Page 13 of Sundowners
Roman pulled his hand back faster than was socially acceptable, unless you were trying to let the person know you found them displeasing. His heavy brows lowered and he cleared his throat. I sometimes had that effect on people. A little too probing…a bit much.
“Roman, give him your phone number. You never know, he might need to get in touch with you.” Frances folded her hands demurely over her knee and pointed her toe.
I fought to keep my smile appropriate and not too smug. Good to know Mrs. San Angelo was into playing matchmaker. If Iwerelooking for a match, Roman would certainly fit the bill.
Roman rolled his eyes. “Lola, I’ll be back tomorrow. You can stay out of trouble until then, right?”
Frances shrugged. “It depends on how good the food is tomorrow.”
I barked out a laugh. “I’m in tight with the person who oversees the menu choices, and I can be bought.”I winked at her, and then I got down to business. “My assistant on this floor is Lexi, she was here when you moved in, I believe? She’ll be in shortly to check your blood sugar and go over our procedures with you. I know you’ve had a long day, so we’ll be going over a lot of things with you daily for a while. But for now, is there anything I can get you?”
She smiled and shook her head, but I could see the reality was starting to set in.
“I’ll leave you two. I’m just on the other end of that phone, okay?”
“Thank you…”
“Creed.”
“Creed? What sort of name is Creed? Are you Catholic?”
“I have a relationship with the church.”A complicated one at best, but that’s a conversation for another time.“Creed is a family name.”
“Oh, just like Roman. He’s named for his father, my son.”
“Isn’t it time for you to go to bed, Lola?” His voice wasn’t exactly hard. He sounded as if he were trying to get her off her current subject.
“No, but it’s time for you to go home,” Frances said. “Kiss your grandmother and go on.”
Roman rolled his eyes. “I’m twenty-five-years old and my grandmother still tells me when to go to bed.” He bent and kissed her cheek, and then grabbed a sweatshirt from the foot of the bed.
“Nice to meet you,” Roman said to me, looking a little lost. Saying goodbye seemed so painful for him. I wanted to find out more about their relationship. “Is there, uh, a curfew? Any particular time you close up?”
I followed him to the door. “Officially, visiting hours are done at ten, but I have a feeling you’ll get a pass.”
Roman nodded, but he didn’t seem to find my crack very funny.Everyone thinks I’m funny.
“Thank you. I’ll be back tomorrow night for sure.”
“Mr. San Angelo? I know this is difficult—”
“You think? I just came back from being out of the country to find my aunt and uncle had put my grandmother in a home. You can’t possibly understand.”
Roman’s grief washed over me, leaving me breathless.So much pain.
“I promise. I’ll make sure she’s well cared for and entertained. She’ll be very happy here.”
Roman looked down at his feet and nodded once more before heading toward the exit. I watched as he pushed the doors open with more force than was necessary and it took all the self-control I’d gained over the past decades to not follow him.
There goes a man who just lost the last thing keeping him from a lonely existence. But it wasn’t just his grandmother he felt grief over.
I returned to check on my new patient and saw she’d fallen asleep sitting in her chair. Thankfully I was quite adept at the whole sneaking-around routine.
I gently lifted her from the chair and shared a bit of healing energy to ease her. Her blood sugar was high—I could sense it—and her lungs were working harder than they needed to be. Soon I would treat what ailed her and make her more comfortable, but for that, I needed her lucid permission. I’d have to earn her trust…and that of her handsome grandson. I’d had to leave more than one nursing home previously due to a concerned adult child.
When I returned to the nurses’ station, it was time to walk Lexi to her car. She was shaking by the time we got to the back lot, which had me on high alert.
“I just don’t want to come across someone in the act, you know? What if—”
