Clandestine

The Visit (12)

"Miss Martinez, your mother is ready to see you." I smiled at the nurse that sat behind the counter at the hospital. I had found some time to myself so I thought I'd come to say hi to my mum, and I was hoping she was having a good day and might be able to shine some light on my saturation.

The hospital was quiet, which was why I had picked it for my mother to go. It was about an hour out of the city, and it sat on a hill overlooking the beach, mum had always loved the beach, she had always said even before she was sick that she would want to die at the beach. It was her favorite place on earth to be. Not that I could disagree, I loved the beach just as much as she did. I opened the door to her room, the smell of salt water and vanilla hitting me like a wave.

My eyes landed on my mother, her small frame perched on her favorite seat as she stared out the window at the waved crashing below. I noticed her turn slightly as I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. A smile crept onto her face, "Hi hunny," I smiled softly back at her as she slowly brought her thin hand out to pat on the seat next to her, I plonked down next to her. She studied me for a while before speaking up, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing I just wanted to check up on you." She shook her head, her thin dark hair falling around her face. She knew I was lying, she always knew. "And I needed some advice."

"Well, I'm feeling just P-Peachy." I watched as she struggled to get out the word. "What do you need me for my child, I don't be much help." I shook my head; she would be more help then she thought. Just talking to her put my mind at ease.

"Well, I'm on a case," Mum raised her eyebrows and mouthed 'Case?' to me, making me nod, "Yeah, I have to go undercover mum, and I get my detective badge if I can pull it off." I smiled as she slowly breathed out, worry flicking over in her eyes for a moment.

"I hope you're being careful."

"I am," I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Anyway, you remember the hijacking that the they've been talking about on the news? Well, I have to find the gang that's doing that and bring them down from the inside." Her eyes widened as I continued, "The gang leader that I'm investigating, there's this attraction between us."

"With Vince?" I stiffened stocked that she remembered Vince.

"No, with the Gang leader, Noah." I couldn't help but get a little frustrated with her as I did every time, as much as I loved talking to mum about my problems it was hard for me to see her forget what we were talking about so quickly or get confused.

"I always thought Vince was a part of a gang."

"He wasn't mum," I brushed off her comment, I wasn't here to talk about Vince, I wanted advice on what to do about Noah and the attraction between us. Mum had always been wise even after she got sick, she had always been good at listening and giving an honest opinion. I could feel mum slipping into her blank memories. I refused to give up just yet, so I decided to take a different option.

"He might have been, but if he is that means that he is a suspect, and there this attraction between us, and I don't know what I should do about it? If I should ignore it or just go for it?" Mum nodded, her eyes drifting back out to the waves.

"I think you should do what makes you happy, if that's being around him, then do it, but if that puts your job at risk, is it really worth it?" Her words rocked through me, because I already knew the answer to it. I knew that work was more important to me then Noah would ever be. I'd much rather spend my life working in a job I loved than spend one night of fun with Noah.

I pulled mum into a quick hug, muttering a thank you, as I pulled back I noticed the shift in mum's body language and I knew that she had fallen victim to her own mind like so many times before. "Mum?"