Jenna Mindel - Mending Fences

“I know.” It wasn’t easy seeing half her mother’s face immobile.

“Have you eaten anything? I can get you something,” Laura asked. Did they feed stroke patients?

“Too much trouble.” Her mom’s thick slur held a trace of stubborn martyrdom.

Laura knew if she went out of her way to bring food, it would sit untouched and uneaten. With a sigh, she peered out the window at the shiny black water of the Portage River. It’d be crammed with boats lapping up the last days of summer come daylight.

“Are you home to stay?”

Laura fiddled with the buckle to her purse. Pressure. Whether she closed a deal, tried to make a relationship work or please her mom, the pressure built and simmered, never finding release. “People depend on me. It’s not easy to get away.”

“You’re too thin.”

“I can’t cook like you do.” Laura pulled a chair closer to the bed. How long did they keep a person with a stroke? She’d left a message for her sales manager that she needed family leave.

“Your hair looks lighter.”

“I just had it done.” Laura threaded her fingers through her highlighted blond bob. Looking like she hadn’t worked hard this summer was a sure sign of success, wasn’t it?

After hours of sitting beside her mother, watching her sleep, the door opened. Her mother’s only sibling and younger sister, Nelda, entered with a fresh-cut bouquet of flowers in her perfectly manicured hands.

“Good, you’re finally here.” Aunt Nelda gave Laura one of her pointed glares—as if driving through the night from Wisconsin was not enough. Married to a man who’d once been an actor off Broadway, her aunt dressed like she was headed to Hollywood instead of the local Wal-Mart.

“How’s Anna?” Aunt Nelda kissed her sister’s forehead.

“A little weak,” Laura’s mom whispered, her slur worse.

Aunt Nelda pinned Laura with another stern look. “You’re lucky your mother and I were shopping in Houghton when she had her stroke. There’s no telling what might have happened had she been home alone.”

Like she needed more guilt. Laura rubbed her aching head. “I need coffee. Do either of you want anything?”

“I’ll meet you in the cafeteria in a few minutes.”

Aunt Nelda wanted to talk, but it was a conversation Laura didn’t look forward to.

Twenty minutes later, Aunt Nelda sat down across from Laura. “Sweetie, you look beat up.”

Laura cradled her mug of coffee and shrugged.

Aunt Nelda patted her arm. “I’m sorry, are you okay?”

“I’m working on it.” Laura cringed. She’d sounded too much like her mom.

“How long are you home for?”

“I don’t know, a couple weeks?” Laura lived in Madison, Wisconsin. It was six hours south from her mother’s hospital room in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but it might as well have been halfway across the country.

Aunt Nelda fetched a mug and a fresh carafe of coffee. “What if you need more time?”

Laura stared at nothing in particular.

“Laura,” Aunt Nelda scolded softly, “your mother needs you. It’s not like she has other kids to lean on. Nancy and I visit when we can, but your mom’s going to need constant care.”

Laura avoided her aunt’s gaze.

“What if you moved back home?”

Laura straightened. “I spent my whole life trying to stay out of Mom’s way, get away from the U.P., and make something of myself. Moving back is the last resort.”

Aunt Nelda shook her head, making her drop earrings bounce against her neck. “Why?”

“Because I’m on the verge of a big promotion. There’s no need to jump to conclusions just yet.”

“Strokes at your mother’s age are serious, no matter how mild the damage,” her aunt whispered.

“What am I supposed to do? Uproot my whole life and make us both miserable? Mom doesn’t want me here. She never has.”

Aunt Nelda sighed.

“I’ve suggested she move near me.”

Aunt Nelda stirred sugar into her coffee. “Your mother will never leave that house. I know, I’ve offered for her to live with Ed and me. I’m sorry to be so hard on you, but you’re all she’s got.”

Her cousin Nancy’s three young children were no doubt part of the reason Laura’s mom wouldn’t think of living with Aunt Nelda and Uncle Ed. Her aunt had her hands full watching her grandkids while her divorced daughter worked full-time.

“I could hire someone to come in,” Laura said.

“Who’s going to pay for that?”

“Me.”

“I didn’t think you were doing that well.”

With that promotion…

Laura had homework to do. Her mother’s insurance might not cover home visits. She’d have to borrow against her 401 K, or maybe her condo. Either way, she’d figure it out.

“What about selling the barn with half the acreage?” Aunt Nelda said.

“Daddy’s barn?”

Aunt Nelda brightened, clicking her hot pink fingernails on the table. “Why not? It’s not doing anyone any good sitting there empty. You might get a good price for it.”

“Do you think Mom will agree?””

“She doesn’t have much of a choice.” Aunt Nelda rubbed Laura’s forearm. “Go home and get some sleep. I’ll call my friend who’s a Realtor and see what she thinks.”

Laura stretched when she stood. Aunt Nelda’s idea was a good one. She needed her mom’s agreement to make it work, but then real estate didn’t move fast in the U.P. They had time. She gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Aunt Nelda.”

Her aunt looked surprised. “It’ll work out, Laura. You’ll see.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jack Stahl threw his hands up with disgust.

“Didn’t you get my letter?”

Jack clamped his mouth shut before he said something he’d regret. “No, Carl, no letter.”

“I know we agreed for you to rent month by month, but I had to sell the place. My wife took the kids to live with her parents in Saint Ignace. I closed last week.”

Their agreement had been verbal, and Jack could have kicked himself. What had he been thinking not to call and confirm his plans? He reached out and squeezed the guy’s shoulder. “I’ll find another place. I’m sorry about your wife.”

“Thanks, man.” Carl looked away. “Life stinks, doesn’t it?”

“Sometimes.” Jack scanned the fields surrounding Carl’s house. They were in the middle of nowhere with only a few other homes along the road, and those were miles apart.

“Do you know of any other houses for rent in the area? My daughter, Angie, starts school in a couple of weeks and I’ll be working nearby.”

Carl shrugged. “There’s a real estate office at the corner before you hit town. They might be able to help. They found me a small place just north of here.”

“Thanks.” Jack collected the boxes he’d left a few months ago—cleaning stuff and a few tools.

He thanked God he’d found out about this situation, before the movers showed up this weekend. A lucky stop after dropping off his son, Ben, at Michigan Tech. The past six months, he’d put his life in order to move. He’d been so sure, and now…

He backed out of the driveway and headed toward his motel room. It was too late to stop by the real estate office. He ran a hand through his hair. Being both mom and dad to his daughter, Angie, was becoming impossible for both of them. He couldn’t get anything right.

It’d been a rough couple of years since his wife, Joanne, had died. They might not have had the kind of relationship that inspired love sonnets, but she’d been the ground wire in the family. Joanne had kept them connected, involved in church and the community. Too late, he’d realized how much of his time and attention he’d denied her. Working around the clock to buy into a lucrative vet practice at the expense of his family was a lesson learned too late. He couldn’t make up for lost time, but a better future waited.