Page 46 of Leave It to Us
“There’s no tub or shower in that bathroom, Lana. And Mama hates being in the room off the kitchen. She’s always saying it smells like food and makes her nauseous and that it’s her pantry, not a bedroom.” Yvonne ran a hand down her hair, which she’d released from the ponytail.
She would most likely wrap it tonight before putting on her silk scarf; that and the perm she was still getting was how she kept it so straight every day. Tami didn’t dislike the style—she’d just loved when she used to see Yvonne’s hair in its natural state: thick, black, 3c curls that used to frame her sister’s pretty brown sugar–toned face before she learned how to blow-dry it straight and bump curl the ends.
“What about senior housing?” Lana asked. “Isaac’s grandmother lives in a really nice building, and she participates in all types of activities with the other residents.”
“I don’t know if that would work for her; she’d probably need something more like assisted living, and I’ve heard horrific things about those facilities. If Mama doesn’t like the state doctors, she’s certainly not going to like being in some state-run assisted-living facility.” Yvonne shook her head. “Besides, she doesn’t want to leave her house. Says she workedtoo hard for too many years to get her house paid off to just toss it all away now.”
“How do you stand it?” Tami asked.
“Stand what?” was Yvonne’s response.
Tami crossed her arms over her chest. “Living with her. How could you move back into that house with her after being out on your own for so long?” It was something she’d wondered about for the last couple of years.
Yvonne frowned. “How could I not?” she asked. “After the stroke and her time at the rehab hospital, they said she couldn’t come home to an empty house. There was no money for a full-time nurse, and neither of you offered to stay with her. So what other choice did I have?”
“Who’s with her now?” Lana asked.
Tami hadn’t even thought about that in the time they’d been here. And a small part of her felt really bad about that fact.
“I told y’all, I got Ms.Rosalee to stay with her,” Yvonne replied. “She’s always asking what she can do, and she comes and sits with Mama sometimes when I have late meetings and things like that. She’s been giving me text updates every few days since I’ve been gone.”
Tami lifted a brow. “Does she sit with Mama when you go out on dates?”
Yvonne’s lips pursed. “I don’t go on dates.”
Lana huffed. “That explains a lot.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Yvonne shot to her feet and yelled.
Taking her time to stand, Lana shook her head. “I’m just saying you look exhausted, Yvonne. I mean, you did each time we met at Robyn’s office. Since you’ve been here, you’re starting to get some light back in your eyes.”
“Especially whenever Deacon’s around,” Tami said in a singsongy voice. She picked up her glass before she stood and started toward the kitchen.
“First of all, I don’t need a man to put any light in my eyes, for your information,” Yvonne said, hot on Tami’s heels.
“Whatever you say,” Tami chided.
“And second—no, I don’t date, and that shouldn’t be a surprise because I barely dated when I was younger. But the bigger issue is how the hell you think I’m supposed to work, take care of our mother, and entertain a man!” Yvonne had stopped by the island, one hand on her hip now.
Lana came into the kitchen behind her, leaning against the other side of the island while Tami put her glass in the sink. She’d have to remember to wash it first thing tomorrow morning or Yvonne would have a cow.
When she turned to face her sisters, she shrugged. “I don’t know what you want me to say about that. I came to the hospital every day after Mama had the stroke, and the first chance she got, she asked me how I could be there so much. Said I must’ve lost another job if I had so much free time on my hands. So I didn’t go back.”
“She’s your mother, Tami. Regardless of anything else,” Yvonne told her.
Tami shook her head. “Not my mental health. I don’t have to put myself in a position to endure her abuse anymore. I have a choice.”
“Well, what aboutmychoice?” Yvonne yelled. And Yvonneneveryelled. “How come the two of you got to choose how involved you wanted to be in Mama’s health crisis, but I didn’t?”
“I don’t think you considered a choice, Yvonne,” Lana said quietly. “You never did. You just did whatever Mama wanted, said what pleased her, acted how she told you. There was never any pushback from you.”
“She’s my mother! Pushback would’ve been disrespectful.” Yvonne sounded incredulous, her eyes were wide, and her hands had started to shake.
Lana went to her and took her hands. “You’re a whole person, separate and apart from Alfreda Butler. She may have given birth to you, but you have your own mind, your own opinions.”
“Standing up for yourself is not disrespectful,” Tami said, trying to keep her tone as level as Lana’s.
“Is that what you call yourself doing, Tami? All these years of going against everything anybody ever tried to tell you, tried to help you with. You were just standing up for yourself when you went out there and did the exact opposite, falling on your face every damn time, messing up every chance you could get.”
