Chapter 11

Grace had Sundays off and what she liked to do most was absolutely nothing. With the weather outside turning decidedly chilly, there was nothing nicer than snuggling deep under her blankets and sleeping the day away.

"Grace! Get up! I need you to drive me to the mall!" her mother bellowed through the closed and locked door. The lock had become necessary due to her mother's drinking. More than once Grace had found her drunken mother wandering around in her room in the middle of the night. Freaked her out so the lock went on.

"GO AWAY MOM! It's my fucking day off!" Grace yelled from under her blankets.

"Language Grace! I need you to drive. You know my license lapsed," Shirley called through the door.

Grace pushed the blankets down and looked at the clock. 10AM. Ugh.

Then it hit her. Her Mom wanted to leave the house! She hadn't done that for… well, not since she got back from the hospital. What the fuck was going on with her! It had to be more than Ed's massaging her back.

She dragged herself out of bed and plodded over to her door to open it. On the other side was a stranger. Long, beautiful brown hair freshly washed and styled. Face scrubbed clean and wearing make-up? Not overly done either. Just a subtle application of eye shadow, mascara, a hint of blush, and lipstick. Grace blinked and rubbed at her eyes. She looked closer. Her mom looked, just a little… younger. She was smiling?!?

"Good morning love! Take your shower and get dressed. I need to get some new underthings. Mine are hideous!" Shirley chirped happily. She patted her daughter's cheek then went down the stairs, her long hair bouncing and swaying. Her mom hadn't moved that quickly down a staircase since before the accident.

Grace went back into her room and got some clothes. She took her shower, dressed, and met her mom down in the kitchen. There was an amazing smell coming from the room and Grace froze when she saw her mom scooping an omelette onto a plate.

"Here you go love. Eat quick then we have to go! Time's wasting!" the woman smiled at her.

"Who are you and what have you done with my mother! Never mind, I'll keep you instead!" Grace mumbled as she sat at the table with the delicious smelling breakfast.

Shirley laughed and patted her shoulder. "I just feel so much better now that my back hurts so much less. I know we can't afford the new mattress for me right now so I'm going to do my part to reduce our expenses. I'm giving up the booze. That will be hard but it will also save us a lot of money. I'm also weaning myself off the Percocet. I'd like you to take me to the free clinic downtown to see what they suggest for helping me through the withdrawal. I might have to do it cold turkey and that terrifies me but I want my life back. I'm going to try to get a job, whatever I can get to help out around here."

Grace was looking at her mother, waiting for her to start laughing and tell her it was all a cruel joke. Then she realized it wasn't. "Are you back mama?" she said with a trembling voice.

"Yes, baby. I'm back. I'm so sorry you had to carry me for so long," Shirley replied with trembling lips.

Grace leapt to her feet and pulled her mother into a hug as her tears burst forth. She didn't grip too hard as her mother's back had been bad for so long. Shirley couldn't hold back her own tears as she clung to her daughter.

Once they got control of themselves again Shirley pulled away and said she had to touch up her make-up. Grace sat down and ate her breakfast. It was as good as it smelled. She put the dishes into the sink and saw Ed had set up the stove for one of his slow roasts. Her mouth was watering already.

Sleeping in she'd missed Ed this morning. He was working the early shift again at the home center. It was his last shift of the season. That little extra income of his would be drying up. He was hoping they could find another use for him in another department but it was likely he would be without a job for the next little while.

She'd tried finding out who had hurt Ed the other night but she wasn't part of his social circle so she got nowhere. That just frustrated the hell out of her but she should have known better. They wouldn't talk to the sister of the one they pranked.

He'd been a little distant with her lately and that made her worry. Ed was such an important part of her life she didn't want to lose him.

Shirley returned looking refreshed. Grace pulled her thoughts back to the present and looked closer at her mother. "The skin on your face, it looks brighter, softer. What products have you been using?"

Her mother blushed oddly. "A woman has to keep some secrets. When you begin to show your age I'll tell you the secret." A coy smile slipped onto on her lips. "Are you ready? We have much to do!"

Grace looked at her mother and smiled. She'd have to thank Ed later for fixing her mother's spine. It was good to have her on her way back from the drunk miserable mess she'd been. She only hoped she wouldn't chicken out because of the withdrawal. She grabbed her keys.

"Let's go!"