I looked out the window. It was foggy, the heat from inside the car competing against the cold rain pressing from the outside. “Just don’t lie to me. I can’t take any more lies.”
Ethan pulled into a parking lot, passing a brown curved sign, reading, “Birch Tree Manor.” The large brick building reminded me of a school back in the states, yellow brick on the top, orange on the bottom, with white windows. The car came to a stop, and Ethan turned to face me. “From this point on, no more lies. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, and it’s going to be a lot to take in, but all you have to do is ask,” he held out his pinky, “I swear, Jett. And you swear to meet me halfway.”
Our pinky’s linked, but I didn’t like it. Not like I did before.
Side by side, we walked through the doors of Birch Tree Manor, unsure of what was waiting for us. The inside smelled like a daycare dipped in mothballs, and the lady working the front desk greeted the two of us with a skeptical smile, her brown hair neatly parted down the middle and flattened behind her shoulders. “I wondered if I’d ever see you in here again,” she said to Ethan, eyes moving from him to me, deciding whether I was a threat or not. “And who is this?”
“This is my girlfriend, Rebecca,” Ethan introduced me, throwing an arm around my shoulder and looking down at me with a proud smile, “How has my mum been?”
The girl frowned, pushing a clipboard forward. “Oh, you know …” She waved her hand in front of her, trying to mask the disappointment over her face. It had been a long time since I was around strangers, and luckily, I hadn’t lost my ability to read body language entirely. “Not much has changed since you were last here. But, I suppose a lot has changed for you this past year.”
I idled in my spot, looking over the colorful interior as the two continued with small talk, then Ethan grabbed my hand as the receptionist lead us down a hall. “Your mum has taken a liking to the media room lately,” she continued to say, and each hall we passed through had different colored walls, doors, and themes. Finally, we entered a room with yellow sunflower wallpaper, matching yellow curtains, and a collection of elderly people. A large window brightened the entire room, where the sun shone after the rain, casting rays over the souls who were on the brink of death.
“Ah, there she is,” the receptionist gestured over to a red-headed lady sitting with a group, playing a game of checkers, “she’ll be so happy to see you.”
Ethan’s hand squeezed mine. “Really?”
“Well, we’ve had some good days this past year. She’s asked about you a time or two. Let’s see if we caught her on a good day.”
It dawned on me the redhead was Ethan’s mom, which he hasn’t seen in over a year, and the entire situation seemed too personal for me to be involved with. I was intruding and shouldn’t be here. Ethan’s palm sweat in mine as he walked toward her, and I turned to stop him. “I can wait in the car. You need this time alone with her.”
“I need you, Jett,” he whispered, eyes forward, admiring the woman who gave him life. We walked closer until we stopped before the table. No one looked up from the table to acknowledge us.
The receptionist tapped the older woman on the shoulder and pointed toward Ethan and me. “Mary, look who came to visit you,” she said gingerly with an even amount of excitement as if talking to a young child. “It’s Ethan, your son.”
Mary had the same red hair as Ethan, though hers was wispy and dulled. Her eyes were a pale blue against her even paler skin, and her thin lips opened into a big smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she admired the man standing beside me. “Ethan?” Mary’s voice came out tired and ragged, and Ethan clutched my hand tighter. “I have a son?”
“Hi, Mum.”
I’d never seen Ethan so nervous. He was usually put together, composed and unbreakable. But as his eyes hit his mum, he instantly became vulnerable to the woman sitting before him.
“Would you look at that, Ellen,” Mary clapped her hands together, “I have a son, and he’s so handsome.”
“I’ll be back at the desk if you need me,” the receptionist stated as the older ladies around the table agreed before she slipped away.
Ethan let go of my hand, and I awkwardly stood as he took an empty chair beside Mary. “How have you been?” His eyes beamed at the woman as he rubbed his palms down the front of his jeans. “Is this place treating you well?”
“Yes, sir. It’s like one big holiday here, though George is probably somewhere sleeping. Have you met George, my husband? I can go wake him up. He should meet you and your beautiful—”
“Mia,” Ethan quickly said, waving me over. “This is Mia, Mum.”
I walked closer, and Mary held out her hand. “Well, nice to meet you, dear. Aren’t you just the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” her cold hand patted the top of mine, “Ellen would you look at her. Natural beauty right there, I’ll tell ya. Nowadays, girls cover their beauty with makeup and nonsense. However, you should visit the salon we have here. They could doll-up that hair of yours, make it look posh.”
“Yeah, real posh.” Ellen nodded with a trembling hand, reaching for a black checker on the table.
Mary smacked Ellen’s hand. “Don’t think I’m not watching you, this boy may be blinding my vision, but not my senses. You can’t pass one by me.”
I laughed, something I haven’t been able to do in a long time.
Mary pointed a shaky finger at Ellen. “That Ellen, I’ll tell you what. You have to look out for that one. Never played an honest game in her life.”
I glanced over at Ellen, who continued to nod and agree with her friend.
“Mum, let’s take a walk in the garden. Get you outside for a little bit, yeah?”
“Yeah, all right, handsome. And Donald,” Mary tossed a checker over at a gentleman staring out the window in a daze to grab his attention, “Watch Ellen while I’m gone, will ya?”
“All right,” Donald nodded, munching on his veneers, his big brown rimmed glasses covering his face.
Ethan pushed his mom in a wheelchair across the grass until we parked by a concrete table surrounded by benches. His foot pushed down the brakes of the wheelchair, making sure it didn’t wander off, and I took a seat over the bench, following Ethan’s lead. He pulled a large coat tightly around Mary’s small frame as white clouds appeared with every breath he took between them.
“Did ya hear about that cabin fire in Cheshire? Two dead, they say,” Mary shook her head, “such a shame.”
Two dead? My eyes snapped to Ethan, and he didn’t look shocked by the same news I was hearing.
“You shouldn’t be watching the news, Mum,” Ethan pointed out, ignoring my blatant stare and taking a seat beside her, straddling the bench. “You should be enjoying yourself.”
“How else am I supposed to know what’s going on in the world?”
“You’re not, you’ve done that for far too long. It’s perfectly okay not to have to worry about everyone else. Enjoy your days. Every single one of them. For me.”
“Then tell me about yourself, would ya? Put me at ease with some good news for once.” Mary kept her eyes out in the distance, her hand in Ethan’s and my heart clenched inside my chest.