He nearly dropped the coffee pot laughing. “That tough old bird? Helping her with what?”
I explained the arrangement to him.
When I finished, he nodded slowly. “Well. That’s weird as heck. But she likes you. That’s not nothing.”
I shrugged like it didn’t matter, but I thought about his words all day. I had no idea what family was supposed to feel like, but I imagined it might be something close to what I had with Mrs. Rhode.
Joe noticed I kept rushing out immediately after my shifts.
Then came the morning I found her.
I had been caring for her for a little over a year. I used the spare key because she didn’t answer the door. The television was still on. A cup of tea sat cold beside her chair.
