Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [16]
Norma Clark tapped Annie’s arm. “Young lady, we’re never going to get home if you stand there staring off into space. What is it you do besides driving ladies home?”
Annie felt her throat tighten up. “I have a coffee shop. I sort of, kind of, robbed a bank, Mom.”
“Mercy, child. Whatever did you do that for? Are you poor?”
“Dirt-poor. I thought I did it for you. That’s probably a lie because I used two hundred dollars of it for a rent deposit. I’m going to put that back, though. You know what, Mom, it all just closed in on me. There it was, right in front of me. I took it. It’s a really long story. I have all this money now and I’m not sure what I should do. Then the call came about you from Tom. It was almost like it was meant to be. I know it wasn’t, but that’s how it felt,” Annie babbled. “Then Elmo came, and he offered to help. He sold his store to come here with Jane and me. He needs someone, too. Everyone needs someone, Mom.”
“Young lady, why do you keep calling me Mom. Do I remind you of your mother?”
The knot in Annie’s throat grew in size as she struggled with the words. “You . . . you look just like her. She was always so pretty, just like you. She made the best peanut butter cookies. Her tulips were the prettiest ones on the street. Especially the purple ones.”
“I remember those. I ordered the bulbs from Holland. They were so beautiful. Your father wouldn’t let me pick them. He used to count them when he came up the walkway. Why isn’t your father here? Is his arthritis bothering him again?”
Another little spark. “I love you, Mom. God, how did this happen?”
“Goodness, Annie, watch where you’re driving before you kill us both. Are we about home now?”
“Soon,” Annie said tearfully. “Do you love me, Mom?”
“Goodness sakes, child, I don’t even know you. I’m sure when I get to know you better I’ll love you.”
Annie drove in silence, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Annie felt soft pats on her shoulder. “Now, now, it will all work out. Don’t cry. If I could just remember what it was I said to make you cry, I would apologize.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not crying anymore. Now I’m mad. Your son Tom is a shit. And you know what else? His wife Mona is an even bigger shit. Right now I don’t like either one of them. You know, Mom, I never complained. Not once. I worked my ass off, I really did. Tom got everything handed to him. You’d think he’d want to help or at least offer. Is it because I’m a daughter, and he’s a son? That’s why I did what I did. I’m not a thief. Well, I am, but I wasn’t before. I turned into a liar, too. Are you ashamed of me, Mom?”
Norma Clark clamped her lips shut, then opened them. “I won’t tell a soul about your secrets.”
Annie took her eyes off the road long enough to turn around and say, “If you do, I’ll go to jail. They’ll lock me up and throw away the key.”
Norma Clark’s shoulders stiffened. “That’s what they do to me. They lock me in my room. It’s the same thing as jail. People steal my clothes and my shoes. I never tell. I don’t want to get punished.”
Annie’s foot hit the brake as she steered the car to the side of the road. There was outrage in her voice when she said, “Did they punish you?”
“Yes. They didn’t let me go out among the flowers. They even tied Grace in her chair. I untied her,” Norma said defiantly. “We didn’t get any dinner. They always slapped Grace because she wouldn’t listen.”
“Oh, God,” Annie said.
“I used to pray that my daughter would come and get me. She never did.”
Annie let the tears flow. “When we get home you can write to Grace,” she managed to say.
“Grace is dead,” Norma said flatly.
Was this real?