Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
I took one last look at her, then turned my back and headed for the door.
“Fifth!” she shouted.
“Bye, Mom.” Anne stood, then came to my side.
“I’ll come up more often,” Eva promised, then hurried our direction.
“Fifth!” A painted canvas hit the wall to our right.
I slowly turned. “Oh, and Lina’s daughter dances. She’s beautiful and smart and tenacious . . . and talented. Eloise and I teach her, and it gives me so much hope for her future knowing you never will.” Anne took my left hand, and I held on to her for dear life as we walked away from our mother, Eva following close behind so we’d fit through the door.
“Sloppy feet!” Mom screamed.
“Sloppy parenting,” Anne retorted over her shoulder.
I took my first full breath as Eva shut the doors behind us. Anne made our apologies to Rachel for agitating Mom as Dr. Wakefield approached, and I concentrated on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth so I didn’t vomit after letting all that out.
Eva rubbed my back. “Hey, Doc. Nice bun.”
“Thanks.” Dr. Wakefield patted her glossy black hair. “Sometimes it just makes it easier to meet your mother wherever she is.”
“She’s worse than she was even a few weeks ago, and miles from where she had been in January,” Anne noted. “It’s taking her longer to find words. Her sentences—when she has them—are choppy too.”
Dr. Wakefield nodded. “Unfortunately, her scan shows significant progression in that cortex. Lucky for us, neither her memory nor her mobility seems to be impacted yet, though we’re seeing more frequent outbursts of violence. We’re doing what we can to keep her safe and active in physical therapy sessions, art classes, everything we talked about.”
“Writing? Reading?” Anne asked, and Eva tensed.
“We haven’t gotten her to cooperate in months, so I’m not sure if she’s incapable or stubborn,” Dr. Wakefield responded, then glanced at us each in turn. “At this stage . . .” She sighed. “I can’t estimate how much longer she’ll be herself. You girls have done everything she asked to physically prepare, but it’s progressing quickly.”
We thanked her, then slowly made our way past other patients’ rooms and down the wide staircase.
“Have to give it to Mom,” Eva said as we reached the first floor. “She picked the bougiest assisted living facility known to man.”
“It’s not known,” Anne replied with a sad smile. “That’s why she chose it.”
We walked over the Brookesfield Institute crest, and walked out into the August humidity.
“Feel better?” Anne asked, digging the keys out of her purse.
“No.” I shook my head. “That wasn’t exactly a fair fight.”
“She’s never been a fair parent,” she countered.
“Hudson really pulled you out that night?” Eva tucked her thumbs in her front pockets.
“Apparently,” I said softly. “Only three people really know, right? Lina’s gone. Mom isn’t reliable, and Hudson . . .” My throat tried to close. “I guess I have to trust his version of the events or make peace with never really knowing. He kept it from me all these years, and I don’t know if he ever would have told me if it hadn’t been for Gavin.” Or maybe he would if I’d simply told him the truth about Mom.
“You love him,” Eva reminded me gently.
“That doesn’t mean we’re right for each other.” We stepped from pavement to blacktop.
“You could forgive him.” Anne hooked her arm through mine.
“I just need some time to think about everything.” The secrets, and the guilt, and the fact that his love had determined who lived that night. If Gavin had been the one behind us, Lina would have lived.
“You? Taking the time to overanalyze every possible outcome before picking the one that feels safest?” Eva snorted and made her way to the back passenger seat. “Imagine that.”
“Take all the time you need.” Anne shot our sister a look. “The same goes for the contracts. Screw the deadlines. Every company in this world will wait if you’re not sure. There are plenty of them, but only one Alessandra Rousseau. Just have to decide what you want.”
“That goes for you too,” I reminded her.
She nodded, then patted my arm and headed for the driver’s side.
For the first time in my life, I felt truly free, and yet I had no idea what to do with that freedom. I knew what I wanted. I just couldn’t have him. Eva was right. I’d choose whatever felt safest, which meant sticking with the decision that made the most sense.
I was going back to New York.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Hudson
NYFouette92: You need to check out Bway11te new video. Cast sheet changed back to Alessandra Rousseau.
Tutucutex20: I saw that, too! No posts from RousseauSisters4, though.
A cab driver honked his horn at a pedestrian as I walked out of the coffee shop across from the Metropolitan Ballet Company’s building. The sidewalks were as crowded as the roads, but at least the people moved faster than the gridlocked cars.