Something Unexpected by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 10
Beck
TWO DAYS LATER, we went to the courthouse for Gram and Nora’s scheduled hearing. I was happily surprised when things went smoothly. They both pleaded no contest, and we paid a fine and were out the door fifteen minutes later. But I noticed Gram coughing a lot. Last night at dinner I’d noticed it once or twice, but it was more frequent today and had turned into a dry hack.
“You okay?” I asked her when we emerged from the courthouse. “Maybe we should go see a doctor?”
Gram cleared her throat and shook her head. “What for? We know what’s wrong with me.”
I pursed my lips. “Because there might be something they can give you to help. I know you don’t want treatment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take some medicine to ward off an infection or something.”
Nora nodded. “Beck is right. You have a little wheeze going on, too. They might be able to give you a nebulizer treatment or an inhaler. Maybe even a cough suppressant or something.”
“Fine. But we’re going to a clinic here and not some hospital back home.”
Nora shrugged. “Works for me.”
I looked at my grandmother. “I say something, and you immediately fight me on it.” I thumbed at Nora. “She says it, and it’s a good idea.”
“I’m sure it’s because your grandmother is used to you trying to control her, so she automatically gets defensive.”
My eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t asking you.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Let’s just go find a clinic.”
Two hours later, Nora and I were in the waiting room of a packed urgent care. They’d taken Gram back almost a half hour ago.
The receptionist slid the glass window open and leaned to the opening. “Eleanor Sutton!”
Nora stood and went to the window. I followed.
“The doctor and your grandmother would like you to come back.”
“It’s not her grandmother,” I said. “It’s mine.”
The woman looked me up and down. “You don’t look like an Eleanor Sutton.”
“I’m not. But the patient is my grandmother, not hers.”
The woman shrugged. “Well, they asked for her. Not you.”
“Maybe she’s not dressed or something,” Nora said, putting her hand on my arm. “Let me go back and see what’s going on.”
Left with no choice, I nodded.
Fifteen minutes later, I was growing impatient when Gram and Nora came out from the back. I stood. “I thought you were going to come get me?”
My grandmother rolled her eyes. “Oh, take a chill pill, Beck. The doctor just wanted to make sure Nora knew the Heimlich maneuver in case food gets stuck. The tumor in my esophagus likes to catch things. It’s why I’m coughing. Little pieces get stuck and irritate my throat.”
“Can they shrink it?”
Gram frowned. “You know I’m not getting treatment.”
“But…if it will help your quality of life…”
She sighed and held up a white paper bag. “He gave me some Alka-Seltzer and something called simethicone that will help my stomach produce gas. Gas increases the pressure on the esophagus and can help push the food loose. Now let’s get out of here.”
I stayed quiet as I drove Bonnie and Clyde back to the hotel. If I was going to try to talk my grandmother into some preventative treatment, I wasn’t dumb enough to do it when I was being double-teamed. So I waited, and when I walked her to her room, I asked if we could talk for a few minutes. She said she needed to use the bathroom but would meet me down in the lobby for some coffee in fifteen minutes.
But it wasn’t Gram who showed up.
“She’s not coming,” Nora said when she emerged from the elevator.
“Why not? She told me to meet her here.”
Nora took the seat across from me. “I believe her exact words were ‘Love that boy, but he’s more stubborn than a mule sometimes.’”
“So she sent you?”
“No. I came on my own so you wouldn’t worry about her when you lost your patience and inevitably went up to her room to look for her. She’s not there.”
My heart clenched. “Where’d she go?”
“I don’t think you want to know.”
I shook my head. “Where is she?”
“She went to Frieda’s to play cards.”
“Frieda?”
“One of the women we met in jail. She has an afternoon game and told Louise to stop in any time.”
“How’d she get there?”
“She said the concierge would grab her a cab.”
I blew out a deep breath. “She’s a piece of work. Thanks for telling me.”
Nora covered my hand with hers. “I promise I will keep an eye on her.”
I scoffed. “Great. Will that be from two-thousand feet while you both have parachutes on?”
“I’ll watch her then, too.” She smiled and stood. “I’m going to go join them and play some cards.”
“At the illegal gambling house where you met the proprietor in prison?”
“Quit being such a buzzkill. Would you like to come?”
I shook my head. “I think I’ll pass. I have work to do anyway.”
She shrugged. “Well, I’m not missing out on an opportunity to enjoy myself with Louise while I can.”
Nora walked off. It only took about ten seconds for me to realize what she’d said. “While I can.” My heart squeezed. Fuck. She was right. Work could wait. I was the boss anyway.
I stood and yelled to Nora. “Wait up!”
***
“Who brought the Bahamian sunshine?” A woman with a heavy island accent stopped dealing cards and looked up at us. She had on a colorful headwrap and a bright shade of peach lipstick.
I looked behind me, trying to figure out what she was referring to. Nora chuckled. “Pretty sure that’s you, Beck.”
“That’s my grandson.” Gram leaned back in her chair with a smile. Not to be outdone by the colorful headwrap lady, she’d worn a sparkly shirt and matching sparkling eyeshadow. “Handsome but bossy.”
One of the ladies at the table wiggled her brows. She had to be close to seventy. “I like ’em bossy.”
I guess my face showed I wasn’t so sure what to make of the crew, because they all laughed. “Lighten up, boy. Come on in. Any friend of Big Momma is a friend of ours.”
“Big Momma?”
Nora leaned over. “That’s what they call Louise. It works, right?”
This was going to be one hell of an afternoon.
Nora and I joined the group at the table. Aside from Frieda, the owner, there was a guy they called Sugar. The lady who liked ’em bossy was Rowan, and last there was another man they called Slim, who was anything but. My grandmother was seated at the end, smoking a cigar.
When she saw my eyes on it, she shrugged. “Give me a break, kid. What’s it gonna do? Give me cancer?”
I shook my head but managed to bite my tongue. They seemed to be playing blackjack. “Mind if we join?” I asked.
“Sure thing. I’m not gonna complain about looking at that pretty face up close, sunshine.” The woman extended her hand and leaned over the table. “Frieda Ellington. Good to meet you.”
I guess Vegas-style card rules didn’t apply here. A patron could never touch hands with the dealer. I shook. “Beck Cross.”
Nora smiled. “Hi, Frieda. It’s nice to see you.”
“You’re looking a little better than the last time I saw you.”
Nora laughed. “I hope so. We got arrested after a long swim in the ocean, and I was wearing a uniform four sizes too big that I’d stolen.”
Nora and I took the two open seats. They were opposite each other, which worked for me. Frieda wasn’t the only one who would enjoy the view today.
I pulled my wallet from my pocket and opened it, but Frieda motioned no with her hand. “Day games are for fun with friends. We only take live action at night.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She gathered two stacks of chips and pushed them across the table to me. “But we do have a jackpot at the end. Big winner for the day gets to pick one thing from anyone at the table. Can be the shirt you’re wearing or a ride home. We keep it simple.”
I looked down at my watch. “They can pick anything?”
She smiled. “Don’t worry about that fancy thing on your wrist. We have a twenty-five-dollar max value. But you better hope Rowan here doesn’t win. She’s been known to take a kiss.”
Rowan flashed a yellow-toothy smile. I might’ve preferred to give up my watch.
