“We need to decide what is going to happen with Margot,” Jana declared. “She can’t stay in the hospital forever and she’s not moving in with me.”
“What happened anyways?” Drew asked. “Why is she hospitalized?”
“She took an axe to the gas line in the basement,” Molson drawled.
“What?” Drew looked at Molson in surprise.
“I knew she’s crazy,” Jana tisked, patting little Miguel as he fussed.
“Why would she take an axe to a gas line?” Drew asked incredulously.
“She was locked in another one of her delusions,” Molson said tiredly.
“Isn’t she supposed to be taking medications for those?” Jana questioned.
“Yes, when she bothers to take them,” Molson agreed, his ire rising.
“Aren’t you making sure she takes her pills?” Jana had a bit of an edge to her tone.
“When will I do that?” Molson didn’t bother to hide his distain. “When I’m working? When I’m in school? When I’m sleeping? I do my best and she hides her pills, she flushes them down the toilet, she outright refuses and sometimes after she has them, she’ll just throw up when my back is turned.”
“School?” Drew frowned. He didn’t know that Molson was going to school.
“Molson, she needs better care than that. She can’t be an afterthought in your life,” Jana ignored the school remark.
“An afterthought?” Molson growled. “Every day I get up and wonder what she’s been up to during the night. Every break I get at work, I call her. I’m the one who makes sure she’s got groceries. I’m the one who reminds her to shower. I’m the one who cleans up after her messes. I’m the one paying her bills. I bring her to center, I arranged after center care with the neighbor lady.
“I ain’t seen neither of you helping out,” he continued angrily. “I ask you to come by, visit her. You don’t want to put up with her. It ain’t convenient for you. Well now she’s here cuz I can’t do it all. She nearly blew up the house. Ma hasn’t been right in the head for years. She should have been committed to an institution long ago, but she didn’t want to go so fool that I am, I didn’t send her. Don’t you two go judging me, telling me that I ain’t done a good job when neither of you lifted a finger.”
“Molson,” Jana began but Molson stood, interrupting her.
“No. I’m done with you two always judging me. You think you know so much. You make me feel like junk all the time. I’m doing my best, okay. My best. I’m the one who deals with Ma. I’m the one who keeps trying to stay in your lives. Ain’t neither of you care about me. You don’t visit me. You don’t ask me about my life. You kicked me out like I’m dirt,” Molson shook his head. “Both of you can have Ma for the next five years. However, unlike you both, I’ll still visit her.”
Molson moved past them, walking out the door.
Jana was bristling. Drew held up a hand to forestall her. “We deserved everything he said Jana. It’s the simple truth. The question is, what are we going to do about it?”
“Where have you been?” Fielding barked after Molson.
He’d been walking through the hall, getting away from Jana and Drew. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper like that. He didn’t feel any better for having done so. If anything, he felt raw over the experience. Nothing had been resolved.
Molson shoved his hands in his pockets and watched Fielding stride toward him. Whatever was on Fielding’s mind, it wouldn’t be good for Molson.
Not for the first time, Molson wondered why he’d gotten Fielding for his professor.
“You’ve missed the last two days without informing me or the school as to your reason of absence,” Fielding groused. “I’m writing you up. One more infraction and you’re done.”
“Well let me inform you, my mom is in the hospital,” Molson replied. “That’s what I’ve been dealing with for the past two days.”
It was obvious Fielding wasn’t sure whether or not to trust if Molson was telling the truth.
“She’s in room 232B,” Molson told him dryly. Let him check up on it if he wanted.
Fielding looked at his watch. “We’ve got a full day of patients. Better get started.”
Molson hesitated. “Is there any way I can get today off? I haven’t slept.”
“Do patients take a day off?” Fielding asked rhetorically. “If you skip today, that’s three in a row. Then I can suspend you from the program.”
