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  “That’s the durable power of attorney. It designates someone to be in charge of your grandmother’s affairs, like paying bills and managing property.”

  “We already signed one of those in the hospital.”

  “I know, but this one’s durable. That means it continues even if—” Beth stopped short. “You know, you should probably go over these next couple of forms with Clara. She’s our social worker.”

  Audie ignored her, flipping over to the next form. “What’s this one?”

  Beth took it from the packet and swallowed nervously. She had a gut feeling this page wouldn’t go over well at all. “We call this a DNR, for Do Not Resuscitate. It’s for you to specify the level of care you want in certain circumstances. Like I said, Clara can explain—”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Audrey Jane, watch your mouth!” Even after her stroke, Miss Violet’s scolding came through loud and clear.

  “Grammaw, they want permission to stand by and do nothing when you’re just choking on a grape. You got here ten minutes ago and already they want your bed for the next person.”

  “Behave yourself!”

  Audie stared at her shoes, her face growing redder by the second. It was clear she didn’t want to erupt again in front of her grandmother, so it was no surprise to Beth when she suddenly slammed the packet down on the bed and stormed out of the room.

  Beth took notice of the car keys still on the windowsill and knew Audie would be back after she cooled down. “I’m sorry, Miss Violet. I can send Clara down here to go over this. She’s better at explaining all the technical parts. Or maybe Audie would prefer to talk to our director, Hazel Tilton.”

  “You have to forgive my granddaughter, Beth. She was hoping they would find a full-time nurse and let me come home, but Dr. Hill said I needed to be here.” The old woman’s eyes misted. “This is hard for her because of what happened to her Grampaw.”

  “Her grandfather?” Beth was having a little trouble deciphering the words, but she thought she had gotten the gist of it.

  “We had to put him in a home up in Nashville. He had Alzheimer’s.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “He was doing all right at first, but after a week or two, he was sleeping all the time. And then they called us and said…” Miss Violet’s eyes had clouded with tears. “They said he died in his sleep.”

  Beth could feel her own tears pooling. “That’s so sad. Losing a loved one is such a heartbreaking thing.”

  “But Audie says it wasn’t right that he died. She thinks… she thinks they killed him. That’s why she’s so upset about me having to come here.”

  “She really thinks they killed him?”

  “She took his chart after he died and showed it to a doctor friend of hers. He said he thought they might have given Lewis too much medicine.”

  Horror stories like that one gave nursing homes a bad name, but Beth could offer nothing to refute the Pippins’ suspicions.

  “Look, Miss Violet. I can’t say if that other home did something wrong or not, but I can promise you this—we will take very good care of you here. We’ll try our best to make you feel good and to make your stay here as pleasant and comfortable as it can be. And we will talk to you, and to Audie too if you want us to, about everything we do.”

  Miss Violet pursed her lips as best she could and nodded.

  “Do you want me to go talk to your granddaughter now?”

  “She doesn’t usually listen when she’s upset, but it’s worth a try.”

  Audie kicked a rock as she exited the building, then spun around and leaned against the brick wall. She had been from one end of the nursing home to the other searching in vain for a private place to stew. What she really wanted right now was a cigarette, but she had given up smoking a year ago as a Christmas present to her Grammaw.

  She had a bad feeling about her grandmother being in this place. Her only consolation was the possibility she would improve enough in the next few weeks to come back home. Dr. Hill didn’t think that would happen—he had said the damage from a stroke of that magnitude was irreversible—but he didn’t know Grammaw the way Audie did.

  Out on the back lawn, an aide strolled beside an elderly robeclad man as he labored with a walker. He grimaced in pain with every movement and stopped at three-step intervals to rest.

  “That’s Mr. Andrews.” Beth Hester’s gentle voice seemed to come out of nowhere. “He has advanced arthritis, but he’s getting around pretty well for eighty-six, don’t you think?”

  Audie looked back at the struggling man. “Grammaw’s only eighty-one. She shouldn’t even be here.”

  “Strokes can be very cruel.” Beth folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the wall, shoulder to shoulder with Audie, so that neither had to look at the other as they talked. “It’s always sad to see older people fighting their bodies to get them to do what they used to do, but it’s even more difficult to watch when they’re as vibrant as your grandmother.”

  “Do you think she’ll ever get to go home?”

  “I’m not really qualified—”

  “But you must have an opinion.” Audie looked directly at Beth, not missing her reluctant expression. “I know you’ve seen others like her come in here.”

  Beth sighed, prompting Audie to brace for her answer. “I’d say it’s unlikely she’ll improve enough to be able to use her left side again. The best we can hope for is that she gains strength on her right side to compensate, but to be honest, it probably wouldn’t be enough to make her independent again.”

  Audie turned away to hide the tears that burned her eyes. “But she might be able to, right?”

  “Yes, she might.”

  She would cling to that glimmer of optimism, no matter how small.

  “We’re going to take care of her, Audie. You don’t have to worry.”

  Audie was surprised to feel Beth’s hand on her forearm.

  “And I meant what I said about wanting you to come every day. If there’s one thing that makes being here easier, it’s having people who love you come visit. Do you have any idea how many people put their family members in here and forget about them?”

  “I won’t do that.”

  “I know you won’t. It’s obvious how much you love your grandmother.”

  “She’s all I’ve got.” A tear dripped from her eye and she quickly wiped it away.

  “And I bet you’re all she’s got too.”

  Audie nodded, but still wouldn’t make eye contact.

  “But she has us now. We aren’t her family, but I promise you we’re going to do everything we can to keep her healthy and happy.”

  The hard lump in the back of her throat made Audie swallow her words for fear she would sob. The last thing she wanted to do was appear vulnerable and trusting—that attitude had led the people at the other home to take advantage of them. Finally, she mumbled, “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  “Okay.” Beth started toward the door, but stopped short. “Do you want me to ask someone to go over the other forms with you?”

  “No, I don’t want to deal with that shit today. I need to go get that stuff for Grammaw.”

  Audie returned to the room to go over the checklist one more time, promising to return with everything her Grammaw needed.

  As she walked out the front door of the nursing home, she caught one last look at Beth Hester. She had seen her not long ago, but couldn’t recall the circumstances.

  Chapter 2

  Audie could hear Buster’s greeting as she pulled into the drive.

  The poor dog had been home alone for much of last two hectic weeks in the wake of her grandmother’s stroke. Audie had spent practically every free moment at her Grammaw’s bedside in the hospital, stopping at the house only to shower and sleep. Buster was willing to forgive the neglect, but he wanted it to end today.

  “Hey, boy. What’s the matter with you? You not getting enough attention?” She squat
ted to scratch the dog briskly behind both ears and deliver a kiss to his snout. She had picked up the black-and-white mutt at the shelter after her grandfather died, thinking he would provide companionship and security for Grammaw when she was at home alone. That way, Audie wouldn’t have to worry when she was at work or out late with her friends. Buster served his caretaker role well, but it was clear he considered Audie his real mistress.

  “You smell like a dog.”

  Buster licked her nose as though thanking her for the compliment.

  “I’m going to put you in Grammaw’s tub tomorrow because she isn’t here to say no.” She made as if to grab the tattered Frisbee from the counter and Buster began to bark. “Wanna play?”

  He barked again and started for the back door, just as Audie’s cell phone chirped in her backpack. She smiled when she checked the display as she headed outside to the backyard.

  “Hey, Tinkerbell!”

  “Why do you always call me that?” Dennis whined. She had known Dennis Bell since middle school. He was the only other person in her class she identified as gay. Not so, Dennis had bragged, proceeding to list several so-called straight boys with whom he had traded hand jobs.

  “Well, for starters, you always answer to it.” She tossed the Frisbee and grinned as Buster caught it on the fly. “Besides, you like it whenever we’re standing in the middle of a meat market.”

  “I’ll answer to anything that gets me laid.”

  “You’re such a slut.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing. How’d it go today?”

  “It wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be. It’s a nicer place than the one Grampaw was in, and Grammaw’s nurse is pretty nice.” Audie snatched the Frisbee from Buster’s mouth when he relaxed his bite and she gave it another toss. “It was still hard though.”

  “I hope you told her I’d be out there to visit.”

  “You better. She always liked you. Of course, she hasn’t heard all the stories about your perverted sexual exploits with hundreds of men.”

  “Ah, yes… the granddaughter she never had.”

  “Bitch.”

  “Moi? So anyway, I was calling to tell you they’re having the amateur drag show tonight at the Palace. Dwayne’s going to be in it.”

  “What does Joel think of that?”

  “I think it was his idea. Anyway, it’s my turn to drive so you can drink all you want.”

  “I don’t know.” Buster barked at her because she had waited too long between throws. “I have to work tomorrow.”

  “We all have to work tomorrow. But at least you don’t have to be in until eleven. My ass has to be in that chair at eight, so I don’t want to stay out all night either.”

  Audie flipped the Frisbee. “What time are you going?”

  “About nine, but I want to get home by midnight.”

  “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

  Two hours later, Audie bounded down the front steps of her house. She still wore her favorite jeans, but she had changed into a white shirt that bared her midriff. Where the baseball cap had been earlier, her hair was now full and flowing.

  “Not too shabby, Audie,” Dennis said as he flung open the car door for her. “I predict you’ll get lucky tonight.”

  Audie snorted. “Not everyone needs to screw to have a good time.”

  Dennis’s jaw dropped in mock dismay. “Then why the fuck are we going?”

  “Because I need to get drunk.”

  “I’ll say. You haven’t been out in ages.”

  “Not since Grammaw’s stroke.”

  “You ought to relax tonight and cut loose. Here.” He reached beneath the seat for a plastic bag. “Roll us one.”

  Audie opened the road atlas to the centerfold and pulled out one of the rolling papers and a dollar bill. Bit by bit, she crumpled the dried marijuana leaves into flecks and removed the twigs. “You remember Kelly Hester from high school?”

  Dennis frowned as he thought about the name. “Short girl? Kind of plump?”

  “Yeah, we played basketball together.”

  “Woof.”

  “Her sister sure isn’t a dog. She’s Grammaw’s nurse, the nice one I told you about.”

  “Oh yeah? I remember her. Her name was Beth or something, wasn’t it?”

  “Right. I think she’s a lot older than us, eight or nine years. That would put her at about thirty-two or thirty-three.”

  “Don’t roll that so tight! I have to save my sucking muscles.”

  Audie rolled her eyes. “Whenever you roll it, it goes up in flames before we can smoke it.” Nonetheless, she dumped the dried leaves and started over. “Anyway, about this Beth Hester, I think she might be a dyke.”

  “I didn’t know they made flannel nurse’s uniforms.”

  “You’re such a turd. I was trying to remember when I saw her last and it came to me while I was in the shower. She and this other woman showed up at the shelter a couple of years ago and adopted a dog together.”

  “Could’ve been a roommate.”

  “We don’t get that much… roommates adopting, I mean. Besides, I remember when I saw them together I thought they were acting like a couple.” She finished rolling the joint and put everything back into the plastic bag before lighting it and taking a deep draw. “Anyway, she’s cute.”

  “So get her to come with us sometime.” Dennis reached out to take the joint.

  “Nah, she’s not my type.”

  “No pussy?” He squeaked his words as he fought to hold the smoke deep in his lungs.

  “Jesus, what’s gotten into you tonight? You’re full of piss and vinegar.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “I don’t know. Grammaw says that to me when I’m sassy.”

  “Ooo, I like being called sassy. Will you say that in front of the guys?”

  “Why? They already know what they’re getting with you.”

  Audie took another toke and held it before exhaling loudly. “Hell, they’ve probably all had you a half dozen times. So how come you’re not doing the drag show?”

  “Because I needed a dress and you don’t have one.”

  Audie began to giggle, knowing full well that Dennis’s joke wasn’t all that funny. It didn’t matter, though. It felt good to laugh.

  Beth emerged from the theater with Ginger, both shedding their sweaters immediately as the humid air engulfed them.

  “Why is it always so cold in there?” Beth groused.

  “Because it’s calibrated for all the bubbas with high blood pressure.”

  “You’d think there would be more of us than there are them.”

  “Yeah, but who wants to be around them when they start to sweat?” Ginger answered sardonically. “So what did you think of the movie?”

  “Mmm… three stars, I guess.”

  “Wow! You never give anything three stars. You must have loved it.”

  “I wouldn’t say I loved it. I just thought it was well done, well acted, all that. I prefer a happier ending, though.”

  “Me too! Hey, speaking of happy endings, the bookstore’s open till eleven. You up for coffee?”

  “How can you drink coffee this late? I’d be up all night.”

  “There’s always decaf.”

  Beth chuckled. “Admit it. It isn’t the coffee you care about. It’s who’s pouring it.”

  Ginger grinned. “Doh! Let’s at least see if she’s working.” They walked along the storefronts of Sumter’s quaint downtown, finally spotting the woman in question through the window of the megabookstore.

  “Do you even know her name?” Beth asked.

  “Mallory.”

  “Isn’t that a duck?”

  Ginger punched her shoulder. “That’s mallard, you jerk.”

  “Speaking of hot young lesbians, did you ever run across a girl by the name of Audie Pippin?”

  Ginger squinted as she thought. “Wasn’t she one of the ones at the Fourth of July picnic that Shelby got so uptight about?”r />
  “Now that you mention it, I think she was.” Her sister had told her years ago she thought Audie was a lesbian, but Beth didn’t know it for sure until Audie had shown up at the informal lesbian gathering. “Shelby didn’t need an excuse to get uptight.”

  “Talk about an understatement! You couldn’t have crammed a needle up her ass with a jackhammer.”

  Beth chortled. “Tell me about it. I can’t believe I lived with that for three years.”

  “At least now she’s Tonya’s problem.”

  Both women had long since gotten over any feelings of heartache and loss when Shelby had left Beth for Ginger’s girlfriend, Tonya. The ugly memory still colored their respective outlooks on romance, but their shared history made for a solid friendship.

  They entered the bookstore and approached the coffee counter, hanging back just a bit until Mallory was free to serve them.

  “Hi there,” Ginger said as they stepped up to place their order.

  Beth smiled inwardly at the bright look on the young server’s face when she recognized her customer. It was nice to see Ginger excited about someone and have that interest returned. She took a table to give them a little privacy while they chatted. When Ginger finally tore herself away from the counter, she deposited two coffees and two enormous pastries on their table.

  “Hey! I didn’t order this.”

  “Don’t be an ingrate,” Ginger whispered. “Mallory gave us these for free. She said she’s closing soon and would have to throw them out.”

  “Sugar at this hour would be as bad as caffeine.”

  “Come on, lighten up. One little pecan twirl won’t kill you.”

  Beth took a bite of the taboo sweet and nearly swooned. “So are you ever going to ask Mallory out?”

  “I just did. Dinner on Sunday night.” Ginger flashed a satisfied smile.

  “Way to go! I guess you didn’t tell her about being a serial killer,” she mumbled with her mouth full.

  “Nah, I figured I’d save something for us to talk about over dessert.” Ginger took a bite of hers too. “So why were you asking about Audie Pippin?”

  “No reason, really. She admitted her grandmother into the nursing home today.”