Miss Rosetta rapidly went even further downhill. She didn’t eat much and spent most of her time sleeping. In a way, it looked like she had lost her will to live, like she didn’t want to be around any longer. At least not the way she was. But the truth of the matter was, she was not going to get any better. Dr. Haywood and two other doctors had assured us that she would never walk or talk again. She would have to be cared for like a baby until the day she died. And that saddened me. What saddened me even more was the fact that I didn’t want her to go on, either. Not because I had come to hate her. I still adored my mother-in-law. But because she’d become such a burden to me. I could not count the number of times in a day that the sight of her gave me thoughts so evil, they made my flesh crawl. I had known some despicable people along the way, but I had never wished anybody dead. And I certainly didn’t wish that on Miss Rosetta. What I really wanted was for her not to be my burden anymore. Her death was not the only solution. I got angry when I tried to address the situation with Jesse Ray, because it never did much good.
“I don’t see why you won’t hire a nurse to come to the house … at least a couple of times a week,” I said. I had just bathed and fed Miss Rosetta while Jesse Ray kicked back in his La-Z-Boy, with a beer in front of the television. It was the first night that week that he had come home from work before ten, and that was only to watch and record an episode of The Sopranos that he didn’t want to miss.
“You know why I can’t hire a nurse,” he said, not taking his eyes away from the television screen and speaking out of the side of his mouth. “I can’t afford it right now. I just bailed Harvey out of that mess with his taxes. Mama can’t be that much trouble. She sleeps most of the time, so I don’t know what you got to complain about.”
“I have to bathe her. I have to wipe the woman’s butt hole, J.R. Do you think I enjoy doing that every day? Do you think I enjoy having to find somebody to come sit with your mother whenever I want to go somewhere?” Since Jesse Ray refused to turn around to face me, I shot across the floor and stood in front of the television. That shook him up real fast.
“Christine, do we really need to discuss this now?” he asked. He motioned with his hand for me to move.
I moved away from the television and sat on the arm of his chair. “I make doctor appointments that I often have to reschedule because I can’t find a babysitter. I can’t even visit my own parents like I want to. I’m a young woman, but I’m beginning to feel like my life is over, too.”
“What do you want me to do? Other than hire a nurse,” he said, staring straight ahead. He took a sip from his can of beer and patted the side of my thigh.
I didn’t like looking at the side of his head, but I did as I continued talking. “Adele and Harvey have not done a damn thing for Miss Rosetta since she had her stroke. Not once has either one of them offered to sit with her, bathe her, feed her, or anything else. They come over here after I’ve done it all, and then they sit around talking about how they are not going to let us put Miss Rosetta in a home. And, that bitch Adele, she even told me to my face, no nurse was going to come up in here and abuse her mama.”
Jesse Ray whirled around to face me, with his eyes wide open and both his eyebrows arched. “I would appreciate you not calling my only sister a bitch.”
I leaped up and gave him the dirtiest look that I could manage. “Fuck her and fuck you, too.” With one hand on my hip and my other hand balled into a fist, I stormed out of the living room and stomped all the way to my bedroom. I ignored Jesse Ray when he came to bed, naked and pawing me all over. One of the things I couldn’t understand and hated about men was how they always tried to use sex like it was some kind of an elixir when a woman was mad, sad, lonely, or anything else they considered to be negative. I pinched his dick and kicked the side of his leg so hard, he almost rolled off the bed. He left me alone after that.
I don’t know when I went to sleep, but around midnight I woke up. Jesse Ray was sitting on the side of the bed. I was glad to see that he was no longer naked. He had on his navy blue silk pajamas and the white terry-cloth housecoat that I’d given to him last Christmas.
“Baby, I just had a long talk with Adele. Uh, we came up with a solution. She’s, uh, having some problems with Mel. I told her years ago not to marry Mel Howard. That man, and most of the men in the Howard family, are straight-up dogs. Did you know that his granddaddy’s brother is in prison for life for killing his girlfriend?”
“Do you think there’s a chance that Mel might kill Adele?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm and hope.
“That’s not funny, Christine,” Jesse Ray scolded. “I love my sister, and when she’s in pain, I’m in pain.”
I sat up so fast, I pulled a muscle in my back. “And what about when I’m in pain?”
“I feel your pain, too, baby. I’ve never loved a woman the way I love you.”
“I hope you never will,” I said in a tired voice. I lay back down, keeping my eyes on Jesse Ray’s face because I wanted to see his expression when he finished what he had to say. Since it involved Adele, I already knew that it was going to be something that pissed me off.
“So what is Adele’s pain this time?” I hissed.
“Uh, like I said. The men in the Howard family are dogs. Anyway, Mel’s been drinking up a storm, just lost his job, and he’s hit her a few times. Tonight some woman claiming to be Mel’s whore called the house looking for him, and that was more than Adele could stand. I told her to bring the kids over here for a few weeks. That way she’ll be away from Mel, and she’ll be here in the house to help you out with Mama before and after she goes to work. And, I made it clear to her that Mama is her responsibility on the weekends and in the evenings, when she comes in from work. The twins can help out, too. That’s the least they can do for their own grandmother after all she’s done for them. Most kids don’t get five hundred dollars from Grandma every year for their birthday like those kids did.” Jesse Ray sniffed hard and touched the side of my face. “That’s the best I can do for Mama, you, and Adele and the kids.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Miss Rosetta was a handful, but the thought of living in the same house with Adele was a nightmare that I refused to think about.
I stared at Jesse Ray, with my mouth hanging open. My lips were moving, but no words were coming out. I had to clear my throat before I could speak again. “You what?” I couldn’t believe how hoarse I sounded now. Black bile and hot sour air rose in my throat. “You told Adele, she and her kids could move in with us, without discussing it with me? You know your sister hates my guts, J.R.”
“Well, if you can come up with a better solution, please let me know. In the meantime, my sister and her kids will be here tomorrow evening. I know it’ll be rough at first, but you’ll get used to it. I want to see a smile on your face again.”
“You want to see a smile on my face again, and you think that moving Adele and her kids in here will make me smile?”
“Christine, I am just trying to help this situation. Until I can afford to hire a nurse, you’ll have some help now in the evenings and on weekends. Now you can go do whatever you need or want to do during those hours.” Jesse Ray paused and rubbed his head. I didn’t like the tortured look on his face. “But if you really don’t want them here, I’ll call Adele right now and tell them not to come.” He paused again and sniffed, looking around the room. “I guess I could get her a hotel suite somewhere for a little while.”
I opened my mouth to speak again, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want Adele and her kids to move in with us, and I didn’t want Jesse Ray to pony up the money for them to move into a hotel. Knowing Adele, she and those kids would be at that hotel from now until eternity. And not some flophouse or dingy hostel! She would insist on something expensive. Just like she did with everything else when it was coming out of my husband’s pocket. That bitch!
I didn’t sleep the rest of that night. But that morning I did smile again for the first time in days. Right after Jesse Ray gave me a sloppy kiss and ran out the door and climbed into his SUV, I dialed the telephone number that Wade had given to me.