Page 33 of Diamonds in the Mud

“Hey.” Aria answered on the third ring.

“Hey, tell me you have a slot empty in half an hour,” I asked.

Aria was quiet. “Your mom?”

“Yeah,” I answered.

“I’ll make the time. Come on down,” Aria said and hung up.

Leaning back, I closed my eyes and thought of all the good times I’d had thanks to Edith.

Just before Randy and James Lee, an officer who had died of heart failure five years ago, found me, the couple had just lost their only son, Randy Jr., to SIDS. It had been a miracle that they’d gotten pregnant with Randy Jr. The chances of it happening again were practically zero.

Then I’d come into their lives. If not for them, who knows where I would have ended up? Since becoming a cop, I’d seen many kids enter the system. Our county had implemented a new registry a few years back, thanks to Randy and Edith.

Our state had one of the highest numbers of children under the age of eleven in the foster care system. The last time I checked, there were over four thousand kids in the system, and only a quarter of that was for registered families.

I’d thought about adding my name to that list, but my job and my current life could not handle such an endeavor. At least not at the moment.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked Edith as I drove us into town. “I don’t want you to feel like I strongarmed you into this.”

She chuckled. “Sweetie, I was never the one who fell for your big puppy dog eyes. It was your father who always caved to your demands.”

I chuckled. It was true. Edith had always been the stronger parent while Randy, well, he was slush when it came to me. The man had always given me everything I’d ever asked for. If I wanted two helpings of dessert, he’d give it to me. Whenever I got in trouble or received a bad grade, I’d tell Randy first. The punishment was always lighter than what I received when Edith found out first.

Still, in the past few years, we’d grown closer than we had when I’d lived under her roof. I never doubted her love for me. Not once.

When we’d found out the first time about her cancer diagnosis, it had hit all of us hard. That first surgery, the double mastectomy, I’d taken off work to be by her side. I’d been the one to watch over her, empty her drains, and give her a sponge bath. I’d stuck by her side for weeks until she’d fully recovered.

The next two surgeries, the removal of lymph nodes and her thyroid, I’d been there as well. Maybe seeing her in such a vulnerable state when she’d always been the strong one changed the way I saw her.

My personality and hers were so much alike that often, when I spoke out, I’d hear her voice in my head saying the same words.

I parked in front of Jazzed Up Hair Salon.

Aria waved at us through the large windows.

“Ready?” I asked Edith.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

For the next hour, the salon was filled with tears and laughter. This wasn’t the first time that Aria had to shave a woman’s head or fit her with a wig. It was, however, the first time I’d witnessed it.

To my surprise, halfway through the process, Charlotte walked in carrying pink roses and balloons along with cupcakes for everyone in the room.

Somehow, they’d managed to turn it into a celebration instead of the death of what some considered to be a woman’s most important beauty feature.

I had to admit, the wig looked so much better than the patches of scraggly hair she had earlier.

“I feel like a new woman,” Edith said, reaching out and taking my hand and squeezing it softly. “Thank you.” She took Aria’s hand too. “Both of you. All of you.” She laughed as she looked over at Charlotte.

“You look amazing.” Charlotte smiled.

The silver wig matched Edith’s old hair almost perfectly. Aria had purchased it with her in mind when we’d found out she had to go through chemo this time.

Honestly, I couldn’t have found a better friend to watch out for the woman who had watched out for me.

“Thank you,” I said, hugging Aria.