Страница 73 из 222
Isadora
Present day …
I wheel the chair into Laura’s doll room, where Nell meets us.
“Short excursion today.” Handing over Laura’s cane, she stands off to the side, allowing the woman to push to her feet. As she reaches for one of Laura’s hands to steady her, the older woman bats her away.
“One moment.” Laura hobbles toward the glass case of dolls, her reflection showing a content smile. “Look how beautiful. My beautiful little children.”
I exchange a glance with Nell, who rolls her eyes with impatience, and approach Laura from behind. “Which is your favorite?”
“A mother doesn’t have favorites.”
“Fair enough, which is the most priceless?”
“Ironically, it’s the one I paid the most for.” She points to one of the smaller dolls, one that seems old fashioned in rag clothes and a bo
My heart damn near cuts out, and I cough at the absurdity of paying so much for a doll.
Laura lifts her hand to the bracelet at her wrist and the small key that dangles from the linked chains. She unlocks the door and reaches in for the doll, her thumb gently brushing over its cheek while she smiles admirably. “She was created by the French sculptor Albert Marque, for the Parisian couturier, Jea
“It must be very special to you.”
“Griffin thought it was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever purchased.” Leaning into her cane, she sets the doll back in the case and locks the glass. “A man who spared no expense for his little di
The more time I spend here, the more I realize what little discretion the Blackthornes have when it comes to money.
Nell and I follow after her, and I hold back the covers of her bed, while Nell scurries ahead of Laura to help settle her in.
“I need to use the ladies room. A little privacy, if you will.” Cane clicking across the floor, Laura shuffles toward the bathroom with little trouble.
Nell jerks her head toward me. “I’m going out on the balcony. Wa
“Sure.” I lock the wheelchair in place, glancing back to see Laura closing the door behind her, and follow Nell out the door.
With a huff, Nell takes the chair farthest away, presumably to keep her smoke sequestered from me, but the light breeze on the air ensures it’ll blow in my face.
“Can you imagine? Three-hundred grand for a fucking doll?” she asks, plopping into the seat. “I can’t even afford a decent used car, and she’s dropping cash on a goddamn doll that she keeps locked up in a box with all her other toys.”
“It’s definitely not something I’m accustomed to. I can think of a lot of things I’d spend that kind of money on.”
“You and me both.” As she lifts the cigarette to her lips, I notice her shirt pulled up to her elbows, revealing a couple tattoos.
I nod toward the anchor inked on the back of her wrist. “Nice ink.”
Taking a long drag, she twists her arm, then blows the smoke to the side. “Thanks. It’s my little reminder.”
“Of what?”
“To hold on. Stay grounded.” She pauses for a moment, before taking another drag and staring off. “I got a son. Lives with my sister. Been busting my ass to get him back.”
“Does he live far?”
“California. That’s where I’m from. Why I decided to come out to this shit island, I’ll never know, but here I am.”
“Was it school that made you move so far away?”
She runs her tongue across the bottom of her teeth, seemingly lost in quiet contemplation. “I was an addict for five years. Alcohol, pills, coke. Whatever I could get my hands on, I did it.”
A part of me isn’t surprised. Call it radar I’ve picked up from having a junkie mom, but this woman had former addict written all over her face. Just strange that she chose to be a nurse, administering drugs.
She scratches her chin with her thumb. “Keep that to yourself. I’ve passed all the drug tests, and I don’t have any criminal history. I’m just an LPN right now. Still going to school.”
“I think that’s great. Takes a lot to turn things around like that.”
“Yeah. It’s been rough sometimes.” Her eyes fall to my wrist, and she juts her chin toward it. “What’s yours?”
I run my thumb over the word inked on my arm. The tattoo I got a few months after things started to settle down a bit, and I was finally able to get out of bed. “I’ve been through some stuff, too. Not drugs, but … personal stuff.”
“I didn’t tell you my shit to get all personal. You asked. I answered.”
“I’m sorry. It’s not an easy topic for me.”
“It’s okay. I get it.” Stuffing her cigarette butt into the cup beside her, she blows off the last of her smoke. “Look, I wanted to ask you, I have something going on this evening. I don’t want to make a big fuss and have them call in another nurse. Any chance you can keep an eye on her tonight? Just until about ten, or so?”
“What if she has a nightmare? I mean, I don’t even know what to give for medications.”
“Half her medications are sugar pills.”
“Seriously?”
“She had a bad addiction to Valium for a while. Sometimes, there’s just no reasoning with her. When she has those nightmares? It’s mostly me settling her down. Haven’t had to give her anything in months.”
“Here I thought you guys were over-medicating her, or something.”
“If we don’t give her anything, she freaks the fuck out. One sugar pill?” She smacks her hands together. “She’s down like it’s the real deal.”
“That’s crazy.”
“So is she. Anyway, is it cool if I sneak out a couple hours?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“If she has a nightmare, you mostly just have to hold her down, so she doesn’t hurt herself. But watch yourself, too.” Her lips twist with a smile. “Woman’s got a nasty left hook.”
“Okay.”
“I’m go
“No problem.”
Shit. There are a number of things I suck at, but lying certainly takes the cake. As Nell makes her great escape, the door to what I presume is Laura’s bathroom clicks, and I head back in.
“Nell, please help me to bed!”
Awkward smile plastered to my face, I enter her room and stride toward her. “Nell went to grab a script. She asked me to help you.”
“She’s supposed to tell me when she leaves. Suppose I had a heart attack just now. Or a stroke. Are you equipped to deal with that? Certainly not.”
Definitely not, but I don’t bother to tell her that would be the case whether Nell informed her, or not. Instead, I pull back the covers and steady her arm, while she scoots herself up onto the bed.
“Will you read to me, Isa?” Laura tucks the blanket around her and lies back on the pile of plush pillows behind her.
“Of course. Any requests?”
“That one.” She points toward a murder mystery in the stack beside her.