Chapter 22

Arrick hangs up, and I’m left holding my cell to my ear, sighing heavily, and staring into space for a minute before the smell of Coq Au Van comes wafting at me from the other room. I guess Janetta is laying the table in the kitchen with my food, signaling her getting ready to go to her own home down the hall. She comes back after I eat to clear up the dishes and put the apartment to rights before I go to bed, and she also leaves me supper.

I love having her so permanently close by as it means she can leave when I want alone time and doesn’t have to hang around when there is nothing for her to do. Arrick worked out a great deal with her so she could still tend to her home and husband in between managing me and always being on hand, even late at night. She doesn’t work for the money, as they are pretty well off and have a modest apartment in our complex, but she does it for the love of caring for people, she told me. Her kids grew up and moved away, and she misses family life.<