“It’s a long story,” said Ester as she wiped her lips with a napkin. She was eyeing Gran and Scarlett and clearly wondering whether to tell the story or not.
“Go on,” said Gran. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Well, all right then,” said Ester, and seemed grateful for the listening ear. “My son is a banker, you see, one of those Wall Street hotshots, I guess you might call him. He works with hedge funds or whatever they are, and makes a lot of money. So he got this big fancy apartment in Manhattan, and another place in Scarsdale, and two lovely kids, and we were all doing just fine. I was still living in my own apartment back then, which he bought for me, and we were all very happy. The grandkids came to visit me all the time, and we spent all the holidays together as a family.”
“What about your husband?” asked Gran as she took a sip from her hot chocolate and made appreciative noises. Gran is an expert on hot chocolate, and knows how to separate the good ones from the bad.
“We lost Jack a couple of years back,” said Ester. “But that’s another story. So all of a sudden my son’s wife died. Sandy was a lovely person, and a wonderful mother to the kids. And so my son mourned her for a while, until he met this woman at a party.”
“Also a banker?” asked Scarlett.
“No, she’s what you might call a socialite. Which means she doesn’t do anything,” said Ester, and already I could tell she wasn’t very fond of her son’s new wife. “So they get married, and she moves into Kirk’s condo with the kids, and then she takes one good look at me—”
“You were living with your son at this point?” asked Gran.
“Yeah, I was. After Sandy died, Kirk invited me to come and stay with them. We mourned her as a family, you see, and I figured I could help out around the apartment, take care of the kids—do what little I could to help out. But so Prunella moves in, and tells me they’re going to need my room,since she wants to expand her dresser. And so Kirk tells me I need to move out again. Only we already sold my apartment, so I’ve got nowhere to go. He tells me not to worry. We’ve got plenty of options and Prunella will take care of everything.”
“And so she found you this place,” said Gran.
“She found me this place,” said Ester. “As far away from my family as she could manage, in a town where I don’t know a single soul. But it’s a fine home, she tells me. The absolute best. And I’ll be so happy here, with all of these other sweet dears. And so I tell Kirk what gives? But he says it’s the best solution for all of us.”
“Best solution for Prunella,” said Scarlett.
“Exactly. Now if my son would come and visit from time to time, I might have been able to cope, but he doesn’t.”
“He doesn’t?”
“Nope. No time. And granted, he’s a busy guy, and it’s a long drive, and the kids…” She choked a little as she spoke these words.
“The kids don’t visit?” asked Gran.
Ester shook her head.“The kids don’t visit. I haven’t seen them even once. And it’s been two years now, give or take.”
“Two years and they haven’t visited you once?” said Scarlett, horrified.
“Kirk tells me they’re busy with school and friends and whatever. They’re teenagers now and they’ve got the social life of a CEO, apparently. Busier than Kirk himself. But he hasn’t been here in two years, and of Prunella there’s no trace. Though according to Kirk they’re still married.”
“She got you out of the way,” said Gran.
“That, she did. Quick and easy.”
“But why?” asked Scarlett. “I don’t get it.”
“Neither do I. I asked Kirk, but he says I’m seeing things. That Prunella doesn’t have anything against me. But she so does have something against me. Otherwise why put me in some place on the other side of the state?”
“Can’t you text your grandkids? Or call them?”
“Oh, I’ve tried, but they must have changed phones, cause I can’t get through. And when I ask Kirk to give me their new numbers he keeps telling me he will but then he never does. It’s as if all of a sudden I don’t exist anymore.”
“If you want we could give them a call,” Scarlett suggested. “Find out what’s going on.”
“Oh, could you? I’m at the end of my tether here. Just figured I need to accept and move on, you know. I mean, what else can you do when your family suddenly doesn’t want you anymore? Your own flesh and blood?” A tear had stolen from her eyes, and she wiped it away. “Anyway, here I am boring you with my sad stories, and I haven’t even asked you about those lovely cats of yours! Just look at them, listening so attentively. Almost as if they can actually understand what I’m saying!”
“Oh, but they can,” said Gran. But when Ester gave an incredulous laugh, she quickly amended her statement. “Just kidding! Of course they can’t actually understand us. But sometimes it’s almost as if they can.”