Chapter 71

“How did you know, Irene, that Brian would care for you so well?” Bear asked, his voice growing harder in tone as he shrunk in volume.

“Oh, Mary and I both told him since he was a little boy, he would be responsible for my upkeep. He ran his father ragged and he died. So it was only logical for Brian to take his place.”

Bear listened to her prattle on about her sainted husband for a few minutes while some salient tidbits of truth coalesced in his head.

“Irene, have you ever been in the hospital for something other than a physical ailment?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Drummond. You mean my spells. I used to have them on a regular basis, and Brian was so afraid of me when I would come awake. I was finally hospitalized for ninety days.

They said I hurt the boy. Now, I know I didn’t, and Brian told them I hadn’t hurt him either. But they put me on pills I still take.

You know, Donald, Mary used to say I beat my own son bloody, but I know better. Brian is such a good boy, he would have told me about it.”

Unless he was either so frightened or so traumatized he buried it so deep he wouldn’t have to deal with it.

Brian opened the limousine door and jumped in, giving Bear a quick kiss and his mother a hug. He began to check her over to see how badly she was hurt.

Bear decided now was the time to interrupt. “Baby, she’s okay. The knots weren’t tight. They were just there so she would not wander away. Brian, were you aware your mother has a severe mental problem? She’s been in treatment for it since you were a child?”

“Oh, Brian,” Irene asked. “You remember my spells? I was just telling your young man about them.”

“Spells, Mama? I don’t remember you having spells,” Brian answered, sounding very confused.

“You probably don’t remember, because a lot of the time you were hospitalized right along with me. You were the clumsiest child, always breaking bones and ribs. Don’t you remember staying with Mary? She said you had to go home just before I was able to leave the hospital. She was outraged that you preferred men.

She told me I raised a child who would desecrate her brother’s memory, but you didn’t. Your boss seems to think highly of you.

That is good, because I don’t think Mary wanted me underfoot anymore. Now, where have you arranged for me to go? I warn you, son, I won’t tolerate the kind of rat hole you felt adequate for your own needs.”

Bear snaked his arm around Brian’s shoulder. “Was she always like this?” he asked.

“Pretty much” he replied. “She had it all together when Dad was alive, but once he passed, she went a little nutty. What is worse is I missed blocks of my childhood and although she claims never to have left my side until I went to college, something teases at me. It says she was away at the hospital often. Mary wanted her placed in the loony bin. I refused, I would never do that to her. My dad would not have wanted me to do that.”

“You don’t have to worry anymore, baby. As I told you, I have an empty house on the property. It is only a year old. I built it for Mama Santore’s middle son, Anthony. When his rotation finished, along with his enlistment, he planned to come home from Iraq. He was set to marry to a local girl. The house and the acre of property around it was my wedding present to them. A week before he was to leave, his unit went out on patrol. Baghdad street gangs ambushed his unit and he died before help could reach them. The house has been sitting there vacant. It is fully furnished and if it needs anything additional, your mom and Louisa could shop for it. I could hire a live-in handy man, who could also serve as private security, in addition to a nurse and a nurse’s aide. The house is all on one floor and is handicapped accessible. It is less than a mile away from the main house, so you could see your mama every day. However, our late hours or company would not bother her. What do you think?”

Bear watched Brian look him in the eye and knew something had gone awry. He decided to go along with it for the time being.

“Sounds great Donald, if it is all right with my mom, it is fine with me. What do you think of the plan, Mom?”

“Oh, Donald, you are such a dear boy to think of my comfort. Why did you not think of this Brian? I’ll be so much better off there than in some kind of home, no matter how fancy you say it is.”

Bear picked up his cell phone and dialed Papa Santore.