Steeling myself for the possibility that I was wrong and the voices I heard were those of thieves or murderers, I quietly opened the door and listened more closely for a moment. What I picked up on was the sound of Frisco’s toenails clattering excitedly on the tiles in the kitchen and what I realized now were the voices of two women.
Stepping inside, I closed the door behind me and strode across the entryway to the open kitchen and family room. On the couch sat Liz.
My stepmother. The woman who was supposed to be in Central America.
Another woman, dressed in nurse’s scrubs, was walking toward Liz with a bottle of water, Frisco at her heels.
At the sound of my gasp, they both turned to look at me.
“Oh, Tyler, there you are,” Liz said, giving me a wave. “I’m sorry. I hope we didn’t scare you.”
“Of course not. I’m just surprised. What’s going on? What are you doing here?” I stood frozen for a long moment, feeling…what? Surly. Irritated. Maybe even downright angry.
What was she doing here? Didn’t she realize this would ruin everything?
Reminding myself that this was her home, I moved through the open kitchen and into the living room area, intending to give her a perfunctory hello hug. It wasn’t until I got around to the other side of the couch that I realized she’d been injured. Her left leg was in a cast, her right arm was in a sling, and there were bruises and scrapes along both sides of her face.
“Liz! You’re hurt!” I stepped forward and lowered myself onto the coffee table in front of her, feeling terrible about my attitude. This changed everything. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Forgive me, Father. Forgive me for being so selfish.
With her good hand, Liz waved away my concerns, as if half her body wasn’t covered in bandages.
“I’ll be fine.” She gingerly repositioned herself, stuffing a second pillow under her injured leg. I noticed that she had cut her hair short since the last time I’d seen her, three years ago. Other than that, and except for her injuries, she hadn’t changed much. She was still petite and golden brown from the sun, still attractive in a neat, “mom” sort of way.
“Tyler, this is a friend and coworker from the hospital, Nancy,” Liz said, gesturing toward the other woman. “Nancy, this is my stepson, Tyler.”
“Nice to meet you, Tyler. Sorry we startled you. Liz didn’t want to make a big fuss and call ahead.” Nancy tossed this comment back to my stepmother.
“Don’t be dramatic.” Liz winced as she sat back and repositioned the arm that was in the sling. Frisco jumped into her lap, causing her to gasp, though whether from pain or surprise I wasn’t sure. Oblivious, he licked her face, and she responded by putting her good arm around him and snuggling him close.
“What happened?” I said again.
“It’s so stupid. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“She was in a dilapidated house in Honduras and it fell in on her,” Nancy said. “She’s lucky to still be alive.”
“Oh, Nancy,” Liz scoffed. “You weren’t even there. The whole house didn’t collapse.”
“Yeah, well, the part you were in did. That’s what matters.”
“Does Dad know?” I asked.
“Not yet. I was waiting to call him until I got home. He would have been a basket case if he had found out while I was still out of the country.”
I still couldn’t quite believe she was here. “How did it happen? When did it happen?”
“Yesterday morning, while I was on a home visit. It had been raining a lot, and the house where the family lived was very old and rickety. Without a solid foundation, one of the walls just collapsed in the saturated soil.”
I shook my head, trying not to picture it.
“At least there were people right outside who helped us get out from under the mess.”
“Wow.”
“No one in the house was seriously hurt. One of my team members patched me up at the local hospital, but I’ll need to go in tomorrow for a proper cast on my ankle. We think it’s fractured. My shoulder’s not broken, just badly bruised. I got the first flight out of Tegucigalpa this morning.”
“And Brady doesn’t know either?”
She shook her head and then asked almost wistfully, “How is Brady? We’ve spoken on the phone a few times, and he sounds good, but I’ve missed him. Has everything been working out okay here without your dad and me around?”
“We’re fine, though he’s going to be upset when he finds out you didn’t call to tell him about any of this.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “I didn’t want people freaking out. It’s easier this way. I contacted Nancy and asked her if she could get off a little early and pick me up at the airport. It’s done now. I’m home. I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow and get a new cast. It’s as simple as that.”
The knowledge that Liz had called a coworker to pick her up instead of her stepson was hurtful somehow, and it reminded me of the distance that had always been between us. Pushing those thoughts aside, I asked what I could do now to help. Again, Liz waved away the question.