Foolish Notions Read Free Page A

two was too old.”
Her eyes moved to James and then immediately back to the window.
    “Too old? Mom, she was your age.”
    Marie lifted her shoulders to her ears.
“A little older.”
    “What about number six?”
Frustration was setting in. “She was half your age.”
    “Yes, pretty young thing, but she
didn’t look fun.” She watched a seagull dance in the
wind. “I don’t want some humdrum person to take care of
me. I’d get bored and you know how I hate to get bored.”
    James gritted his teeth. The dull ache
at the base of his neck was slowly traveling upward. He rolled his
head from side to side. He needed an aspirin. Hell, he needed an
entire bottle. “We’re not looking for a playmate.”
He felt his beeper on his hip go off for the third time in the last
hour, reminding him of all the work that was still waiting for him at
the office. He looked at the number; it was his secretary again.
Annoyed, he turned it off and tossed it on the table.
    “It’s important that I get
along with whoever takes care of me,” Marie continued.
    James looked up at his mom, who was
sitting on the edge of the overstuffed chenille chair that nearly
consumed her small frame. “I personally don’t care if you
get along or not. If she is qualified and administers good care
nothing else should matter.”
    “How can you say that? If I like
the person, my recovery will be much quicker.” Her tone grew
stronger as she pleaded her case. “You remember what the doctor
said—positive thinking, mind over matter, all that kind of
stuff.”
    “B.S.”
    She frowned at him. “James.”
    “Well, it is.”
    “I don’t want her just to
be a nurse. She needs to be more. I need someone who will enjoy
sitting on the deck and watching the ocean and the birds as much as I
do. Who will help me tend to the roses out front when I’m too
sick to walk? You took the time to have them moved here,” she
pointed out. “I want someone who will enjoy them with me.”
She reached for the glass on the coffee table in front of her.
“James, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a nurse and a
companion. This person is going to spend almost every waking moment
with me.”
    He rubbed his eyes. “You realize
that your treatment starts in four days and we have no one. No one.”
He leaned back against the sofa, discouraged to the point of giving
up. “I don’t think you know how serious this is.”
    “Of course I do.”
    “Mom, I can’t take care of
you. I wouldn’t know what to do.” Hell, he was having
problems just finding someone to take care of her.
    “I don’t expect you to.”
    “Then what do you suggest we do?”
He threw his hands in the air. “I’m out of ideas. I’ve
called every nurse in this town. There is no one left to call.”
    “There’s Samantha.”
    He stood up and grumbled, “Let’s
not start this again. It’s been a long day.” He moved
into the large eat-in kitchen, which opened up from the living room
to create one large room. “What do you want for dinner?”
    She followed him, taking a seat at the
small breakfast table.
    “She liked to walk on the beach.
Remember?”
    How could he forget, they had some of
their best times on the beach. Walking, talking, thinking, making
love. It was where they had preferred to be over anywhere else. The
sandy seaside was their special place and the infinite crashing of
the waves was their special song. It was a place that allowed them to
reflect and preserve what they had shared and what was still yet to
come.
    “She loved my roses. The ‘Crimson
Glory’ tea rose she gave me for my birthday is still one of my
favorites.”
    Swinging open the refrigerator door, he
stared at its contents.
    “You want to barbeque?”
    “She was fun. Her enthusiasm
seemed to be contagious. I remember some of our shopping trips. She
would have me giggling like a child and buying frivolous items I
didn’t need.”
    Her eyes drifted to her hands in her
lap. “She was intoxicating.”
    James