Neil’s mother Mrs. Leonora Holmes had always intimidated Eliza. She was very protective of her boys, especially Neil. Leonora had never made it a secret that she didn’t think Eliza was good enough for her son.
The Holmes family had moved to Harper’s Crossing right before the twins started high school. They lived in the only upscale neighborhood in town. It was a small community of mini-mansions nestled between the golf course and a large manmade lake.
Eliza had grown up in a normal middle-class family and lived in a 1200 square foot house, a house that she loved. She’d never forgotten the look on Leonora Holmes’ face when she’d dropped Eliza off after Neil had invited her to dinner to meet his family. Her expression had been equal parts horror and disgust that her son was mixing with the lower class.
Eliza knew that she would inevitably run into the woman, since Harper’s Crossing was such a small town, but she hadn’t considered the idea that she’d have to treat her. Or that Leonora Holmes would be her first patient.
Jarmen’s face lit up as she nodded, her chestnut hair falling over her shoulder as she did. Her smile was filled with warmth and her tone affectionate. “Yep, she’s quite a character. Dr. Lewis always referred to her as an ornery handful. But don’t worry, her bark is much worse than her bite.”
Eliza didn’t have to refer to the chart in her hands to know that the Mrs. Holmes that she’d be treating was not Leonora. She may not have seen her in almost a decade, but she seriously doubted that woman would ever bring a smile to anyone’s face. And Leonora’s bite was worse than her bark.
When she glanced down at the file she saw that she would be treating Ada Holmes, Neil’s grandmother.
Oh, thank God.
Ada Holmes or Nana Holmes, as those close to her called her, was indeed a spitfire just as Jarmen had described but she was also one of the kindest, most generous and most entertaining people that Eliza had ever known. She’d always gravitated to the matriarch of the Holmes family at any gathering, formal affair or social event that she’d been obligated to attend as Neil’s girlfriend. The truth was, she’d missed Ada terribly over the years and was excited that she’d get a chance to see her again.
And in fifteen minutes that was going to happen. There was only one thing that was keeping the reunion from being completely stress-free. Ada Holmes could see through people like they were made of freshly Windexed glass windows. Neil used to tease her and say that she was a human lie detector. He’d boasted that there was only one person in the world that he couldn’t con, his grandmother, which looking back should’ve been a red flag, but she’d been young.
The last thing she wanted was for the woman that she respected to know that her life was a mess. She also had to practice not having any reaction whatsoever when the inevitable subject of her grandsons came up…especially Nate. She had fifteen minutes to get her best Lady Gaga on and work on her p-p-p-poker face.