A Visitor

*Hezzlie*

“Mama!”
I am a blubbering, sobbing mess as I wrap my arms around my mother and back into the room, dragging her along with me. Wilma is there, too, but she quietly closes the door and leaves the two of us alone. I hold onto Mom for what seems like an hour, both of us crying and carrying on like we haven’t seen each other in years.
It seems that way. When she finally pries herself away from me, she holds me at arm’s length and looks me over. “You’re so skinny!” she says. Her eyes trace my arms, and the scars from the glass have her shaking her head. She also lingers on the bruises, but then, she’s looking into my eyes again. “I’ve missed you so much.”
I can’t talk or else I’ll start crying again. I want to tell her how much I’ve missed her, how I thought I was going to die in there without her, but instead, I just swipe at my tears and finally manage to say, “How have you been?”
“Good,” she lies. Then she shakes her head. “Well, as good as can be expected. What about you, baby? How are you?”
Before I start to answer her, I gesture to the seating area over by the window, and she follows me across the room. We sit down next to the beautiful view of what can only be described as an enchanted village, and I try to determine what to tell her and what to leave out.
“Peripheral was rough,” I begin, taking in a deep breath. “The first doctor I saw wasn’t very nice, and most of the nurses didn’t really care about the patients. I made a few friends.” I hope that someone said goodbye to Kayla and Mia for me, and it hurts my heart to know they’re still in there. “But Dr. Bolton was nice. He’s the one that brought me here.”
She nods. “Yes, I spoke to him this morning. He is a nice man, I think.” Her eyes flicker to the castle in the mountains across the expanse, and I think I see her recoil slightly. Then, she returns her attention to me. “Dean is very nice as well.”
“Dean?” I repeat the name and then shake my head. “I haven’t met him yet. Just Dr. Bolton, Wilma, and…” I hesitate but finally wrap my tongue around his name, “Rowan.”
I see her eyebrows meet as she shakes her head. “I haven’t met him yet.
“Wilma says he’s a king.” I roll my eyes. “I think she must’ve meant he’s the king of this place or something, like everyone does what he says. It’s not like he could be an actual king.” I remember she hadn’t just called him a king, though. She said “Alpha King.” I leave that out because I don’t know what it means, and Mom won’t either, I don’t think.
She sucks in a deep breath, and her eyes return to the window. “I’m not sure, honey. This place is different from where we live.”
Now, she’s got my attention. “What do you mean? Have you been here before?”
Slowly, Mom nods. “Yes. Just once. I came through here on my way to a party with some friends right after high school.” She swallows hard, and now, she won’t look at me. “I’m not sure if the party was technically in this city or the one across the valley. It’s hard to navigate in this place, what with all the mountains and whatnot. Anyway, my friend had heard about this party, and even though it was a long drive, we wanted to go. So we did.”
“That sounds fun.” I’m not sure why she’s being so hesitant, so I try to encourage her.
She doesn’t lift her head. “I met a man there. A handsome, powerful man. Instantly, he had my attention. I drank a lot that night. That wasn’t something I was used to. He asked me to dance, and I did. We spent a lot of time together, and then, he asked me to go to a hotel with him.” A pained expression takes over her face as she pauses.
I’m not sure what to say or do. I’ve never heard this story before, and I understand why. My mom never drinks alcohol–maybe now I know why.
She skips ahead. “When I got ready to leave, he had a driver take me back to the house where the party was being held. My friends were still there. It had only been an hour or so. They’d tried to call me, but cell service is spotty at best around here. Anyway, we went home, and when I woke up the next morning, I could hardly remember anything. I’d had so much to drink, I couldn’ even remember what he looked like or his name.”
Mom finally lifts her eyes to look at me, but it’s just for a moment. She lets out a deep breath, and I reach over and put my hand on her knee.
“A few months later, I realized I was pregnant.”
I gasp. I can’t help it. This isn’t what I’ve always been told about my father. She said he was a boy from high school, that he’d left us when I was a few weeks old because he couldn’t handle the responsibility.
I know that my grandparents, her parents, had been so upset at her for getting pregnant right out of high school that they’d made her leave the house. She had a few thousand dollars saved up for college, and that’s how we survived while she found multiple jobs. I stare at her now, my eyes filling with tears, not sure what to say.
“I’m sorry, Hezzlie.” It’s just a whisper, but he’s looking into my eyes now. “I should’ve told you the truth, but I was embarrassed.”
“It’s okay, Mama.” I throw my arms around her and hold her tight, and once again, we are both crying. “You did everything you could to give me a good life.”
“I could’ve tried to find him. I could’ve asked for support or something–”
“No,” I say, pulling back to look at her. “He wouldn’t have wanted me. You knew that. You could tell from that one night with him what kind of a man he is. Who does that? Who takes a girl he doesn’t even know, one who’s barely legal, to a hotel room, does… what he did… and then just drops her off? What an asshole!” I rarely swear in front of my mother, but she doesn’t even blink when I do.
She has a far off look in her eyes now as she stares at her hands, folded in her lap .“I don’t know. I never came back here to try and find him. I don’t know if he ever told me his name. All I remember is that his hair was a dark blond, and he had very nice clothing. He had money, I could tell.” She pauses for a second, and I see a memory flicker to the front of her mind. “He did have unusual cufflinks, though.”
“Unusual?” I repeat.
She nods. “Yes. They were… silver. And they were shaped like… wolves.” She meets my gaze now, and I find myself choking on air.
After a moment, I manage to repeat that word–the one that has come to mean “crazy” in my mind. “Wolves?”
“Yes. They were silver wolves with red eyes. Like rubies, or something. I do remember that.” An apologetic look takes over her face, like she thinks maybe it’s my father who is somehow responsible for my obsession with all things lupine.
“Probably a coincidence,” I tell her. “Although, I’m sure you saw the wolf statues on the front porch.”
“I did. And the artwork. That’s what made me think about it. Maybe there are a lot of wolves around here. Perhaps they are popular with the people who live in the area.”
“That makes sense.” I take a deep breath and decide to change the subject. “Did you ever get the car fixed?”
“No. I had to pay your hospital bills the best I could, or they were going to move you to a different facility, a state run one that looked even worse.”
“Oh. How have you been getting to work?” I ask, still gripping her hand.
“I’ve been catching a ride or walking.” She says it like it’s not a big deal, but our house is far from all of her jobs. “It won’t matter now.” Mom’s face lights up. “At least there’s some good that’s come from all of this.”
Confused, I tilt my head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“The money,” she begins, but I’m still lost. “Didn’t Dr. Bolton tell you? He said your coming here for this program involves a grant. It’s enough money for me to buy a new car and buy that little house down the street. When you finally do come home, you’ll be able to go to college.”
I am no less confused than I was when she started talking. No one has said anything to me about any money. “How… how much is it?” I stutter.
“A half a million dollars, Hezzlie. We’re finally going to be okay.” She squeezes my hand, and I force a smile.
But something about this isn’t right. What the hell are they paying my mom that kind of money for?
My eyes flicker to the door. Someone has a lot of explaining to do.