Elissa Ambrose – A Mother's Reflection (страница 10)

“Paula, this is Rachel Hartwell,” Adam said. “Rachel, Paula Hutchison. Paula helps take care of us.”

“You mean me, don’t you?” Evelyn corrected. “Paula helps take care of me. For some reason my son seems to think I need looking after. I tell you, it’s humiliating.”

“It’s difficult being a single parent,” Rachel said tactfully. “He’s lucky to have both you and Paula to help out.”

Evelyn peered at her closely. “Are you saying I can’t take care of Megan?”

“Not at all. I just know how much of a handful a girl Megan’s age can be. You’re still the one in charge, I can tell.”

“You got that right. Smart girl, this one. What’s her name, Adam?”

He frowned. “It’s Rachel, Mom. I already told you. Rachel Hartwell.”

“Well, it’s true I can always use the extra help,” Evelyn said. “Maybe it’s a good thing Paula lives here, even if she is a nuisance. For one thing, I need to replace the curtains. Did you ever see anything so ugly? Maybe we shouldn’t fire the old bat, after all. Who else is going to watch Megan while I’m fixing up the house? Who else is going to bathe her and feed her?”

“I told you, Mom, the curtains are fine. Now why don’t you let Paula help you upstairs? You have to take your pills.”

“I don’t need any pills, for pity’s sake. I’m not sick, I’m just old.”

Rachel felt a stitch in her heart. Evelyn Wessler wasn’t old. She appeared to be in her early sixties, around the same age as Doreen and Paula.

“It’s just a mild painkiller. You know you won’t be able to sleep without it.” Adam gently steered her toward the staircase. “Two months ago she fractured her wrist,” he explained to Rachel. “It hasn’t been the same since.”

Evelyn whirled around. “Don’t do that! Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here. You’ll have plenty of opportunity for that soon enough, after that hussy who’s been chasing after you sends me away. Oh, I know she can’t wait. She’s counting the days.”

“Now, Evelyn, you don’t mean that,” Paula said, taking her arm. “Come on, let’s get you ready for bed. Say good-night to the company.”

“Do you hear the way they talk to me? Like I’m a child. I can get into bed by myself, thank you very much.” She shrugged away Paula’s arm. “It was nice to see you again, Beth. Maybe next week we can have lunch.”

Beth. Rachel felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. Her mother’s name was Beth. Had Evelyn known her? In her confusion, was she mistaking Rachel for Beth?

“Her name is Rachel, Mom.” Adam gave his mother a warm hug and waited for her to disappear with Paula up the staircase before he spoke again. “Sooner or later she’ll get it straight,” he said, smiling at Rachel apologetically. “Let’s have that coffee.”

In the kitchen he poured them each a cup, his hand shaking visibly. How long had Evelyn been like this? Rachel wondered. She wanted to reach out and cover his hand with hers, but she held back, afraid of embarrassing him with such a display of empathy. But it wasn’t her reticence that stopped her. Still disturbed by what Evelyn had called her, she felt her hands shaking as much as his.

“It’s been especially hard on Megan, watching her grandmother deteriorate,” he said. “The disease is taking its toll on everyone.”

Rachel had known about his mother’s condition from the P.I.’s report, but she wasn’t about to blurt out something she couldn’t otherwise have known. That was a mistake she didn’t want to repeat. “Are you talking about Alzheimer’s? Isn’t she too young?”

“Early-onset Alzheimer’s can manifest symptoms in the late forties and early fifties,” he explained grimly.

She looked at his sad, defeated face. Once again, she wanted to reach for him. From the way he had talked to his mother, from the way he had taken his mother’s hands and hugged her, she could see he was a kind man, a compassionate man.

Maybe I can tell him who I am, she thought. Maybe he’ll be receptive to my situation. Two years ago, when she’d tried to arrange a meeting through a mediator, she’d been told that the adoptive father—whose identity was not revealed—wanted nothing to do with her. Maybe he had changed. Maybe now he’d relent.

She decided she would tell him who she was, before the evening ended. So much for her plan to sway Adam and Megan over the course of the summer. Oh, she still wanted Erika out of the picture. The woman was causing Megan pain, and that was something Rachel wouldn’t stand for—that and boarding school.

Cinnamon skittered into the kitchen and began licking Rachel’s shoes. Megan was close behind, carrying a pink-gingham-covered album. “Cinny, stop that!” she reprimanded, dropping the album onto the table. “You’re blowing the audition!”

Rachel laughed and tickled the spaniel behind her ears. “She sure is friendly. I think she’d be adorable as Sandy.”

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