Joe noticed me bolting out after shifts.
Then came the morning I found her.
I’d been taking care of her for a little over a year. I let myself in with the spare key because she hadn’t answered the door. The TV was on. Tea sat cold beside her chair.
And she was sitting there, unmoving.
I knew… I felt it in my chest, but I called her name anyway. I touched her hand and pulled back quickly because her skin was so cold.
I called the local hospital, then I dropped to my knees beside her chair and cried harder than I had cried in years.
I knew… I felt it in my chest.
The funeral passed like a bad dream. I stood in the back and felt like I had no right to grieve as much as I did.
Then came the will reading, my humiliation, and the awful realization that Mrs. Rhode must’ve lied to me. Not just about the money, but every time she acted like she cared about me.
