Only You

Chapter 4 Flipped

Rena woke up the next morning sitting in a chaise lounge near the side of her mother's bed.  Out of everything that Ian had done wrong, he'd gotten one thing right.  He'd bought a house that had an in-law suite.  Even though her mother was not in the comfort of her own home, and despite the fact that the rest of the house was a wreck, Clarissa had 600 feet of clean, defined space that overlooked the bay.  It was quaint, like a small cottage, and had all of Clarissa's southern charm – from the Tiffany lamps, to the quilt on her bed.  She was surprised to see so many pictures of herself on walls throughout the quarters. 

She'd come into the room the night before while her mother was asleep, despite Ian's objections.  He didn't understand that she didn't want her mother to see the shock on her face if things were as bad as Blake said.  So far, Blake had witnessed all of her shock. 

It had been bad enough to make her leave the room in tears.  Clarissa had been a full sized woman, beautiful and vibrant.  Now, she was reduced to half her size, and the fiery red hair that she'd inherited had turned white.  Her skin was smooth, pale and cool to touch.  Rena had done the right thing by coming into the room before her mother awakened.

Rena sat on the edge of the chaise as her mother stirred.  The first thing she noticed was the clarity in her eyes as they opened.  Those were the same deep brown eyes sitting in Ian's face.  He looked so much like his mother.  Surprise registered across her face when she realized she was not alone. "Rena, oh my God!  You're in Savannah?"

Rena was startled: Had nobody told Mom she was coming? Many thoughts flooded her mind.  Perhaps they were careful not to tell her just in case I'd refused to come, as I've done so many times before.

Clarissa raised herself up in bed and had a very odd look on her face.  "They must surely think I'm a goner if you're here.  They don't know me. I have no intention of being a goner.  Good Lord, I just can't believe you're here."

This was not a funny situation, but Rena suppressed a laugh.  That body might be different, but that mind was Clarissa Blackshear.  Though she looked frail, from the light in her eyes and the tone of her voice she had quite a bit of spirit.  That was a good thing.  Clarissa wasn't wallowing in pity and apparently wasn't looking for sympathy.   She was fighting. 

"I could kill Ian for not telling me you were coming.  I'd have had that debacle out there cleaned and at least made him cook something.  Stand up. Let me take a look at you.  I haven't seen you in ten years."

Rena did a quick spin. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt today.  She intended to take Blake's advice. It was time to roll her sleeves up and get to work.  There were a lot of matters that needed to be settled before she went back to New York.  "Mom, I don't even know where to begin."

"Well, I'd say we best not start in the past.  There's too much pain in it. Wait just a minute. I've got something to do."

Her mother got out of bed, grabbed the robe hanging on the doorknob, and then walked down the hall.  The next thing Rena heard was a loud yell.  "Get up!  You need to be at the restaurant."  She heard some scuffling and then the sound of the shower, at which point her mother returned to her room mumbling, "That lazy rascal."

"Mom, what is wrong with Ian?  Has he lost his mind?"

"You know he never took much interest in the restaurant, so this behavior shouldn't surprise you.  Before I got sick I didn't have him doing much but ordering supplies and he got paid very well for that.  But it wasn't enough for him. No, he wanted to become an investor.  He almost gambled all our livelihoods away.  He and that darned Debbie got involved in a Ponzi scheme and we nearly lost everything."