Elaine felt giddy as she brushed out her hair, staring at her glowing reflection in the mirror as the steam of the shower began to fog the edges. It had been so long since she had felt excited like this, trying to reel herself in so that she wouldn't get too ahead of herself – but the prospect of falling in love again excited her in ways she didn't think was possible for a woman of her age. Ideally she would have loved a man that was cultured, intellectual, and oozing class, but Gordon was a simple man with a charm about him that she found herself oddly drawn to. He had made it his mission to stop by every morning with flowers and coffee – despite the fact that she absolutely loathed coffee, she found herself drinking it any ways because he had gone to all that trouble. He liked to take her out for walks, especially down near the school yard that she loved so much, spending the time getting to know her the best that he could. Yes, he still liked to talk about himself a bit too much, but he was getting better at remembering to ask questions in return, and Elaine appreciated that he was willing to learn and grow as a person.
More than anything Elaine appreciated the company Gordon had to give, seeing as how he had spent most of his time with his cats and the host of Jeopardy – Elaine was welcome company to him as well. There were times when the two of them didn't see eye-to-eye, but Gordon was good about staying quiet while Elaine chirped at him. In fact, he kind of liked that Elaine was so headstrong, wishing he could also share in this quality. But instead he eased her stubbornness with his patience, and she learned to take it easier on him when they disagreed on a subject.
Elaine hadn't felt this good in such a long time, feeling like she was floating as she two-stepped around the bathroom with the brush still in her hand, humming a tune softly to herself as she imagined herself in a sequined dress and those red T-strap heels that sat unworn in her closet. She was determined to wear the shoes on the night of the recital, there was nothing that was going to stop her. She just needed to practice walking in them more, and perhaps all the exercise she was getting from walking with Gordon was paying off as well.
Carefully Elaine shed her robe, placing it on the hook behind the door before taking her time to cross the bathroom over to the shower. She was about to step into the shower when she forgot that she was still wearing her glasses, turning around too quickly and losing her balance. She stumbled for a moment, thinking she had stopped herself from falling, but she put the wrong amount of weight on her hip causing it to weaken beneath her. Within seconds she crashed to the floor, managing to catch herself on the side of the toilet so that she didn't land entirely on the floor, but enough that her hip screamed out in pain. She winced, hoping that she hadn't broken any bones, especially since the recital was only three weeks away. The most important thing to Elaine was being able to dance in front of everyone since she had put so much time into practising her routine. She wanted to show everyone how graceful she could move, that her old bones weren't holding her back – but now the future looked grim as she hugged the toilet bowl, her hip throbbing in pain as she called out for help.
~~~
I received the call pertaining to Elaine's fall when I stopped into work to grab my next delivery, quickly leaving work behind to head over to the hospital where Elaine was being held. They said she had injured herself but it didn't look serious, however that didn't matter to me – it mattered to me that Elaine had been hurt, specifically from getting into the shower when usually I was there to help her in some shape or form. When I arrived at the hospital, her daughter Jane was already there filling out some paperwork. Jane looked tired and slightly dishevelled as she penned out her information, gnawing gently on the side of her cheek. Sometimes when I looked at Jane a certain way it was as though I could see her mother when she was younger, a brief reminder of how many years Elaine had passed through. Jane immediately noticed my present and waved me over, explaining to me what had happened. Apparently Elaine had slipped while trying to get into the shower and had what seemed to be some bruising on her hip bone, though it didn't seem to be dislocated or worst yet – broken. She had hugged the toilet for safety for almost two hours before being able to get her feet beneath her so that she could call Jane for help.
"I don't know why she won't even consider a retirement home, she seems to think they're going to suck the life right out of her," Jane said, frustration leaking across her face as she swiped some of her short hair behind her ear. "I keep saying to her, ′Mom, you'll probably enjoy yourself and meet new people′ but it doesn't seem to do any good – she refuses to leave that old house."
"You have to remember how many years she's invested into the house, though, it has to be hard for her to think about giving it up," I added, shrugging my shoulders.
"Yes, I understand. But if it weren't for you, she would probably be living in complete filth. She won't even let us hire a nurse let alone a maid, and she would tear my head right off if I mentioned anything about asking you to take care of her full-time," Jane replied.
"She's a woman of her pride, but she does let me help her a lot more than she lets on."
"Exactly, so shouldn't we be paying you for your help? I feel like she's taking your services for granted."
I shook my head. "I don't consider what I do for your mom as a service, and I agree that I don't need to be paid to spend time with her. I feel like today is partially my fault because I've been so busy, I know I've been neglecting my time with her because of work and other personal things. I can't help but think of how her falling today could have been so much worse."
"Come on, Ellion, you deserve to be paid for what you do for her. I appreciate how much you care for my mother, but she can't treat you like her slave. You are a grown woman and you should be compensated for your time," Jane pushed, handing the papers over to the nurse across the desk from her. "Besides, if I can't convince her to go into a home, maybe I can find some way to sneak in full-time care for her? You would not only be doing me a favour, but her. She's so stubborn, you know that, but this is a huge set back. She's lucky she didn't hurt herself worse than she did, but what happens when this happens again?"
I thought over the prospect of looking after Elaine full-time, but realized that there was only about a month until she was going to pass away. I hated to be so selfish, but I couldn't risk giving up my job especially now that dad and I had more bills to pay for the damage done to the house by the fire. "I can try to spend more time with her, but I can't let you pay me for the time I do spend with her. I love your mom, I don't want her to think I'm there simply because of money or obligation – I care about her too much for her to think something like that, and you know how much she gets into her head," I said.
Jane nodded once, ushering me to follow her to Elaine's room. "Well, if you change your mind, you let me know as soon as possible. I'm sure she would come to understand eventually, and she would probably be grateful to have you around more," Jane concluded, opening the door to Elaine's room for me.
Elaine was laying back on the bed with a pillow beneath her hip to support it, bruises covered her frail arms and her bottom lip even looked slightly swollen. I forgot how easy it was for Elaine to bruise, especially since even the slightest bump caused her to discolour. She seemed to be in good spirits, a smile enveloping her face as soon as she laid eyes on me. I didn't figure she would be lying in the hospital bed feeling sorry for herself, that wasn't the way that Elaine worked. Instead, she made a joke about how she wasn't going to be able to pursue her dream of being an Olympic gymnast, which made Jane roll her eyes as Elaine cracked up. I was glad to see that she wasn't in much discomfort, but she went on to tell me how she was worried about performing her routine for the recital in a few weeks time. But the following Thursday she begged for us to go despite the fact that the doctor wanted her to rest her hip – it wasn't broken, it wasn't dislocated, but it was tender and needed time to heal. Elaine refused to sit around, and dance class had become the one and only thing she really looked forward to – that and seeing Gordon which she refused to outright admit.
When we attended the dance class, I found myself watching Gordon as he studied Elaine's every move. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly ajar as though Elaine was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and despite her discomfort because of her bruising she still managed to dance gracefully. I could see that there was something stirring between Gordon and Elaine, hoping that they would get the chance to see it through before her time came. All I wanted was for Elaine to find happiness in her last month of life, and if that happiness stemmed from Gordon than that was all that mattered to me.