Page 83 of Road Trip
“Couldn’t be more sure,” I breathed. I wanted her to need me and wanted to show her she could depend on me, the stubborn woman!
She steeled herself and gone was the vulnerable Abra. Back was that kick-ass-and-take-names Abra I’d met just over a week ago. That shocked me. Only a week?
When we approached her mother, she squeezed my hand. “I’ll need you to take the Suburban because Mom will freak out in another car.”
We swapped keys, and I told her where to look for the Ford F-250 with Graham Equestrian on the door.
“Mom,” she said sternly.
Her mother continued to watch her show.
Abra put her hand on her mother’s knee. “Mom. Mom! Can you look up, please?”
Up close I was startled at how much Abra looked like her mother. They were built the same, though her mother was heavier. They had the same dark hair and eyes, although her mother’s was showing a lot of gray. She looked ancient, like at least in her seventies, but it was my guess that was due to her illness.
“Hi, honey. Did you need something?” The woman was totally out of it, as if she didn’t realize where she was.
“Mom, this is Kelly. He’s going to take you home and stay with you while I stay with Gran for a bit.”
Her mother’s smile fell as she got a load of my T-shirt. “No! No, honey, please! Don’t do this. I’m taking my medicine! I’m sorry!” She burst into tears and tried to get up.
Abra took the iPad from her quickly, put it in her purse, and then stepped in front of her.
“Mom! Kelly’s my boyfriend. He’s not a cop. I mean, he is a cop, but he’s not acting like one, okay? He’s going to help me take care of you while Gran is here in the hospital.”
Her mother looked suspiciously at me and then back at Abra. “You promise you aren’t sending me back? Promise?”
Her mother seemed petrified. Where had she sent her before? Just how serious of a situation was this?
Abra took a deep breath. “Mom, he’s going to take you home, to Gran’s house. Jilly’s bringing dinner. I’ll be there after Gran gets settled in a room. It won’t be long. Kelly is a very nice man. He will take care of you. Kelly? This is my mother, Adrianna Velasquez. Mom, this is Kelly Graham.”
I held out my hand, taking a deep breath for strength, and she took it, her expression going from confused and afraid, to demure.
“He’s very handsome,” she stage-whispered to Abra, who then rolled her eyes.
“Good luck,” she muttered to me.
I took Adrianna’s hand and placed it in the crook of my arm as we started to make our way slowly to the exit.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Velasquez.”
She stopped suddenly. “No Mrs. I’m a Mizzzz,” she said, accentuating the title. “I’ve never been married.”
Abra’s eye rolling was going to give her a headache.
“My mistake. I’m happy to meet you, Señorita Velasquez.”
Her mother put a hand to her chest and batted her eyelashes at me. “Abra, darling, he’s so handsome. Where did you even find him?”
“The side of the road. Now come on!”
I bit back a laugh as we made our way to an old Suburban. Abra opened the door, and I helped her mother in. She purred her thanks and kept staring at me in a creepy way. I raised my eyebrows at Abra, who shut the door as her mother asked me my sign.
“I’m so fucking sorry you had to see that. There’re all kinds of different moods and people inhabiting that body. Her official diagnosis is bipolar with severe depressive states. She used to get manic when I was a kid, but since they’ve been heavily medicating her, she goes from this state to catatonic and that’s about it. It sucks, but the alternative is way worse. Her meds are in the kitchen in the breadbox. There’s a loaf of bread in front of it. That’s to keep her from finding it. Gran keeps her pills in a tray so just find the box for Saturday p.m. and give them to her with some water. She will probably watch TV for a bit before going to sleep. If she crashes in her rocking chair, just leave her. If you try to move her, she freaks out. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I stared at her for just a moment and then she frowned.
“If it’s too much, you better say it now.”
