Page 100 of The Challenge

Effie smiled but looked up at me in confusion.

“I think you remind her of herself when she was little,” I whispered.

Mom seemed to see a bit of herself in everyone.

“Hi,” Effie said softly, but Mom didn’t respond.

“Has my mother eaten?” I asked her caregiver, Millie.

“She had half of the yogurt.”

“I guess that’s better than nothing.”

Mom didn’t say anything else, and Effie sat quietly, observing. After a few minutes, I encouraged Effie to follow me out of the room.

“Your mom seems nice,” she said.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Effie was reaching. “That’s kind of you to say. I know she didn’t say much, but I like to think she appreciates the company.” As we walked down the hall, I asked, “What do you want to do?”

“Can I see my room?”

“Of course. You don’t need permission to see your bedroom.”

As we entered, I said, “You know what I found? This website that lets you upload a photo of a room and then you can see what it looks like with different colors and accessories. Want to play around with that?”

“Yes!”

Effie waited as I went to fetch my laptop. Then I brought two chairs from downstairs and set them up in the room, along with a TV tray that became a makeshift desk.

For the next hour, we used the various tools on the site to design her room. I knew Evan planned to buy her a new white bed once they moved in, but I ordered her a new comforter, curtains, and some other accessories. I couldn’t help myself. And it was the least I could do after everything Evan had done for me. He didn’t have all that much time for this kind of thing, and I wanted Effie to have the dream room she deserved.

When Evan came to pick her up a little before dinnertime, she was beaming. He didn’t stay long, though, instead opting to get her home, fed, and ready for bed.

After they left, sadness washed over me. I’d kind of hoped Evan would invite me to come back to their house for a little bit, even if it was late. He knew Millie was here until eleven, so I could’ve easily spent more time with them. Now that I was living separately, a certain distance had developed between us that was more than just physical. Was it my imagination? As I made myself something for dinner, I ruminated about it.

My worst fears were confirmed later that night. I’d been sitting in the living room, trying to get my mind off of things by bingeing a reality TV show when Evan called around ten PM.

I smiled as I lowered the volume and picked up his call. “Hey, Evan.”

“Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to thank you again for watching her today.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“She told me she met Judy.”

“Yeah. Mom was quiet, but she called her little Judy when we first walked in.”

“Effie mentioned that. It’s sweet, but sad, too.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.”

“How’s your mom doing tonight?”

“She’s sleeping, thankfully. Once Millie leaves around eleven, the rest of the night is on me. Fortunately, nothing crazy has happened overnight yet. She mostly stays sleeping. I have a baby monitor in my room. I did have to change her once, but that was a one-off.”