Sewanee squeezed her hand. “I don’t know.”
“This better be it.” She sighed roughly. “I don’t even know what I’m doing this for anymore. Serving a system that doesn’t serve me? Forgoing happiness to maybe be happy eventually?” She shook her head, bewildered.
Sewanee wasn’t prepared to help her through this the way she wanted to be able to. All she could do right now was give her water and hold her hand and be there, finally be there, for her. When Adaku had calmed a bit, Sewanee said, “Do you think we could find a two-for-one deal on a therapist?”
Adaku chuckled. “You and I would break a Groupon shrink. We need the Cadillac package.”
“I’m in if you are.”
Adaku held up a pinky. “Deal.”
Sewanee hooked hers into Adaku’s and then Adaku took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “How about some Nick details for your girl?”
“Later. You should sleep.”
“No, I’m good.” But she sounded like she was already half-gone.
Sewanee stood. “I’m gonna go take care of some stuff. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Can you . . .” She really was almost out.
Sewanee smiled. “What?”
“Bring me a black and white . . . you know. The milk shake . . . with the . . . ?”
And then she was asleep.
SEWANEE EXITED THE hospital, stepped over to a sitting area, took out her phone, and called BlahBlah. She’d been told to give it time and she had. Surely it had been long enough.
Instead of her grandmother’s voice, she got a recording. The number had been disconnected.
Her panic was instantaneous. She called Seasons’ general number and attempted to calmly ask the right questions in the right order. She got as far as “Barbara Chester” and the harried receptionist told her to please hold.
The next thing she heard was, “Hellooo?”
Sewanee let out a ragged sigh, dropped onto a bench. “BlahBlah. It’s Sewanee.”
“Who?”
She’d expected this. “Dollface?”
Three full seconds and then: “Dollface! How’s my favorite girl?”
That refrain had never sounded better. The best refrain in the history of refrains. “I’m fine,” she said shakily, “but how are you? Is everything okay?”
“Oh, heavens yes! Everyone is so nice here. This lovely young man is reading to me.” Blah lowered her voice. “I think he’s a bit of a flirt, if you ask me. You should say hello to him.”
“No, BlahBlah, that’s okay. I just wanted to–”
“Hi, Swan.”
The unmistakable voice of her father. “Dad.” She tightened right back up. “What are you doing there? What’s going on? Is she okay?”
“Relax, Sewanee. The world is still turning on its axis.”
“Dad, please, tell me what’s happening.”
“I’m getting her settled in her new room.”
“What?”
He adopted a more serious tone. “Amanda called. The time had come, there was an opening. So I moved her into memory care.”
Sewanee’s mouth opened. “Oh. Wow. Okay. How is it?”
“It’s nice. Very nice. She’s very happy here.” There was the slightest pause before he said, “I’m glad you listened to me.”
Sewanee’s mouth opened wider. But then he chuckled. Rueful. Conciliatory. She decided to play along. “Well, you do know best.”
“Sometimes.” That was as close as Henry would get to an apology.
She’d take it.
She paused. “Are you really reading to her?”
“I’m a sorry substitute for the professional in the family, but she doesn’t seem to mind.”
“What are you reading?”
“Hemingway.”
“Trying to put her to sleep?”
“Funny.”
“Thank you.”
They ran out of banter. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt comfortable during a silence with her father. She wasn’t thinking of something smart or sarcastic to say. She wasn’t thinking three steps ahead. Instead, she repeated the two words, this time with a different tone. “Thank you.”
Now Henry paused. “You shouldn’t be thanking me.”
“I disagree.” Sewanee chose her next words carefully. “You’re so hard to listen to because you don’t listen. But this time you did. And you changed your mind. So, thank you. I appreciate that, Dad. Appreciate you for doing that.”