Chapter 28

Being in the first class section in the plane was like a dream come true for her and she arrived in Florida earlier than she thought. She noticed some changes had been made in the city. She offered some bills to the taxi driver who took her from the airport and he thanked her before taking his leave. Carla stood still for a moment, looking at the home she grew up in. Memories of the old days flooded through her and she shook her head to clear it of the old memories. Taking a deep breath, she dragged her travelling box along with her and walked to the front porch slowly. She rang the doorbell and a few seconds later, the door flew open, revealing Adele. Her eyes widened at the sight of Carla and she engulfed her in a tight hug.

" Carla, you're home! " She squealed in excitement.

Carla smiled in satisfaction and let herself be engulfed in the warmth of the motherly hug. She drew back from the hug slowly after she realized the old lady had no intention of disengaging herself from the hug anytime soon. Adele did so reluctantly.

" I'm glad you're back baby! How have you been? " Adele asked, her eyes shining with sheer happiness.

" I've been doing pretty good, Adele " Carla replied warmly and added " How have you been doing too? "

The old lady nodded " Yeah, I'm doing great, as you can see "

" I'm glad to hear that, where is Mom? " Carla asked anxiously, already changing the subject to why she was there.

" She's in her room, come on " Adele said quietly and preceded her inside, but not without helping her with the little she could carry. Carla followed her in, her mind on her Mom as she wondered just how bad was the sickness that it made Adele's mood dampened the minute she asked about her Mom. She looked around the room, noticing nothing has really changed in her absence. Everything was still intact, the way it was in the old days. She let go of her big, travelling box and followed Adele who had gone so quiet that it was hard to imagine it was the same woman who had been so happy to see her. Carla listened to Adele's footsteps padding softly on the stairs and remembered her childhood days when she had almost tripped on the same stairs. They got to her Mom's room and Adele knocked softly, and placed her ear against the door to listen to Georgia's response.

Carla frowned " Why are you doing that? "

Adele smiled tenderly " I have to make sure she gives me the permission to come in before I do, and these days, her voice seem to be getting low "

Carla frowned the more, not understanding the whole thing " Why? I mean, can't you hear her well? And since when must you have her permission before you go into her room? "

" There are times when she liked to be alone and didn't want to be disturbed or checked on, I think she's not over your Dad yet " Adele replied

" Oh " That was the only word she muttered as she waited patiently.

Adele searched her face " Did you hear me at all, Carla? "

" Of course I heard what you said, Adele, I don't think she would ever get over Dad's death fully " Carla muttered.

" Okay let's go in " Adele said abruptly and opened the door, motioning for Carla to go in before her. Carla went in slowly, her eyes on the frail woman on the bed. Georgia didn't look in their direction, she just stared straight ahead, lost in her own world again.

" Mom? " Carla called out softly and and Georgia finally gave them her attention.

" My baby " Georgia said hoarsely and extended out her arms in which Carla flew into.

" Oh my precious baby " Georgia croaked out and hugged Carla tighter.

" Mom " Carla trembled slightly under her mom's cold fingers. Why were her fingers so cold when the room was alive with warmth?

Adele wiped the tear that had slid down her cheeks and went out, giving the family a privacy for their reunion.

Carla disentangled herself from the hug and took her mother's hands in hers, squeezing them tightly.

" Mom? Why are you in the sick bed? What happened? " Carla asked anxiously.

Georgia started to speak and when she finished, Carla realized it wasn't a real sickness, she just missed the old days when her family was whole. She cheered up after seeing Carla and they talked like old friends, sharing some laughs together until Adele came to tell them dinner was ready.

" Should I bring yours up here? " Adele asked, directing her question to Georgia.

Georgia shook her head with a smile " Nope, I'll eat with you guys " Turning to Carla, she said " Help me up sweetheart "

Carla did so happily and went downstairs together. Georgia seemed more lively than she had been in the past few days, all thanks to her daughter. Her fast recovery was a miracle, even to Adele and she pointed it out.

She snorted " You should have made it known to me that you wanted to see your daughter, why did you have to pretend you were sick? "

Georgia's nostrils flared " You old lady, I wasn't pretending! I was sick for real! "

Adele rolled her eyes " And the miraculous recovery? "

" That's because my daughter is here! " She replied, glaring at Adele. .

" It's the same thing my dear, you should have said you wanted to see your daughter instead of you scaring me to death! " Adele exclaimed

Carla thought it was time to butt in " Now now, young ladies. Let's eat, shall we? "

Both old ladies exchanged a glare and huffed before eating.

" We have a lot to talk about, baby " Georgia said. By that statement, she knew it was about her marriage. This was the Mom she was familiar with, she mused.

" Okay Mom " She replied and focused on enjoying the homemade meal Adele prepared for them.