The Fugitive Grandma

Chapter 25 - The Hard Sell

Frank had become familiar with all types of sales during the course of his career. He knew the hardest sales jobs were the ones where he hadn’t sold himself. Ideally, every salesman believes in the product he’s selling at the terms he’s offering. But in the real world that isn’t always the case.

Frank didn’t believe in the deal he had to sell his mother. He could objectively list the reasons why he was moving her and selling her house. There was the attack in the supermarket, the psychiatrist’s diagnosis, the price for Helixin, and the need to pay his debt to Lester Cummings.

Those were a lot of good reasons, but he still knew he was doing the wrong thing. Guilt and doubt gnawed away at him as he packed his mother’s framed photos, family albums, and rosary beads into cardboard boxes. He used a handcart to load the boxes into the rented U-Haul trailer, and arranged to sell off most of the remaining furniture. Johnny trailed behind him, carrying the lighter boxes.

Frank was surprised by how calmly his mother accepted the move. He knew it had to be the effect of the ADAPT pills.

“Where am I going, anyway?” she asked, as Frank pulled the car out of the driveway with the U-Haul trailer hitched to the back.

“Like I said, Mom, it’s a retirement home. More like a resort, really. You’ll have assistance. They’ll cook meals so you don’t have to worry about that. They even have bingo on the weekends.”

“Grandma likes to do her own cooking,” Johnny grumbled from the backseat.

“This is the best solution,” Frank snapped. “Come on, Mom. You know this hasn’t been working. You’re forgetting things now. Every time I come over the place is a mess. I heard you nearly set the kitchen on fire while cooking.”

A few freeway stops later, they pulled off just outside the city limits, weaving through the side streets past Lester’s strip mall office. Then they arrived at Shady Palms.