"My momma ain't exactly an angel," I told her.
Her eyebrows lifted.
"What happened to her?"
"Why don't you give her a chance to tell it her
own way?" Misty asked Jade.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It just makes me. . .
mad." I widened my eyes.
"It doesn't exactly put joy in my heart either:' I
said.
Jade's lips stretched into a tight smile. Damned
if I didn't know whether I should hate her or like her. "Momma didn't realize Daddy was gone for
good that first night he walked out on us, of course.
She made us some supper and sat drinking her beer all
night and watching television. I put Rodney to bed.
He was groggy and tired from his ordeal, but he was
still in some pain. The paramedics had instructed us to
give him some Tylenol, which I did. I sang a little to
him and his eyes slowly closed.
"After he had fallen asleep, I went out and sat
with Momma and watched television awhile, hoping
Daddy would come home while I was still up, but he
didn't. Finally, exhausted myself, I went to sleep. "As soon as my eyes snapped open the next
morning, I hopped out of bed and looked in on
Momma and Daddy's bedroom, expecting to see his
long, lanky body stretched over the comforter, his arm
dangling over the side as usual. He usually ended up
on the cover instead of under it.
"Momma had fallen asleep with her clothes still
on and was spread-eagle, alone, breathing through her
mouth and looking like she had been put into a trance.