“Oh, well you certainly found one.” I’m not going to tell her about the little encounter at the shop, but I should have pegged Savannah for one of Hazel’s. The old woman has always had a soft spot for the reckless, lost, and desperate, and the kind of girl who climbs all over the nearest guy like she hasn’t been properly fucked in months sure fits the bill.

“Well, the rest of you all grew up and left me. Can you blame me?”

A sting of guilt pinches the nerves in my chest, but I clear my throat and light the cigarette in my hand.

“How did you find her?”

She laughs. “I put an ad in the paper. First, I asked for a nurse...but the applicants were awful.”

This means they were probably too qualified and too serious.

“So then I changed the ad and asked for someone to do menial, degrading work for a very low price.” She laughs again. “I hired Savannah on the spot. She was obviously just out of a bad relationship. On her own for the first time. Alone and desperate.”

“Your favorite,” I growl.

“Don’t you judge me. I’ve got more money than I can spend at this point. And from what? Marrying bad men? Surviving?”

“I’m sorry,” I say, interrupting her. “I just don’t want to see you getting taken advantage of.”

“That’s exactly what I want, Murph. Now stop treating me like I’m already senile. I can take care of myself.”

At that moment, Savannah returns with a tall glass of sweet tea and places in front of Hazel.

“Ruby’s coming,” she whispers to Hazel. “Don’t let her see that, please.”

“Oh, fuck her,” Hazel quips back, which makes both Savannah and I snicker quietly. “I’m dying. I can do whatever I want.”

Those words feel like a punch to the gut, and I have to swallow down the emotion that lodges itself in my throat. Even when Ruby comes out and starts her little fit over the cigarette, I can’t even manage a smile. I can only think about the year of Hazel’s passing life that I missed because I was too caught up in my own drama, losing someone else that I cared about. Wallowing in misery over my own fucked up life.

And she does look paler and thinner than I expected. Her shoulders are gaunt, like the body of an already dead person. Her cheeks are hollowed in more than before, and her once tan skin is so pale, she looks like she may wither away to ash at any second.

“Leave her alone, Ruby,” I growl.

All eyes at the table are on me. It’s specifically Savannah’s stare that catches my attention. The tension is thick, the risk of emotions even more dangerous than ever.

“Ruby, I think I’ll go lie down for a bit,” Hazel says with her focus on me. Before standing up, she subtly gestures toward Savannah, as if she wants me to stay and talk to her.