The Forgotten Ones

help you?” she asked, her voice nasally.
    “Yes, my mother is here—Elizabeth O’Malley. I need to know where I can find her.”
    “Just a minute.” She yawned and typed a few strokes into her keyboard.
    I looked over at Ethan to find him watching me, his expression anxious. As I turned my attention back to the woman at the desk, I saw Pop walking toward us, carrying two coffees.
    “Thanks, I’m all set,” I said to the receptionist. She returned my gaze with a bland expression.
    “Allison, what are you doing here?” Pop asked, glancing between me and Ethan.
    “Nic called and said you had to bring Mom in for stitches, so Ethan drove me over. How is she? Is she okay?”
    He smiled tiredly. “She’ll be fine. Twelve stitches in her left hand. Those darn birds in the yard were making an awful racket. She was really upset.” Pop shook his head and motioned for us to follow him.
    “Al, do you want me to take off?” Ethan asked. “I can stay if you want me to.”
    I looked at him. “You can go. I’ll be fine.”
    He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked out the huge glass window in the lobby. “Okay, well, let me know if you need anything.”
    I smiled and nodded. “Thanks for bringing me, Ethan. I owe you.”
    The corner of his mouth lifted. That was a look I recognized. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Gram was sitting at the table with a clipboard when I walked into the kitchen the next morning, remaking the chart that kept track of my mother’s medication schedule. She now had to add painkillers to the anti-psychotic drugs she already took daily.
    I watched my grandmother fill in the sheet, whispering to herself about the dosages and medication names. I wondered, not for the first time, if I’d actually be able to handle the medications and care of my mother on my own.
    I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I had to work the ten o’clock shift at the hardware store. My grandfather wasn’t working that morning, but I didn’t see him around the house. Then the sight of the plastic covering the window in the living room gave me a pretty good idea where he was.
    I poked my head into the den to check on my mother. The sight of the bandage on her hand wasn’t what upset me most. She just sat there in a chair, staring at the trees. Pain was written in the tight lines around her mouth and eyes. Knowing she was on pain meds, I guessed it wasn’t something physical.
    I cleared my throat quietly, letting her know I was in the room. At first I didn’t think she’d look at me, but after several heartbeats she turned her head toward me. A tiny gasp escaped before I could cover my mouth with my palm. Her eyes were vacant and dull, but it didn’t mask her misery. I had never seen her so despondent.
    I made my way into the room and sat on the sofa across from her. She shifted her gaze back toward the window. I wished I knew what went on in her mind when she was like this. Maybe then I could help. Was she thinking about Liam? How would she react if she actually saw him again?
    The screen door creaked from the porch, and I heard my grandfather’s voice. And then Ethan’s…
    From where I sat I could see him walk in carrying a new window. He was dressed for work in his hunter green Magliaro Construction T-shirt. The muscles in his forearms were taut as he brought the window into the living room. The door slammed, and my grandfather followed.
    With a small sigh, I rose and tiptoed out of the den, leaving my mother still staring out into the woods. I grabbed my keys from the sideboard in the living room as Ethan measured the frame of the window with a tape measure, a pencil stuck between his lips. I smiled at how boyish he looked.
    “I’m off to work.” I walked over to the table in the kitchen and placed my hand gently on Gram’s back and kissed her hair.
    “Oh, honey. Did you get something to eat?” She pushed her papers away and looked up at me with a frown.
    “I’ll just grab something on my break.” I smiled to reassure her, even though I knew better.
    “Give me just one minute. I’ll pack you a lunch.”
    “If it will make you feel better, I’ll come home for lunch?” I met her gaze, wishing she wouldn’t worry about me so much.
    Gram’s frown smoothed. “That’d be good.”
    I shook my head and sighed, but I was still smiling in spite of myself. I turned to leave, and Ethan met my eyes, his expression unsure.
    “How’s your mom today?”
    I twisted the end of my ponytail,