to be happy ,Talitha.

It might be time for you to start dating. I got Bertha, baby. It is perfectly okay for you to start living your life.”

“I hear you, Mrs. Jessie. The other side of that is if I’m away and something happens, I’m going to feel like shit because I wasn’t there.”

“We can’t move about life worrying about whatcouldhappen.”

“You know,” I chuckled. “This is the second time in a matter of a few days that I’ve had this same conversation.”

“Umph,” she snorted. “That right there should tell you something.”

“I forgot to ask if she had a bath?”

“We did it about an hour ago. She was in there working on a puzzle. I told her we was gon’ watch Matlock after I finished cutting up this fruit.”

“I’ll finish cutting that up. You eat before it gets cold.”

“I got this and that.” She nodded toward the bag. “Gon’ upstairs and unwind for the day. I’ll fix Bertha a plate and take it in there to her.”

“You sure?”

“Gon’ now, Talitha,” she urged with finality.

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