Heading off the main road and making his way through several streets, he finally saw the sign for him to turn up ahead. Making a right, he drove past two entrances and turned at the third. Pulling his black Peugeot 907 into one of the parking spaces, he climbed out and shrugged into his coat. He didn’t bother to button it as he made his way briskly across the parking lot to the front door. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and opened the front door to Tranquil Lakes, the retirement home he had been visiting every Sunday for the past three years.
“Good evening, Mr. Madison.”
Cole moved to the front desk. Resting his arms on it, he clasped his hands together as he looked down at Gillian, the petite blonde who had been greeting him since he’d been coming here.
“Evening, Gillian,” he greeted. “Is Becky around? I told her I would be arriving by five.”
Gillian nodded and looked at the clipboard that was in front of her. “Yes, Nurse Parnell just went down to your mother’s room. Do you want me to page her?”
Cole shook his head. “No, don’t worry. I’ll meet her down there.”
Turning to his left, Cole made his way down the first hallway, leading to the east wing of the facility. Pushing his hand into his pocket, he tried for a smile as he passed a nurse in the hall, but he knew it came off more as a grimace. He was too preoccupied with the fact that he had not been contacted immediately about the incident that had occurred after he had left last Sunday night.
His mother had accidently burned herself during a cooking exercise. The activity had been supervised, but apparently, during a moment when eyes were not focused, his mother had placed her hand directly on top of the hot burner.
Cole wouldn’t have been so infuriated if he had been informed immediately. Instead, he had found out about it only after he had called. Becky, his mother’s nurse, had claimed she hadn’t wanted to needlessly worry him. Well, too fucking late for that. It was bad enough that he couldn’t look after his mother himself, but when shit like this happened, he felt completely useless.
As he reached the end of the hall, he stopped at the open door and rested his shoulder against the jamb. Looking in the large room, he could see his mother sitting in her favorite rocking chair in front of one of the large windows overlooking the lake.
The room was decorated with all her beloved knickknacks, and a single painting was displayed on the wall. She had bought an abstract of the Eiffel Tower on her honeymoon with his father.
On one of the shelves were various photos, ranging from when he was a baby up until now, and sitting by her bed was a small music box with a hand-painted rainbow on the top. Her father had given her the box when she was a child, and to this day, it still faithfully played.
He stood there, quietly watching his mother. Tipping the chair with her slippered foot each time it rocked down, the little lady softly hummed to herself. She was wearing a blue robe, and her wet, bobbed gray hair was brushed back from her face. She looked peaceful while he felt anything but. The nurse was nowhere in sight, so he decided to visit with his mother first before hunting down Becky.
Pushing away from the door, he knocked gently and coughed softly to get her attention. His mother stopped her movement and turned in her chair to look at him. Her eyes roamed over him before coming up to meet with his.
“Hello, young man. Are you looking for someone?”
Cole stepped into the room slowly. “Yes, I was, but I can’t seem to find her. Would you mind if I sit with you for a while just until she comes back?”
His mother smiled at him, and as the warmth of it met her hazel eyes, the same color as his own, he felt his heart break at the lack of recognition in them.
“Oh, of course, please. Just pull that chair over here, and we can have a chat until she comes back. I love visitors.”
Cole shrugged out of his coat and pulled up the plush sitting chair beside her. Taking a seat, he watched her as she fussed for a minute with her hair.
She straightened her robe before she turned to face him. “So, what is your name?”
Cole grinned at the same question she would ask him every week. “Cole. My name is Cole.”
“Oh, what a lovely name. It’s strong.”
“Thank you. My mother thought so. What’s your name?”
“My name is Lydia.”
Looking out to the snow falling silently onto the balcony railing, Cole whispered softly, “That’s a beautiful name.”
“What’s that?” she asked, not hearing him.
“I said that’s a beautiful name. My mother’s name is Lydia.”
“Really?” she asked with a warm expression that always reminded him of happiness, safety, and home. “What a coincidence.”
“Yes, it really is.” He chuckled as he pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out two caramels. “Do you like caramel, Lydia?”
She looked at the white wax paper in his hand before raising her eyes back to his. “Why, yes; yes, I do. How funny.” She giggled like a little girl as she got up from the chair.
Cole knew exactly where she was headed.
After picking up the music box, she came back to him and sat down. “I keep my caramels in here, but I ran out this morning. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Cole shook his head and handed her one of the candies. He watched her unwrap it as he undid his own. Just as she popped it into her mouth, she gave him a grin that made all his annoyance at Nurse Becky Parnell melt away.
“My little boy loves caramel.”
“Does he?”
She nodded as she sucked the candy and closed her eyes. “He would eat them all day if I let him. He can be such a naughty little thing.”
As she started to hum again, Cole also closed his eyes as he tried to remind himself it was good to talk to her about these things. He had been told it would keep her mind active. It was something he could do to help her.
It was a pity though that no one had an answer on how to make his heart and mind stop hurting. That was something he had no control over, and that made him feel absolutely fucking helpless.
6
It was amazing how long two days could drag, Rachel thought as she woke up on Sunday morning.
She had not been sleeping well. Between the nightmares of her past and dreams revolving around a man she had begrudgingly decided she needed to see again, she was surprised she hadn’t fallen asleep at work on Saturday night.
Pushing back the covers, she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stretched as she ran a hand through her hair, pulling it off her face. Quickly, she secured it with a hair tie before she got up and made her way to her closet.
Once she was dressed in her baggy red gym shorts and tight black sports bra, she sat back on the bed to lace up her shoes, and then she grabbed her black hoodie and put it on. Moving in front of the full-length mirror, Rachel looked up and down at her reflection as she picked up the tape and spread her fingers. She wrapped it first around her wrist and then her knuckles. After her hand was bound the way she had been taught, she lifted the dangling tape to her mouth, used her teeth to cut the end, and secured it in place before she repeated the process on the other hand. Flexing her fingers, she jabbed her fists out in front of her a couple times and smiled. Oh yeah, it’s time to go and kick some ass.
With her boxing gloves shoved in her gym bag, she opened the fridge, grabbed a protein shake for breakfast, and ran past the side table on her way out the door. She never missed an opportunity to beat up the bag.