SAPPHIRE
Finally, my mother was discharged and I went to pick her up. She was waiting in a wheelchair in the foyer, a pair of crutches across her lap and her overnight case at her feet. With some maneuvering, the porter and I managed to get her into the car.
When we got to the house, Benny, who rented the cottage at the bottom of her garden, was waiting to help her into the house. He easily swung her into his arms and I watched as her cheeks turned pink. I watched as he fussed over her, chastising her for not waiting for him to come from work to clean the gutters as he had promised. She took his fussing with much more grace than she had taken mine. I eyed them curiously, noticing how familiar he was in her kitchen and knew where everything was to be found.
When at last he left with a promise to check on the gutters as he did not want her finishing the job with a cast on her leg, I turned to her with raised eyebrows. I got straight to the point.
“Is there something going on here that I should know?”
She looked at me, a too-innocent smile on her face. “What do you mean, darling?”
I pointed my thumb in the direction in which Benny had gone. “Are you two into something? Am I going to be hearing wedding bells any day now? Am I getting a new dad?”
“Sapphire, you always were so dramatic. He’s just my tenant.”
I chuckled. “A very good-looking hunk of a masculine tenant who lifted you into his arms like he was posing for the cover of a torrid romance novel. And the way he was fussing over you?”
“Don’t be so silly, child. He’s just a kind and caring man.”
“I can see he cares for you.” I raised my eyebrows. “Mom, you don’t have to hide your romance from me. I like Benny. He has always been a gentleman and you’re still young and good-looking. There’s no reason he wouldn’t be attracted to you. Dad would be happy with your choice too. Benny is the kind of man that would have been Dad’s friend.”
“So, I’m no longer a geriatric old woman who has no business being on ladders?” Mom asked sarcastically. “Now I’m a sprucy young bird who could be out strutting her stuff?”
We dissolved into laughter at the comparison. She quirked an eyebrow at me. “How come I’m getting a lot more action in my love life than you? You’ve been so down in the mouth lately.”
“Me?”
“I don’t see another Sapphire Stone here, do you? Of course, you. I’ve been meaning to mention it, but I don’t want you to think I’m prying.”
“Mom, first of all, I don’t have secrets from you, and secondly, there’s nothing to pry about, though.”
“Oh, isn’t there? I think when your only child suddenly seems down in the dumps after the man she was madly in love with is released from prison, it is reason enough to worry.” She pinned me with a searching gaze. “Especially when she doesn’t say a word about him contacting her.”
“How did you know?”
“I’ve got my ways, dear. And it doesn’t hurt when a friend casually asks if Zade and Sapphire are back together as she’s seen you out with him. And for the record, it’s not Susan. This is someone I trust and she has seen you together more than once.”
I looked at my mother incredulously. “The FBI and CIA have nothing on you.”
“Actually, it’s called a mother’s love. And no matter how old our children become, they will always be children in our eyes, and we will always be concerned. So?”
I look at her. “So what?”
“Have you been seeing Zade since his release?”
The thought of lying to my mother did not even remotely exist. Nor could I put up a front where she was concerned. And for the first time in months, I felt as if the burden I had been carrying about this whole situation needed to be done away with. I sighed and curled up next to her on the couch she was sitting on.
“Yes, I have, but it’s not what you think.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking? Are you a mind-reader now?”
“Mom… I know that you loved Zade to pieces and wished with all your heart that things had worked out between us.”
“I’ve never hidden my affection for the man. If I’d had a son?”
“It would have been Zade, I know, I know.”
“So what’s going on with him?”
“Seeing him was a mistake. I mixed business and pleasure and it’s not worked out. When school starts, our connection will be over. So please don’t get your hopes up about our relationship being rekindled.”
“Sapphire, I never raised you to hold someone’s past against them. So, I hope you’re not snubbing him because he’s been to prison.”
“Mom, you raised me better than that. That is not the reason why things are not working out with him.”
“Well, from where I sit, that could be the only reason standing in the way.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that simple.”
“What’s the complication?”
“There are things I can’t ignore.”
“Like what?”
“I can’t tell you right now, Mom. But I will. One day. I promise.”
My mother looked at me for a few long moments, her eyes boring into mine. I did not doubt that she could see my unhappiness, but I could not tell her why. No matter how disappointed I was with Zade, I could not reveal that part of his character to her. She would be devastated to know he cheated on me.
Finally, she nodded. “I trust that if you cannot tell me now, it must be for a very good reason.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“But one day I will hear that reason. And even more so, I will hear Zade’s side of the story.”
“No!”
“Something’s not right and I think he deserves a fair chance to clear his name.”
We both looked up as the back door opened and Benny came in with his arms filled with freshly cut flowers. My mother’s cheeks turned pink as he spread them across her lap. I could see the twinkle in her eyes and the affection in his. Though she said there was nothing between them, I had no doubt that all the ingredients for wedding bells to ring were there.
“Sweet flowers to brighten up your room while you recover.”
“These are beautiful, Benny! Thank you!”
“And they are a bit of an apology too. I should have gotten to the gutter sooner.”
“Oh, Benny! Don’t blame yourself. I should have kept myself on the ground and let you get to it when you could.”
I pointed to the flowers. “I’ll go get a vase before they wilt.”
“That’s okay, Sapphire. I’ll get it.”
We watched Benny as he went to the kitchen. I saw my mother’s lips twitch as she smirked.
I nudged her. “He does have a nice ass, doesn’t he? For a man his age, he isn’t half bad.”
“Sapphire!” She covered her hot cheeks and laughed. I joined her. My spirits lifted slightly at the thought that after all these years alone, my mother might finally be ready to take a chance on love again.
That night, the three of us ate dinner together. After Benny left, I helped her in the bathroom and we figured out how to do a semi-shower without getting the cast wet. It was not as difficult as I had thought it would be. And I felt a little more at ease at the thought of leaving her to cope on her own in a day or two.
I helped her to the guest room which I had set up on the ground floor since navigating any kind of stairs was out of the question.
That night, I slept on the pullout couch to be near her in case she needed help with anything. As I lay staring up at the ceiling, thoughts of the past two weeks raced around in my head. Talking about Zade with my mother had been a bit cathartic. I had been as transparent as I could be given the circumstances. But the conversation still left me feeling that things were not completely resolved. My time in the mountains to think things through and get things straight felt as if it had been for nothing. And it did not help to know my mother was actually on Zade’s side without even hearing his side.
By the third day, I felt comfortable leaving my mother and heading back to my apartment.