What Remains (14 page)

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” Mr. Richards told them both as Tessa closed the bathroom door behind her, offering him a quick reassuring wink.

Carefully removing the expensive sequenced gown that would now have to be thrown away, Tessa tried her best to keep chatting as she worked, hoping to keep Mrs. Collins from focusing on the humiliation she was surely experiencing at having a complete stranger see her in this condition.

The elderly woman didn’t speak a word until Tessa had her fully undressed and ready to step into the shower.

“It’s a damn shame when your own daughter and granddaughters won’t lift a finger to help you.  I’m glad my Edward didn’t make it to see this day.  It would’ve broken his heart.”

“Don’t you worry about anything, ma’am, Seth and I are here to help you.  Now put your walker in first, and then step inside the stall facing the back.”

“My grandson is the only good one out of the bunch.  Money ruined all the rest of them,” she grumbled, slowly following instructions.

Carefully assisting her to make sure she didn’t fall, Tessa kept the conversation going, though refusing to comment on any negative statements that were made.  “Mr. Richards is fine man.  You raised him well.”

“You’re damn right I did, with no help from his mother.  My Elaine was a good girl until she married that low life from Chelsea.  We tried to tell her he was only marrying her for the money, because she certainly wasn’t much to look at before she got her nose done.  But Edward fixed him good when he left everything to Seth.  Their expressions when the will was read were priceless.  If I hadn’t been grieving the loss of my husband, I would’ve laughed in both of their faces.”

When Tessa didn’t respond, Mrs. Collin’s peered down at Tessa suspiciously as she leaned forward to scrub her backside and legs.  “How much is Seth paying to pay you to do this?

“Nothing.
  I’m doing it because I want to.”

“Humph…that’s hard to believe.”

“Well, it’s true.”

Even after Tessa’s admission, the old woman still acted as if she refused to accept that there were people willing to lend a hand with no desire for compensation.  “Take that top off before you ruin it.  I can’t have you walking around our guests with my shit all over you.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Don’t be disgusting for the sake of modesty.  We’re both women for God’s sake.”

Realizing it was her way of managing a situation that was completely out of her control, Tessa abided by Mems’ wishes, thankful that she had taken the time to put a bra on after her shower since she had fully expected to be alone all day.

“Now that’s better,” Mrs. Collins told her.  “I don’t want to be the only one standing here bare-assed naked.”

“I understand,” giggled Tess as she reached for a fresh wash cloth.

Working to finish the job quickly, she could feel the old woman’s eyes boring down on her.  Standing at about five eight, even with a slight stoop to her shoulders, Mrs. Collins was regal-looking woman, even in her nineties.  It was obvious that Mr. Richards had taken his looks after her with the same dark and chiseled features.  Apparently, he had inherited the same sour disposition as well.

“You’re a tiny little thing, but sturdy.  I guess all of you people are bred for hard work.  Of Irish decent I suppose?”

“Partly.
  My daddy was half was Cherokee.”

“What a loathsome race of people, alcoholics, all of them.  Your father was too, I imagine.”

“Probably.  But he never missed a day of work in his life.”

“Your mother, was she a half breed?

“No, German.”

“My Edward fought in World War II against those son-of-a-bitches.”

“So did my grandfather,” Tessa shot back, letting her know it was a subject she would not allow to go any further.

“I still can’t see why Seth hired you.  You seem a bit too uppity for manual labor.  I tried to tell him if he wanted a decent maid he had to find
a Mexican.  The best housekeepers are women who actually appreciate having a job.  How old are you, anyway?”

“Forty.”

“Why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not.”

“Well, it’s hard to tell anymore, with all the surgery women are having done now days.”

“I haven’t had any work done, but thank you for the compliment.”

“You must have had a beautiful mother then.”

“Yes, ma’am, I did.”

At that point their conversation stalled, both of them choosing to remain silent for the duration of the shower, Mrs. Collins stepped gingerly out on to the bath mat, careful not to get her walker hung up on the edges of it.  As Tessa reached upward to towel dry her hair, the elderly woman’s hands slipped off the handles of the wet walker and fell forward, her knees weakened from having to stand in the shower so long.  Tessa leapt into action and caught her under the arms, slowly lowering her to the floor,

“I got you,” Tessa told her with Mrs. Collin’s head resting on her shoulder.

“I’m too heavy, call for Seth.  Call for my grandson.”

“We can do this, sweetie” she tried to convince her as the woman’s wet body continued to slip through the hold she had on her.

But the stubborn old woman would hear nothing of it and demanded that her grandson be called into the bathroom to assist them.

“Take that towel and cover me up,” she ordered sharply.

Giving into her command, Tessa wrapped the large bath sheet around her shoulders and called out for Seth.  In an instant, he was at their side and lifting his grandmother to her feet.

“What happened?” he asked his voice ripe with frustration and concern.

“My old legs just gave out,” Mems replied in a shaky voice that was in contrast to the bitter tone she had just used when they were alone.

“I’m so sorry,” Tessa told them both, rising to her feet to help Mr. Richards get his grandmother into the bedroom.

“It’s not your fault, dear,” Mrs. Collins said weakly, reaching up to pat Tessa’s cheek which caused her to once again loose her balance and begin yet another decent to the floor. 

As Tessa watched the scene unfold, with Seth scooping his grandmother up in his arms, she couldn’t help but wonder what sort of game the old lady was playing.  Most likely it was a ploy for her precious grandson’s sympathy.

With the elderly woman in his arms, he directed his irritation toward Tess.  “Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then get dressed.”

“Now don’t be so cross with her, Seth.  I’m fine.  Just take me to the bed and let me rest a minute.”

Humiliated beyond belief, Tessa hurriedly grabbed her top and held it against her breasts.  Once Seth disappeared through the doorway, she slipped it over her head and washed her hands thoroughly, giving herself time to calm down.

Before she was finished drying them, she heard another woman’s
voice enter the bedroom.  From the conversation, it was easy to surmise it was Mems’ private duty nurse, explaining excitedly how she got there as soon as she could from the mainland once she received the call.  Of course, Mems acted as if her arrival was the second coming of the messiah, and went on and on about how glad she was to finally have someone there to assist her who actually knew what they were doing.

Wanting to escape the ridiculous scene, Tessa slipped from the bathroom and out the bedroom door while everyone’s attentions were focused on Mrs. Collins.  She managed to make it downstairs and past the driveway with only a few guests noticing her.  Thankfully, they all looked away quickly as if she wasn’t worth a second glance.

The walk back to Mr. Richards’ beach house did little to numb the frustration she felt.  Even while in the shower, she continued mumbling out loud.  He had asked for her help, not whether she was a qualified caregiver.  And what right did the old biddy have insulting her while she was helping out of the goodness of her heart?  She could have refused like everyone else.  But no, after what Mr. Richards did for her son, she owed it to him, though she could have done without the verbal slap on the hand when his clever Mems decided to play the helpless senior citizen card. 

It was only then, when she recalled the sound of Shane’s voice when he had called to tell her about law school, did Tessa’s irritation finally began to wane.  It was worth a million insults from
Mems, and all the tongue lashings Mr. Richards wanted to give her. 

Wrapping her hair in towel and slipping on a bathrobe, Tessa went to her bedroom and stretched out across the bed.  She had to stop being so sensitive and taking everything to heart.  It was time to toughen up, if she didn’t, she
would spend the rest of her life an emotional wreck, always allowing others to steal her joy.

Upon hearing her cell phone ring, Tessa scrambled to retrieve it, hoping it was Gregory to distract her and put her back in a good mood.  The caller ID dashed her hopes when it read,
Lord Richards
.

“Hello.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m absolutely wonderful, thank you for asking.”

“You don’t sound wonderful.”

“Well, I am.  I hope everyone can relax and enjoy the party now.”

Mr. Richards scoffed derisively, “Yeah, the limbo line is forming as we speak.  Mems is the first one to go.”

The mental image of Mrs. Collins doing a back bend as she made her way underneath a pole forced Tessa to laugh out loud.  “You make me chuckle, boss man,” she told him, continuing to smile to herself.

“Only because I pay you to laugh at my jokes.”

“No, I laugh at you for free.”

“It’s always at my expense, so technically speaking, it’s not free.”

“
Mmmmm…yeah…I see your point.” 

Once their brief conversation ended, Tessa lied there staring up at the ceiling.  Although she couldn’t deny the fact she was still disappointed the call hadn’t been from Gregory, she was glad to have the opportunity to clear the air between her and Seth.  He may have snapped at her, but it was evident to her now that she had a chance to calm down, that his frustration had not been directed at her, but at the circumstances.  When she relived the scene in the bathroom, Tessa shot straight up in bed and cursed under her breath.  Mr. Richards had seen her practically naked. 

Oh the horror…the horror.

Chapter Eleven

The exterior of the restaurant was sea-side rustic like every other establishment on the island, which made Tess wonder what all the fuss was about.   She had resisted eating out on their last night of vacation, contending that she would have been much happier staying home and having that wienie roast on the beach, but Mr. Richards would hear nothing of it.  His argument being that he had promised her a night out, and was not going back on his word, even if it meant forcing her to purchase an outfit she considered far too expensive, as well as putting on makeup and fixing her hair; which she hated.  It wasn’t that she was a slob; it was just way out of her comfort zone.  Never in all her years had she been required to go through so much trouble to simply have dinner. 

Stepping out of the SUV and on to the curb, she tugged at the hem of her black cocktail dress that hung just above her knee, and wished she hadn’t let the sweet young girl at the shop talk her into buying it.  If it had been her own money she was spending, she would’ve found something on the clearance rack and called it a day, but with her employer’s credit card in hand with the directive to purchase something nice, Tessa figured why not make him happy if it meant the clerk would earn a nice commission from it after all the trouble she went through to find something that would fit. 

When Mr. Richards walked around to escort her to the entrance, he caught Tessa trying to stuff the tops of her bosom down into the dress.  Although he was polite enough not to comment on it, he smiled at her.