Page 60 of No Remedy for Love

“Slow down, playboy. Wrong time and definitely the wrong place.”

Although Remi stayed the night with him for the first time, she didn’t feel comfortable being intimate in his grandmother’s house. She only stayed because he couldn’t come by her and he begged her to. His cousin Zita had plans and wasn’t available to stay and he couldn’t leave Ms. Bertha there alone.

“I hope Zita is free tonight. You got a nigga with blue balls and shit.”

“Stop being so dramatic, Blaze. It’s only been one night,” Remi laughed right as the doorbell rang. That was followed up by a series of hard knocks on the door.

“See who that is for me, baby. It better be the police banging on the damn door like that.”

Remi walked away and headed to the front door. She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling when she saw Blaze’s mother and two other women on the other side of it. She said a silent prayer for God to hold her tongue and her hands before she took the chain off and opened the door. It was actually unlocked, so someone apparently had a key. The chain was the only thing keeping them from entering the home.

“Hi,” Remi spoke and smiled politely when she opened the door.

“Why was the door chained and who the hell is she?” one of the women, who she’d never seen before, rudely asked.

“I’m Remedy, Ms. Bertha’s nurse.”

“I thought you only worked two days a week. I don’t recall Sundays being one of them,” Jean said as she looked Remi up and down. She looked too comfortable in her bike shorts and tank. The fuzzy slippers that she had on made her look like an occupant of the home instead of a guest. She didn’t have on the scrubs that Jean usually saw her in when she was there taking care of her mother.

“Her work schedule is nobody’s business but mine and I put the chain on the door,” Blaze said as he walked into the room and came to Remi’s defense. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her waist protectively. Jean and her sisters, Florence and Natalie, looked at each other knowingly. Apparently, Remi was much more than their mother’s nurse now.

“We came to see mama. Where is she?” Blaze’s aunt Flo had long ago appointed herself the family manager. Al was the oldest of the eight, but she was the oldest girl. Nat was the instigator and the one who kept up the most mess.

“She’s in the sitting room.” Blaze turned around and led the way. He grabbed Remi’s hand and made sure that she was right behind him.

“What in the world? Flo and Nat, I can’t believe my eyes.” Ms. Bertha was shocked but pleasantly surprised to see herdaughters walk into the room. They called her occasionally, but she hadn’t seen them in a while.

“Look at you all dressed up and stuff. What you got going on today?” Flo walked over and gave her mother a kiss, followed by her two sisters.

“Remi dressed me up so I can go spin the wheel at the casino if Blaze lets me go.”

Bertha looked over at her grandson with hopeful eyes. When she was well enough, she used to go every week. He let Zita bring her a few weeks ago, and she won five hundred dollars. She was pissed when she heard that somebody had hit the five million dollar jackpot when she was in the hospital because she was supposed to be there.

“Why can’t you go to the casino? We’re here. We can bring you.” Flo, as usual, was trying to be the big dog and dominate the situation.

“No, Blaze might not think it’s a good idea. You know I have to be careful with this oxygen.”

“That’s what we’re here for mama. We need to sit down and have a serious discussion about some things. This is kinda private, Blaze. Can you give us a minute?” Flo looked at her nephew expectantly.

“Nah, actually, I can’t.” Blaze defiantly looked right back at her.

“Look, we appreciate you for everything that you do, but this is our mother and we should be the ones to make sure that she’s straight.”

“When did y’all sit down and collectively figure that out? She was your mother when her property taxes didn’t get paid and she almost lost her house. She was your mother when her car got totaled and she needed a ride to her doctor’s appointments. She just spent almost two weeks in the hospital with a lung infection and she was your mother then too, but I didn’t see none of y’all show up for a visit. I guess that twelve grand that she won made y’all remember who she was all of a sudden.” Blaze saw right through the bullshit but he had time to entertain it all.

“We didn’t come here for an argument Blaze and this has nothing to do with money. We’re just concerned about our mother,” Nat replied calmly.

“Since when? Besides calling every few weeks, y’all don’t even be knowing what’s going on. But, okay, I got some time so let’s talk.” Blaze took a seat on the sofa next to his grandmother and pulled Remi down with him.

“Privately?” Jean looked at Remi expectantly.

“Nah, she ain’t going nowhere, especially since she knows more about Nana’s care than y’all do.”

“This is not just about her care. Mama is over eighty years old and we just want to make sure that all of her affairs are in order.” Flo was kicking herself for not stepping in and taking over her mother’s affairs sooner.

“What affairs are you speaking of Aunt Flo? Life insurance? That’s good because I pay it every month. Her house? I pay the taxes on that every year too. That oxygen that she needs around the clock, yep, that’s me too since Medicare won’t cover it all. The agency that sent Remedy over, I pay for that as well,along with every other bill up in here. So, again, exactly what affairs are you concerned about?”

“Look, we appreciate all that you do but that’s not the job of a grandchild.”

---