Ryan straightened his shoulders and prepared for the fight. He had visited his mother several times over the past week, but he hadn’t yet dared bring up the fact that she wasn’t going home when she was released. He had been so relieved to see her condition improving that he hadn’t wanted to open the door to any negative emotions.
For the same reason, he hadn’t asked Kari to come with him on the last couple of visits. Admittedly, his mother was always slow to warm up to the women he dated, with the possible exception of Lucy Peterson in the tenth grade. Of course, Lucy had also been the daughter of one of his mother’s closest friends.
High school sweetheart aside, Susan Strobel had never viewed any of the women in her son’s life as being worthy of her little boy. He might be six foot four, but by his mother’s standards, Ryan would always be little.
He made his way into his mother’s room at the rehab center to find her sitting in a chair rather than her bed. “Hey, how are you doing?”
Her expression brightened. “The nurses said I should get released tomorrow.”
“That’s great.”
“You don’t sound too excited.” She studied him for a moment. “You didn’t go out and do something crazy, did you? I told you I don’t need you to buy me a house or condo or whatever it is you were looking at.”
“Actually, I did buy a house, but not for you. I bought one for me.”
She straightened in her seat. “You bought a house? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because one of the reasons I decided on this particular house is because it has an in-law suite for you to live in until you’ve recovered.”
“Excuse me?”
“Mom, whether you want to admit it or not, you can’t stay at your apartment, not until you can do stairs by yourself.” Ryan rushed on before she could voice her objections. “I hired someone to come help you when I’m working. This way we’ll get to see a lot more of each other instead of me driving an hour each way only to be able to visit for twenty minutes when I get here.”
She stared at him but didn’t speak. Ryan wasn’t sure what to think of the silence. Finally, she took a deep breath and spoke in a calm voice. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t want to be a burden on you.”
“Mom, you could never be a burden, and I want to do this.” A smile began to form on his lips. “And it’s a really great house.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Six bedrooms, five and a half baths.”
Her eyes widened. “So big?”
“Your room even has its own kitchen and living room.”
“Ryan, are you sure about this?”
Relieved that she wasn’t fighting him, he nodded with conviction. “I’m sure.”
* * *
Kari stood in Ryan’s driveway, the July heat thick with humidity, her backpack over one shoulder.
“You don’t have to do this,” Ryan insisted. “The medical transport service I hired can help get my mom settled.”
“You aren’t thrilled she’s coming into your house the first time without you here,” Kari said. “It’s bad timing that you have to work tonight. The least I can do is hang out and make sure she has everything she needs.”
“She tends to be a little overprotective of me, especially when it comes to women.”
Kari cocked her head to one side. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Ryan asked in his I-really-hope-you’ll-say-yes tone. “You’ll miss the game.”
“I can watch it on TV.” She motioned toward the open garage where his car was parked. “Go to practice. I’ll be fine.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “I really appreciate this.”
“I know.” She stepped toward the door.
“Wait, let me give you my spare key to make sure you don’t get locked out.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a Washington Nationals key chain, a single house key attached.
Kari took it from him. “Remind me to give it back when you get home tonight.”
“Hold on to it. It’s always good to have someone else with a spare key.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m an old-fashioned kind of girl. I’m not the type who would have a key to a guy’s house.”
“And I love that about you,” Ryan countered. “You can always leave it somewhere at Ben and Maya’s house. It’s just for emergencies.”
“Okay, if you put it that way.” She pocketed the key. “Have fun tonight.”
“Thanks. And call if you have any problems. The phone numbers for the transport service and the home health aides are on the kitchen counter.”
“I’ll text you as soon as she gets here.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
Kari watched him go before heading into the house. The relief from the air conditioning was instant. She toed off her shoes, tucking them into the coat closet located near the front door. She continued into the kitchen and set her backpack down on one of the barstools. Though she was sure Ryan had already prepared his mom’s room for her, she couldn’t help but go down the hall to check for herself.
Her lips curved when she saw a bouquet of daisies on the round table in the kitchenette. She noticed a throw rug on the tile floor in the kitchen area and crossed to pick it up. Remembering that such things tended to be tripping hazards for recovering patients, she rolled it up and looked around for somewhere to store it. During her search, she found two more throw rugs, one in front of the couch and another in the bathroom. Adding those to her stack, she put all three in the corner of the bedroom closet.
Satisfied that Susan’s new living space wouldn’t be hazardous to her health, Kari headed back into the living room. Ryan hadn’t changed the space much since he’d moved in the week before, but, then, he hadn’t been home long enough to do much more than unpack his clothes. She wasn’t entirely sure he had even completed that basic task.
Together they had gone through the house and decided what furniture he wanted to keep. He hadn’t been particularly fond of the western furnishings in the upstairs living room, instead replacing them with the pieces he had brought over from his apartment. They had cleaned out two bedrooms upstairs and removed all the artwork.
Kari had to admit she had been glad to see him make that decision. The modern pieces certainly hadn’t been in either of their tastes, and she could envision a fun combination of his sports paraphernalia and classic photos and art to give his home character.
She indulged herself and wandered through the main living area, coming to stand by the french doors leading to the deck. The swimming pool looked inviting beneath the haze of humidity, and she considered that walking in the water might be good therapy for Ryan’s mom when she got a little stronger.
Turning back to the kitchen, she forced herself to open her backpack and retrieve her laptop and MCAT prep book. Like it or not, if she was going to get into med school, she had to put some serious time into studying.
She read through the first three sample problems and was overwhelmed. So much to learn. So many more years of school.
The doorbell rang, and another kind of anxiety rose within her. Drawing a steadying breath, she squared her shoulders and walked to the door.
The moment she pulled it open, Susan looked up at her from her wheelchair, narrowed her eyes, and demanded, “What are you doing here?”
“I asked Ryan if I could come over and make sure you had everything you need,” Kari said, rushing on before she could respond. “He felt bad that he had to go to work tonight.”
Susan huffed out a breath and waved a hand to the man standing behind her. “Well, show me where I’m staying, then.”
“Right this way.” Kari held the door open wider and motioned toward the hall. Shifting her attention to the tall black man pushing the wheelchair, she said, “I’m Kari.”
“Ronaldo. Good to meet you.”
“It’s down the hallway to the left.”
Susan looked around the living room as they passed through. Clearly astonished, she turned to Kari. “My son really owns this place?”
“He will as of next Thursday. That’s when he’ll close on the house.”
“It’s a mansion.”
“I know what you mean,” Kari agreed. She started to mention her brother’s place across the street but wasn’t sure how Susan would feel about her living in such close proximity to her son. Instead she said, “Three of his teammates live in this neighborhood. That was how he found this house.”
“All I can say is he’d better stay healthy.”
Kari directed Ronaldo to the correct door.
“This is your room,” Kari said, following them into the small living room.
“This is my room?” Susan looked up at her, her eyes wide.
“Ryan brought some things for you from your apartment, but if there’s anything he missed, let me know, and I can drive down there for you.”
“I’m sure I can manage.”
“Ms. Strobel,” Ronaldo said, interrupting their conversation. “I’m going to leave you right here for now while I go get your walker.”
“That’s fine.” Susan motioned to the flat-screen television hanging on the wall. “Does that thing work?”
“It does,” Kari said. “If you don’t mind, I was hoping you would let me watch Ryan’s game with you tonight.”
Susan pursed her lips as though contemplating whether she could get away with saying no. “I suppose that would be okay.”
Ronaldo returned a moment later carrying a walker. A woman in her midforties followed behind him carrying a large plastic bag and a backpack. The woman’s curly hair was cut short, and her round face looked like it had adopted a permanent scowl.
“I’m heading out now,” Ronaldo said. “This is Lois. She’s the nurse who will be coming in to check on you.”
When Susan didn’t say anything in response, Kari stepped forward and extended her hand. “I’m Kari Evans, and this is Susan Strobel.”
“Good to meet you,” Lois said, brusquely shaking Kari’s hand and then moving to the kitchen table. “I have Susan’s medical supplies here. She’s already had her antibiotics today, so I’ll show you how to administer that when I come back tomorrow.”
“I thought Susan’s son hired you to stay with her during the day for the first week or two,” Kari said, confused.
“Oh, no. I only come in two or three times a week to check on her.”
“I see.”
“I don’t need round-the-clock nursing,” Susan said, closing the door on the conversation. “I do need to flush out my PICC line though.”
“Didn’t they do that this morning?” Lois asked.
Susan sent Lois an irritated look. “Yes, but it needs to be flushed twice a day.”
“Oh, once is plenty.”
Seeing the fire in Susan’s eyes, Kari stepped forward. “I’m sure it won’t hurt to flush it out again. Besides, I’d appreciate it if you’d show me how.”
“I have other patients.” Lois’s condescending tone grated against Kari.
“And it will only take you five minutes to show me how to do it,” Kari said.
“Fine.” Lois bit off the word and rummaged through the bag she had put on the table. Despite her confrontational posture, Lois went about the task with skill and precision. The tubes running from the PICC line, a direct-access port into the vein in Susan’s arm, were shorter than Kari had expected. When Maya had had a PICC line during her early cancer treatments, the tubing had been long enough that she could flush it out herself if needed.
As soon as the task was completed, Kari showed Lois out. When she returned, Susan had slumped down slightly in her chair.
“You must be exhausted.” Kari crossed to her. “Would you like to lie down? Or I can help you move into the lounge chair.”
“I think I will rest for a bit.”
Kari moved behind the chair and wheeled Susan into the bedroom.
“If you get me my walker, I can get into bed myself.”
Kari did as she asked and proceeded to turn down the blanket and sheets to make it easier for her to get in. Worried that Susan’s strength was failing her, Kari took her by the elbow as she shifted her body and pulled herself into the bed. Susan didn’t object when Kari helped her reposition her legs until she was comfortable.
“Can I get you anything? Have you already had lunch?”
“I just need to sleep for a bit.”
“Okay.” Kari motioned to a bell Ryan had set on Susan’s bedside table. “Let me know if you need anything. You can ring that if I don’t hear you call.”
Her only response was to close her eyes.
Kari left the room, deliberately leaving the door open. She made her way back to the kitchen and looked down at the phone numbers for the medical transport and home care services.
Certain that Ryan expected more extensive nursing services than what Susan had received, she picked up her phone. If he was going to have her living here, Susan was going to need a lot more help than a couple visits a week.