“Yes, I am.”
Lisa sighed. “Walter, she’s getting older. She can barely see. She shouldn’t even have been driving.”
“She has glasses.”
“Clearly they didn’t help much, did they?”
My pulse jumped.
Lisa lowered her voice. “Soon everything will be where it should’ve been years ago.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll understand later.”
“Why can’t you just tell me?”
“Because you’re nine.”
“So?”
“So stop asking questions.”
I heard her handbag zip shut.
Her footsteps headed toward the door.
Before leaving, she added, “You should start getting used to the idea of living with me.”
The door closed.
I waited until Walter touched my arm.
“She’s gone.”
My eyes opened. “What the hell was that?”
“That wasn’t the first time she said it.”
“How many times?”
“I don’t know. A lot.”
“Walter.”
“Maybe four? Five?”
“While I was unconscious?”
He nodded.
“What exactly did she say?”
“That you might not wake up. And even if you did, I probably couldn’t live with you anymore.”
“Why?”
“She said because you’re old.”
“I’m sixty-one!”
“I told her that.”
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
Walter continued, “She said your eyes were bad, too. And that the accident proved you couldn’t take care of me.”
His words brought back a memory from four years earlier.
Three days after my son’s funeral, Lisa cornered me.
“I need Walter to live with me.”
“You needed money last week.”
“This isn’t about money.”
“Then what is it about?”
“He’s my brother’s son.”
“And I’m his grandmother.”
“You’re not exactly young, Mom.”
“And you are. You go out, chase your business, worry about money. Since when do you want to raise a nine-year-old?”
“Maybe I’m ready for something more than that.”
“You barely call him, Lisa.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
“You didn’t care enough to show up. So why do you suddenly want him living with you?”
Lisa’s expression hardened. “I’m going to fight for my nephew.”
“Lisa…”
“I’ll see you in court.”
She grabbed her purse and left.
In the end, guardianship went to me.
Back in the hospital, I looked at Walter.
“Why did she want me back then?” Walter asked.
“I thought she was grieving.”
“And now?”
I glanced toward the door. “Now I’m not so sure.”
