Cliff's Good Deed

35 - Round Two

When Hannah had her conversation with Izzy in the Hershey Park Ladies Room, the two of them had exchanged cellphone numbers. It was the only number she had for Cliff's family, so she called Cliff's sister to let her know what had happened. Izzy and Aaron were out of the area and wouldn't be back for a few hours, but Izzy asked her to stay with her brother until someone else from the family could arrive.

Unfortunately, that family member turned out to be Cliff's mother. She wore what appeared to be a designer dress and handbag, a hat in the style of Jacqueline Onassis, and donned in a pair of white gloves as if she were royalty.

Hannah set aside her distaste of the woman's ostentatious demeanor and earlier confrontation and calmly explained how Cliff had been injured.

Cliff's mother listened without interrupting. After Hannah finished, the older woman approached Cliff's bedside and took her son's hand. He was asleep. She showed little emotion. Turning to Hannah, she said, "Please summon a doctor. I desire a full accounting of my son's injuries and treatment options."

Hannah could've relayed the information to her since she had just spoken with Cliff's care team, but she didn't think her explanation would satisfy his mother. To keep the peace between them, she complied.

A few minutes later, an orderly arrived with a wheelchair and woke Cliff. He explained how he was supposed to wheel him to imaging for an MRI of his head.

Cliff sat up on his own and got into the wheelchair. He looked past his mother and smiled for Hannah. "I don't know why I need to wear this ridiculous hospital gown. Don't peek at my butt."

She was pleased Cliff appeared in good spirits. "I'm the one who tied the gown for you, so I definitely saw your butt."

He frowned and looked confused. Could it be his brain was so rattled he didn't remember?

"He'll be gone the better part of an hour," the orderly said as he wheeled away his patient.

Hannah stood alone in the room with Cliff's mother who ignored her by looking out the window. She decided she could be the bigger person. "Mrs. Ortega, can I buy you a cup of coffee in the cafeteria while we wait?"

For a few moments, Cliff's mother acted as if she ignored her offer. Then she turned and regarded Hannah. "I'll join you for coffee to set matters straight between us."

After going through the cafeteria line, Cliff's mother chose a far table, away from the rest of the diners.

Hannah took a seat across from her wondering if setting matters straight meant the older woman would apologize for her earlier unkind words.

Cliff's mother met Hannah's gaze and slowly peeled off her white gloves one finger at a time before setting them aside. Hannah guessed the dramatic move was meant to intimidate her.

It did.

She watched Hannah, never dropping her gaze, even while taking a sip of her coffee. She looked like a snake about to lash out at prey. "My dear, I don't blame you for what happened. If Cliff hadn't been with you, he would've been with some other woman."

Hannah decided she would stop allowing herself to be intimidated. "I'm not your dear. My name is Hannah."

The older woman waved off her comment as if it were unimportant. "When I first met my husband, he was already successful, and the business was growing fast. What is your education background?"

Unable to string together the relationship between the two statements, Hannah took a moment to process. She didn't get it, so she just answered the woman's question. "I have a degree in business management."