Page 6 of Bastain

“Well, you do now. I didn’t cash them. I’ve been trying for the past eight months to get them to stop sending me the checks, and I hear this every time. The Social Security office doesn’t make mistakes like that.” He said, obviously, they did. “Trying to get them to take them back is even harder. My aunt wants them, and I told her that I shredded them. They’re hidden away until someone comes to get them or someone like you tries to blame their being cashed by me. I did nothing wrong.”

“Your aunt thinks you should cash them?” She told Zavier that it was true. “Bastain is an attorney. Perhaps you can get him to help you.”

“I don’t think so.” She had made up her mind, and he wasn’t going to help her anyway. The woman was too volatile. Not to mention, he didn’t want to get involved with her. She was off her noodle.”

As the two of them were leaving, he didn’t say much to his brother. Not that there was time. Zavier was going on about a mile a minute about how he should be helping the woman. He wouldn’t simply because she didn’t want him to do anything for her. And that was fine by him.

Chapter 3

Trin was going home tomorrow and was glad for it. Aunt Tilly had been arrested, she’d been told, and the judge would be through on the following week to hear what she had to say. Trin didn’t have to show up; her statement to the police was good enough, but she was going to go anyway just so she knew that justice was being served. As she moved around in the chair, she thought of the two men who had come to see her the day before yesterday. Zavier had been nice, but his brother was a pain in the ass. And she didn’t even know why she thought that. He’d done nothing wrong to her, yet she couldn’t let go of the feeling that he was out to destroy her.

“Destroy me?” She shook her head, careful of the wounds she had there. Not knowing where that thought had come from, she leaned back in the seat and said nothing. But she did think of him a little too often.

“Are you ready to get back in bed?” She smiled at he nurse and told her that she was ready. Getting up slowly, walking gingerly, she was standing next to her bed before the nurse—the one from the other day who had nearly dropped her—could get to her. She didn’t want to be knocked around while she was still feeling sore. “There you go. Do you need any help getting in? I heard from the previous shift that that’s where you have the most issues.”

“I think I can do it. It’s just a matter of bending enough to touch the bed, then getting in. I know that I’m going to hurt, and that stops me from just doing it.” She said that she understood and was there for her. Bending at the waist quickly and sort of flopping into the bed, she was breathing in and out as the pain made her dizzy. Scooting around until she was in the center of the bed, she was covered up by the nurse. “Thank you. I forget every time to get the blankets before I get in the center of the bed.”

“You’re doing really well for someone who has broken ribs and a bruised kidney.” They had found out that her kidney was bruised, too, when she started peeing blood. It was difficult for her to go to the bathroom, too, without being afraid of what she might see this time. As she was getting comfortable as best she could, the nurse straightened up her chair that she’d been in. “You’ll have another X-ray in the morning before they’ll release you. It might be hard on you again, but I can make sure you’re given something for pain before you go down there.”

“Great.” She would be all right if they could give her some pain medication now, but she didn’t want to get hooked on the drugs. “Will I need to remember, or will it be on my chart? Tell me now so that I know what to expect.”

“I’ll put it on your chart, and if you remind them, then you’ll be sure to get your medications when you need them.” Satisfied with that, Trin waited for her dinner. She would much rather have had it in the chair, but she’d been in it for the past few hours and had needed a break. After the nurse left, she tried to adjust herself better without her help. The woman was really nice, but she was sort of clumsy. Her help would most of the time cause her pain, and she wasn’t really in the mood for more of that right now.

After her tray was taken away, she laid back on the bed. There was nothing on television right now, or anytime for that matter, and she dozed off and on. It was nice being able to rest up when there was no one around, but for now, she was going to take her naps when she could get them. The past year had been hard on her.

As she was getting ready for bed, she would be reminded of her pain when she got up to brush her teeth. She could have done it in bed, she supposed, but that wouldn’t have taken care of her pain. Just as she was getting back into her bed, she thought of her mom. She’d had trouble those last few months getting in and out of bed as well.

Her mom had had cancer when she’d come to live with her. She’d had surgery to take most of it from her lung. But when it came back after six years, she said that she wasn’t going to go through that again. No more cancer treatments or surgeries, she said, and that was final. Trin would do whatever she wanted so long as she had breath in her body and was in charge. It got harder for her as the months went by to remember the promise she’d made to her about taking her to the hospital. Mom wanted to die at home, and she wanted to be cremated. That was all she wished for when she was getting to the point that the cancer was taking over every aspect of her life. Trin was able to do just what she wanted and let her die in her own room in her house. Then, a few short days later, she was cremated so that she could keep her ashes in her room with her. She missed her mom every day of the week.

The next morning, she was taken to X-ray and was given her medication before she left. It was difficult to have x-rays because of the way they had her turn all the time. Just as she was going to beg them to stop, even with the medications that she’d had, they said they were finished. Trin was so happy to hear that, she cried a little before getting back to her room. Someone was waiting in her room when she got there.

“You probably don’t remember me, but my name is CarolAnn Smith. I was a good friend to your mother.” She did indeed remember her and asked how she was doing. “I should be asking that of you. How are you feeling after Tilly beat the snot out of you? And for what, I ask you?”

“She wanted mom’s checks; they’re still coming to the house.” She explained what had happened and how she’d ended up in the hospital. “I always knew that she was a bit on the mean side, but I never expected her to try and kill me while she was not getting what she wanted.”

“I’ve known Tilly since she and I were in school together. I bet she’s gotten even meaner since then.” She showed her the bruising on her hips and ribs and pointed to the places on her face where she had stitches. “Yes, I can see her doing that for something that didn’t belong to her. I’m glad that you’ve done something with the money so that she can’t get it. What are you going to do next month when the next check might come to you?”

“I don’t know. Hope she’s still in jail. But I doubt I’ll be that lucky.” She told her how she’d not expected her to beat her either. “Like I said, I knew she was mean to mom all the time, but she’s never been that way around me.”

“She’ll be in trouble now since the checks aren’t hers. And putting them in the bank was smart on your part. They’re going to come back looking for that money, and you’ve taken care that it’s safe. Do you have any idea what the fines are for cashing one of those checks that don’t belong to you? It’s a hefty sum of money.” She said that she’d looked it up online and had nearly fallen out of bed when she saw the amounts. “I know. I looked too when I was told what she was looking for.”

“She’s off her rocker if she thinks I’m going to just turn them over to her. I might be beaten up again, but I’m not stupid enough to think that she won’t somehow make this so it’s my fault that she cashed them.” CarolAnn agreed with her. “I don’t know why she’s got it in her head that she needs the money. I mean, Uncle Mark has a good job, and they both make good money.”

“She still selling those antiques?” She said that the last she’d heard, she was making a killing off of it. “Might be what she’s saying, but it might not be true. I’ve been by there daily on my way to work, and I’ve never seen a car in the drive but her own. Could she be having financial troubles?”

“I guess so. I didn’t have much to do with her when Mom was so sick. She’d come by about once a week but never stayed for very long. I think she hated that Mom had all my attention, and she didn’t. She was my mom. I just don’t get why she came over at all when I think about it.” CarolAnn said that she never saw her here when she came around. “No, you were here weekly, and it was much appreciated when you’d spell me for a while, too. It was nice to be able to run errands while you were here. You’ve no idea how much that saved my sanity.”

“I had to do the same when my mom was ill. There wasn’t anyone around but my boys to spell me, and they never liked it. They never cared much for my mom in the first place, so there was that too.” They both laughed. “She was a great deal like your aunt Tilly. Meaner than a rattlesnake when things weren’t going her way. I think she thought that I should have taken her place when she laid there dying. I never suggested it, but she hinted at it a great deal.”

Again, the two of them laughed. It was nice to be able to do that too, even though it caused her a great deal of pain. When she stood up to leave, Trin wanted to beg her to stay as she’d missed talking about her mom to someone who knew her. Instead, she held her hand when she offered it.

“They said I could go home today. I’m both looking forward to it and not. I don’t want to be alone.” She kissed her on the cheek, and she put her hand over it. “Thank you for that. I really don’t know what I would have done without you coming around when you did. You made being with mom easier, too, by just knowing that I was going to be getting a break. I hate that she died so young.”

“She was a young woman, too. And so are you. Don’t become old before your time and sit around the house moping for what you’ve lost.” She promised her that she’d not. “Good. I’ll send one of my boys over to get you moving again. I heard that you had a run-in with one of them already.”

“Bastain.” She knew that she sounded like his name was poison to her, but she knew that CarolAnn would understand. “He’s a bully and a smart ass. I hope you took him to task.”

“I didn’t. He also said you were too touchy. I wasn’t here and didn’t hear anything about it until Zavier told me that you two didn’t seem to get along.” She said that she liked Zavier. “He’s a good boy, and I’m glad that I have them all. They’ll help you when you need it, too. Just make sure you ask before you hurt yourself. All right?”