202 - Mirrors (Tissue Warning)

202 - Mirrors (Tissue Warning)
I’ve ordered enough black curtains to cover the mirrors in the shack. The glass has been taken out of the picture frames. A prospect will be by the grandfather clock in the main room ready to stop the time. Tell me what else we need to do to prepare for Momma Dee’s passing. - Nessie

Ever since Darkness found out about Nobody, he had researched as much about the man as possible. It seemed that the more that they learned about him, the older Momma Dee looked. He considered stopping the research but knew that it would not stop the old woman from continuing to age.

Nothing that he did would keep his grandmother with him longer than she was supposed to be here. But he could make her passing easier by putting her mind at ease. She felt like she needed to make sure that Nobody was remembered.

As the days went on, she looked older. The once vibrant woman was slowly becoming a shell of herself. She spent less time in the common room and more time in her room. Then came the day that she did not want to get out of bed.

Critter and Doc came by a few times to ensure she did get up and go to the bathroom. After two days, Case, one of Priscilla’s moms who was a terminal care nurse, gave her a catheter and warned Darkness that they were at the very end. Within hours, Werewolf sent the Wolf Pack plane down to New Orleans and brought Cajuns and some of her former nurses back.

Zydeco walked into the clubhouse and hugged Darkness. He clung to his godfather and accepted the comfort just as much as he offered it. When they moved apart, both men swiped tears away from their eyes. Gator and his wife moved in to hug him before Candi stepped into an embrace.

“I’m so sorry, Darkness,” she whispered as she hugged him.

“Thank you,” he murmured as she stepped back. She stepped back and squeezed his hand as he fought the tears that were threatening to fall.

Swamp Thang stepped in and hugged him, and they spoke softly in Creole. As he moved away from his grieving friend, Swamp Thang saw Priscilla approaching them with her daughter on her hip. He gave her a quick hug and kissed her cheek before shaking hands with her husband.

“Where’s Camille?” Zydeco asked as he looked around.

“Feeding Noah,” Darkness said with a small smile. “The other kids are upstairs with Momma Dee.”

“Let’s go see that ornery old woman,” his godfather said with a catch in his voice.

Darkness gave a sad smile and nodded. He took them upstairs to the room where Momma Dee lay in her bed. Her now small frame seemed to be swallowed up in the twin sized bed.
Vin used a lemon-flavored glycerin swab stick to add moisture to Momma Dee’s lips and open mouth. When he was done, he dropped the swab stick back in the foil packet and then into the empty box. He stood up and moved to throw the box away before hugging his Pappa Zydeco. He hugged the young man and when Nicki re-entered the room, he held her as she cried.

Going into the closet, Darkness found another 75-count box of the glycerin swab sticks and replaced the one that Vin had just emptied. He made a mental note to tell Doc that this was the next to last box of the swabs. Momma Dee had made it abundantly clear that she did not want to die in the hospital. Doc, Rosie, Tammy, Case and the entire club were making sure that she had everything that she needed there.

Case had reached out to the home health nurses that she had worked with at the oncology doctor’s office. Several volunteered their time for a woman who had lived through the Spanish influenza and the Covid pandemic. Momma Dee had seen the rise of the popularity of the car and people living in space.

Zydeco moved to the bed and sat on the edge. Carefully, he picked up her hand, making sure to avoid the IV line in the back of her small, dark hand. Her eyes fluttered open and she seemed to focus on the man next to her. She gave the briefest of smiles before her eyes went blank just before they closed again.

The woman had been blind when he met her, and yet she always knew where to look for him. He wasn’t sure if it was his cologne, or if she could hear where he was. There was always the possibility that she could see him, just not in the way that everyone else saw the world. Whatever it was, he had always been creeped out and today was no different.

“It’s okay, cher,” he said softly as he cupped her cheek. “You’ve earned your rest. Go on, momma, you go ahead and cross over.”

Leaning over her prone form, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered words that were only meant for her.  He placed one more kiss on her forehead before standing up. Laying her hand back on the bed, he moved away for the next person to say their goodbyes.

Motioning at the door, Zydeco indicated that he wanted to speak with Darkness in the hallway. He nodded at his godfather and moved to check on his oldest two children. Vin assured him that he was fine while Nicki said that she was going to go next door and check on Mitch. Darkness knew that the other boy was fine, but she needed an excuse to leave the room.

After kissing her head, he walked out with her and went to Vin’s room next to Momma Dee’s. He knocked on the door before opening it. Mitch sat at the little desk that had once been Evie’s, his laptop was open and he was speaking with Carly over video chat.

Both men could see Nicki relax as she grabbed a chair and sat down next to her brother. Leaving them to speak with the therapist, Darkness closed the door as they stepped into the hall. Zydeco hugged him again and this time, he let the tears flow freely.

That night, just as they had for the last several nights, the family slept at the Shack. The three older siblings huddled together in Vin’s room while their parents and baby brother slept across the hall. The Cajuns had rooms nearby and Doc was sleeping in Momma Dee’s room.

Just like the other rooms in the former hotel, black curtains hung over the mirrors. Nessie had them installed a few weeks ago and all the glass was removed from the picture frames. When asked, she said that it keeps the spirit from being trapped in their reflection.

Darkness woke up in the early morning as someone sat on the bed by his feet. Momma Dee looked back at him with clear eyes. Reaching out to her, she smiled before disappearing. Noah let out a loud wail as Darkness rushed across the hall.

Momma Dee lay peacefully as Doc removed his stethoscope.