Homebound

*One year later *

“Poppy, can you pass me the whiskey, please” I turn to my left and grab the whiskey off the shelf before passing it to Jacob as he thanks me. I go back to cleaning the glasses as I restock the rack.

It’s a slow day today, not many people had come in but it’s almost five o’clock which is when everybody gets off work and storms Darby’s, looking for drink and socialization. Luckily for me I finish in ten minutes, Harley coming in and taking over for me.

“Poppy!” one of the regulars, Kevin calls me over. He’s an older man with an obvious alcohol problem but he’s kind and never causes issues, even when he gets so drunk he can’t walk.

I watch as the clock ticks closer to 4.30pm. My body is twitchy and I can’t sit still, knowing that a call will be waiting for me when I get home. Hex calls every day at the same time, 5.00pm. He had never missed a call, his perfect record at Hellbound since I left being rewarded by phone calls to whoever he wants but it’s to always me.

I jump as hands are placed on my shoulders “you can go now, say hi to my brother for me” Harley’s familiar perfume fills the air as she nudges me out of the bar.

“I’ll see you later” I call as I hug Harley goodbye and wish her and Jacob a goodnight. I don’t envy them one bit, the after work rush is a nightmare and I try to avoid it as much as possible.

It’s still bright outside but the sun had started to go down, an orange glow shining through the clouds. My old beat up car creaks as I sit in the drivers seat and do my usual check of the backseats before locking the doors and only then can I relax and turn the car on.

I do a victory dance when the car turns on the first try. I’ve grown attached to my car, it was the first thing I had brought with my own money and even though sometimes it can be difficult to work with, most times it’s reliable and it had never broken down before.

I enter my apartment seconds before my phone starts ringing.

“Move Teddy” the tabby I had adopted six months ago walks between my legs as I step in the doorway. I gently move him with my leg as I lock the door behind me and dump my bag before digging out my phone.

“Hi” I answer breathlessly as I push my hair from my face.

“Hi baby” the soft rumble of Hex’s voice in my ear sends shivers down my spine, the good type.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask as I place the phone between my ear and shoulder as I bend down and pick up my bag while giving a pat to Teddy.

I walk into the kitchen and turn the lights on with a sigh.

“Yeah, it was Josie’s last day” he says. Josie had done more than I could ever ask for Hex and I. She’s the only reason we have been able to have a functioning relationship while only seeing each other once every two weeks at visitation.

Josie’s last day working at Hellbound had been today because she’s six months pregnant with a baby boy. I had been ecstatic when she’d told me, her and Harvey will be great parents although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t selfishly worried about how this would affect Hex and I.

“Yeah, it’s getting harder for her to walk” I say as I place the phone on the kitchen island and put the phone on speakerphone. “So who is going to be your guard now?” I ask as I grab leftovers out of the fridge and take a seat at the island as I begin eating.

“No one” Hex answers. I hear yelling in the background. I bring the phone to my ear, hoping to make out some words or identify who is yelling but I fail to do both. A lot of things have changed since I left Hellbound, including the inmate’s and the guard’s.

“You don’t want a guard?” I question as I draw my eyebrows together.

“Fuck no” he grunts. I open my mouth to speak but he cuts me off “I want you”. It’s silent between us as we mourn the time we had lost together.

“It’s only six more months” I mumble as I put my fork down, my appetite gone.

“Six months too fucking long” Hex grumbles. I blow air out my mouth, blowing hair out of my eyes as I hang my head.

We sit in silence for a moment; I can hear Hex fiddling with the phone cord and other inmate’s in the background talking on their own phone lines.

“Is Aaron leaving you alone?” I ask. It had become a bigger worry for me the closer we get to Hex’s release date. Aaron is vengeful and I doubt he’d ever let Hex get away unscathed and I know he wouldn’t give up an opportunity to sacrifice Hex’s sentence. He’d told me Aaron had tried starting fights but Hex hadn’t taken the bait, the anger management classes he had started attending after I left seemed to be working.

“No” he grunts “but I won’t let him ruin this, he’s already taken enough time” I hear the ticks of the countdown through the phone, indicating that our time is going to be up shortly.

“I’ll call you tomorrow baby, have a goodnight” he says softly. I blush as the reminder of how most of our nights end flash through my mind.

“Bye Hex” I hang up the phone and run a hand through my hair in stress.

*

“Did it get busy last night?” I ask Harley as she drives. We’re on our way to see Wyonna. She had got worse over the last few months, her memory of anything becoming less and less, even the older memories she used to remember are now slowly disappearing. Each time she forgets my heart breaks for Hex, knowing that time is running out for Wyonna.

“Yes, Rex had to throw out like, four people” she says. The bags under her eyes show her tiredness from working until the early hours of this morning.

“I hate working nights” I complain, I rarely had to do it but when I did I hated it. It took away my time with Hex when he would call me in the late hours of the night on the phone he had successfully kept hidden from the guards.

“It’s not that bad” Harley shrugs as we pull into the care home car park.

We wave hello to Betty as she waves us through. Wyonna isn’t in her room when we open her door after knocking, although her room is neat and tidy.

“Where is she?” I question as we look around.

“Maybe she’s in the community room?” Harley mumbles in question.

We walk in the direction of the community room. It’s a large room that the residence’s can go to anytime they please and interact with each other. There’s a TV but most of them like to play board games or play with a deck of cards.

We find her immediately, her slightly greying, long black hair distinguishable in a room of older men and women with a full head of grey hair. She’s definitely the youngest here.

“Mum” Harley calls as we walk up to her. She doesn’t react as she continues playing with a deck of cards, shuffling them and then sorting them before repeating.

“Mum” Harley places her hand on Wyonna’s arm, making her jump. She looks up and scans our faces, her eyes empty of any memory of us. “Mum, it’s me, Harley” Harley does her best to jog her memory. The confusion can still be seen in Wyonna’s eyes but she accepts us.

“Oh hello” she says before going back to the cards. Harley and I take a seat and wait for Wyonna’s memory to catch up.

It takes a while but eventually she remembers us. She informs us about her day and how she’d just got back from the shops and was about to begin making dinner for Hex and Harley, a memory almost twenty years old.

Harley and I tell her about what is going on in our lives before repeating it twice back to her when she forgets the conversation.

“Where’s Hex?” she blurts out suddenly. Sometimes she remembers Hex and other times she has no recollection of him at all. I don’t know which one Hex prefers when I tell him.

“He’s in the army remember, mum?” Harley says softly.

“Oh right” she shakes her head, almost like it was stupid of her to forget.

“Do you want to send Hex a photo, Wyonna?” I ask nicely, hoping she says yes. Last time she’d said no and I had to break it to Hex that he wouldn’t be getting a photo of his mother that day.

“Oh yes! Lets do it” she says happily, bringing a smile to my face. She holds her cards up by her face and smiles wide as I take the photo and send it to Hex.

We leave shortly after when a nurse comes to get Wyonna for her afternoon nap. She wanders off with a goodbye before rounding a corner and leaving Harley and I to ourselves.

“She seems good today” I state. She was better today compared to the last few visits.

“Yeah, more lively” Harley mumbles. Almost every time we visit Wyonna, Harley leaves in a somber mood, whether Wyonna was good or bad that day it didn’t matter, it had to be hard to see a loved one go through that. I couldn’t imagine my own mother in Wyonna’s position.

I pull out my phone as it vibrates.

She happy? Hex asks.

So happy I reply back. And she is happy, as horrible as dementia is; Wyonna has no idea what’s going on and lives a happy life inside the care home with the friends she has made in here. It’s the one’s around her that take the full impact of the disease.

“Are you going to see Hex tomorrow?” Harley asks. It’s visitation tomorrow and I never miss it. Every two weeks when it comes around I get excited and count down the days until I can touch his skin again.

“Yeah, you want to come?” I question as we stand and begin to walk out of the care home and back to the car.

“I would like to but I’m at Darby’s” she groans and dramatically drags her feet. She had come with me last time so it wasn’t such a big deal if she misses tomorrow; I’m such she’ll make it to the next visitation.

“I’ll say hello for you” I reassure her as we step out into the car park. The sun is still high in the sky but it’ll be getting dark soon.

“Thanks Poppy. What would we do without you” she links her arm through mine and stumbles into me, making me laugh.