The Last Maharajan (Romantic Thriller/Women's Fiction) (19 page)

“Mom.” Euly whispered now. “I’m sorry for not being there for you. No, no. I’m not talking about now, I’m talking about then when you might’ve needed someone to talk to. I know you don’t need any apologies, but I want to give you one, okay. Just let me, this one time. Okay?” Euly was holding her own conversation with her mother as she laid there unconscious.

She needed to call Enaya again.

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

Euly’s head rested on the bed but she wasn’t asleep. She heard the desperate steps from down the hall approaching Belle’s room when Enaya raced in. Euly lifted her head off the damp on the bed spot and turned to look at her sister.

She couldn’t stop her chin from quivering.

Shook her head. “It’s over.”

“Oh God, no.”

“I told you to come as soon as you could. Where were you?” She looked at her watch but it was only seven. Belle had hung on until only moments ago. Euly began to cry.

“Eu, I just couldn’t get here. I’m sorry. Let’s not do this now. Okay?” Her sister walked over to see their mother.

Euly looked at her. She looked weathered and older today, harried and unkempt.

“I’m sorry, sis.” Euly held her hand out for her. Enaya walked in stolid steps over to Belle and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it once and then let it go. She bent over and kissed Belle’s forehead.

“Mom,” Enaya paused and then whispered. “I tried so hard to get here. Really I did.”

“She knows.”

Euly stood and pressed closer to her sister. She grabbed Enaya around the waist and pulled her closer. Enaya turned into her face into Euly’s shoulder and cried. It felt odd, her older sister always weakened when dealing with family issues. Somehow Euly realized her sister’s weakness grew out of fear. She couldn’t face the pain and so Enaya hid, escaped, ran away from to distance herself from the torture and grief. Euly remembered she had done it when their father died. She patted Enaya’s back and squeezed her tighter.

“Enaya. I told her you would be here and here you are.” Enaya buried her head in her sister’s shoulder and they stood by Belle, the three women of the family together again. Then, she lifted her mother’s covers. “Come on. Let’s get lie next to her one last time.”

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

They filled out all the necessary paperwork and collected the last bit of their mother’s belongings. They were zipped up and handed to them in a large plastic see-through laundry bag. Geoff showed up and helped them get most of her things for them.

Euly held the bag. From what she could tell, it contained the clothes her mother was wearing when she passed, a notepad and pens, her slippers and a silver chain holding a key. While she scanned it she wondered how many people had done the same thing in this very spot. She looked at the floor where she stood.

“Is that it then?” Enaya handed back the papers she’d signed to the administrator.

“That’s all. We’re so sorry for your loss.” The woman’s standard dismissal moved Euly and Enaya away from the desk and down the hall. Euly wanted to offer a snide retort but halted. What else could the woman say? It was just a job to her. She was probably a mother herself, thinking of her own children, wanting to finally go home.

Even so, it felt funny leaving for the last time. Euly figured she’d miss the place and her visits there.

Enaya and she didn’t speak until they got outside.

“I’ll follow you home.”

“Okay.”

The two women hugged each other longer than normal then broke away and walked to their cars. Euly noticed a young boy and his mother walking toward her. He had a small nosegay with silver and gold balloons attached. It had bright pink cartoon lettering reading, Happy Birthday, Gramma! The boy chirped away asking his mother a question and she gave him in what seemed to be the standard response, her answer. “Yes dear.” She ignored him for the most part as they passed. The woman stared at the doors to the hospice without a trace of emotion. Euly stopped and turned to watch her while she pushed the boy along with one hand on his back. His small feet worked double-time to hers. Her right hand was hoisted in the air, keeping her purse slung into the crotch of her elbow. Steps away she heard her say again in her robotic tone. “Yes dear.” She continued to hum and repeat as they walked until they entered the hospice and disappeared inside.

The sun was battling clouds low in the morning sky and the air was damp with mist. Euly turned her face to the gold rays. It felt warm while the mist filled the every thread of her clothes and sending a chill sweeping over her skin and making it pop. A shiver ran down her back.

When Enaya beeped the horn, Euly jumped.

She put her hand to her chest and took in a breath. Enaya lifted her hands in a question. Euly rushed to open her car door, tossed in the plastic bag and said, sorry, to her.

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

Excitement seeped in for the first time since their mother died. Euly felt it bubbling up as they decided where Enaya would sleep.

“You’ll be more comfortable there at Mom’s. We won’t be bumping into each other. You can poke around in all her stuff. I have. You’ll have fun.”

“I don’t know. You won’t mind?”

“Why would I mind?”

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t want you to think I didn’t want to stay with you.”

“Did you ever consider the possibility we don’t want you to stay with us.” Her ribbing went unappreciated.

“Well, I kind of want to.”

“Want to what?”

“Stay at Mom’s.”

“You should. I’ve been through her stuff so many times I’ve lost track. Besides, when was the last time you were here?” She watched her sister as she tried to remember the year. “Stay at mom’s. It’s really sweet.”

Enaya smiled. She seemed to get a little giddy about it.

“Come on. I’ll get one of your bags. Why did you bring two suitcases? Where did you think you were staying, the Hilton?”

“Shut up. I always pack like this.”

“It’s just a week.”

“Drop it.”

“A week, Enaya, not a month.”

“Okay. Okay.”

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN

The house was bright even though the sun had now been consumed by thick low-hanging clouds again. It was a time of year when the sun could not be relied upon.

Enaya opened the door. She was happy when her sister mentioned it first.

“Oh my God. That smell.”

“Isn’t it great?”

“It smells just like mom.”

Enaya dropped her bag in the doorway partly blocking Euly. She padded her way into and through the cottage like a kid entering Disneyland. She walked over to the rustic wooden stairs leading up to the loft.

“She climbed these?”

“Up until she moved into the hospice although I think there might’ve been about a week where she stayed on the couch. But, yeah, she climbed them.” Euly pushed the bag with one foot into the house and closed the door.

“Jeez. Look at this place.”

“I know.”

Enaya grabbed the makeshift rope railing and stepped onto the first step. She climbed with her head angled upward staring dead ahead. “Ohmygod.” She said it out loud but hadn’t intended it for anyone else but herself. Euly smiled. She understood her sister’s anticipation. She hadn’t been there in four years, not since the fight. There were ghosts up there.

“I’ll make some tea.” But Enaya didn’t answer as she walked up the stairs.

Euly pulled out two of her mother’s favorite teacups and the pot that matched them. She ran hot water into the teapot. The water clanged against its metal bottom until it reached a deep enough level. She placed the pot on a burner and remembered the gas needed to be lit with a match. A long red lighter was next to the stove on the counter. She flicked it on and held it to the burner. It belched out a flame that subsided as quickly as it had lit. She adjusted the setting to high and went to the cupboard where Belle kept her tea. Squatting down to see, she spotted five hand-painted tins with labels each marking the blend within – Earl Grey, Paris, Green Mint, Orange Spice and English Breakfast. Euly decided to treat her sister to the Paris blend this morning. It was the one Belle had told her was for special guests. She didn’t think she’d mind this one time and who could be more special than her sister right now, right there.

The tin bloomed out a fragrance that wafted up in sweet tones of vanilla and jasmine when she opened the lid.

“Oh God.”

“Are you all right?” Her sister called down from the loft.

“Fine. Sorry. This tea is haunting.”

“She was amazing, huh?”

“Yep.” She wanted to tell her she had missed a lot but didn’t. It wasn’t necessary.

Enaya’s footsteps creaked above her head and she smiled. It reminded of visits to her mother’s in the past when Euly would help herself to her favorite tea then. It was as if her mother were still there. The thought stopped her in her tracks until she hear her sister coming back down the stairs.

“Wow. How many boxes did you guys pack?”

“Oh, several.” The pot hissed lightly where a light stream of steam escaped. It jiggled from the water inside as it began to boil. “Tea’s almost ready.”

“Mm. It smells delicious. What is this one?”

“Paris.”

“Uh-oh. Mom’s best blend. Are you sure we should?” Enaya sounded like a kid.