he asked her. Salima was sitting on her bed, looking glum. “We can put them in your closet by type and color. I can put Braille labels on the hangers for you. I brought my machine. Then you can pull them out on your own and dress yourself,” he said helpfully. Both women looked shocked.
“She doesn’t need to dress herself,” Blaise said with a look of disapproval. “My housekeeper will help her with that. And I’ll do it on the weekends.” They were already off to a bad start, but Simon looked undisturbed.
“Let’s label your toiletries at least, so you don’t get them mixed up and brush your teeth with the wrong stuff.” He sounded firm about that, and it made sense to Blaise, but Salima snapped at him immediately.
“Abby puts my toothpaste on the brush for me.” She didn’t tell him that sometimes Abby even brushed her teeth for her. She knew that would sound lame.
“I think you can do that yourself,” Simon said quietly, gently pushing her with his suggestion, and Salima didn’t like it, and neither did Blaise. The last thing she wanted was for him to upset Salima, and spark a war between the two of them.
Later, Blaise led him into her office off her bedroom, so he would know where to find her, since it was the room where she spent most of her time when she was home. And she looked him squarely in the eye the moment they were alone. “I think we need to get one thing clear right away. You’re not here to rock the boat. All we want to do is get Salima through this incredibly difficult time in her life, without the woman she loved and relied on, until she goes back to school. We’re not planning to reinvent the wheel.”
“I don’t think the wheel has been invented yet,” Simon said just as firmly, meeting her gaze. “Abby and I had very different views about things. Maybe it’s the difference between men and women, but I think being self-sufficient is key. Salima is nineteen years old, not two, and she needs to know how to take care of herself. What if she wants to live alone one day? She can’t stay at Caldwell forever. She needs to get ready for that day. And with Abby gone, this seems like the right time.”
“She’s never going to live alone,” Blaise said in an even strongertone. She had already provided for that. Salima would have a caretaker forever.
“You never know,” Simon said. “My brother said the same thing. He lived at home after his accident, for several years. My mother babied him, just as Abby did with Salima. Now he has a job, a wife, four children, and he takes care of them. Whatever she does, or however you provide for her, Salima still needs skills. And it will make her feel better about herself,” he insisted.
“She feels fine about herself. What she feels like shit about is losing Abby. Let’s try not to make it any worse.” Simon didn’t answer her, but he nodded, in order to keep the peace. And Blaise could tell that she hadn’t convinced him, which unnerved her. She felt as if she were swimming upstream in her own home, fighting the currents, and she didn’t like the feeling. He wasn’t at Caldwell anymore, he was in her apartment, and she expected her word to be law. And she was getting the strong feeling that Simon didn’t live by other people’s rules. He was courteous and considerate, but he definitely had his own ideas, and they weren’t hers.
He went to check on Salima then, and after a few minutes, she let him unpack for her, and she told him where she wanted her things. He noticed that her closets here at home were almost empty, and he realized how seldom she was there. Caldwell had become her home, and he wondered if Blaise was going to try to keep her there, or at a similar place once she got older. Simon thought that would be a tragedy for Salima, and a terrible waste. She had a bright mind, and was capable of far more than anyone expected of her, particularly Abby. He didn’t want to speak ill of the dead, and he had liked her,
“She doesn’t need to dress herself,” Blaise said with a look of disapproval. “My housekeeper will help her with that. And I’ll do it on the weekends.” They were already off to a bad start, but Simon looked undisturbed.
“Let’s label your toiletries at least, so you don’t get them mixed up and brush your teeth with the wrong stuff.” He sounded firm about that, and it made sense to Blaise, but Salima snapped at him immediately.
“Abby puts my toothpaste on the brush for me.” She didn’t tell him that sometimes Abby even brushed her teeth for her. She knew that would sound lame.
“I think you can do that yourself,” Simon said quietly, gently pushing her with his suggestion, and Salima didn’t like it, and neither did Blaise. The last thing she wanted was for him to upset Salima, and spark a war between the two of them.
Later, Blaise led him into her office off her bedroom, so he would know where to find her, since it was the room where she spent most of her time when she was home. And she looked him squarely in the eye the moment they were alone. “I think we need to get one thing clear right away. You’re not here to rock the boat. All we want to do is get Salima through this incredibly difficult time in her life, without the woman she loved and relied on, until she goes back to school. We’re not planning to reinvent the wheel.”
“I don’t think the wheel has been invented yet,” Simon said just as firmly, meeting her gaze. “Abby and I had very different views about things. Maybe it’s the difference between men and women, but I think being self-sufficient is key. Salima is nineteen years old, not two, and she needs to know how to take care of herself. What if she wants to live alone one day? She can’t stay at Caldwell forever. She needs to get ready for that day. And with Abby gone, this seems like the right time.”
“She’s never going to live alone,” Blaise said in an even strongertone. She had already provided for that. Salima would have a caretaker forever.
“You never know,” Simon said. “My brother said the same thing. He lived at home after his accident, for several years. My mother babied him, just as Abby did with Salima. Now he has a job, a wife, four children, and he takes care of them. Whatever she does, or however you provide for her, Salima still needs skills. And it will make her feel better about herself,” he insisted.
“She feels fine about herself. What she feels like shit about is losing Abby. Let’s try not to make it any worse.” Simon didn’t answer her, but he nodded, in order to keep the peace. And Blaise could tell that she hadn’t convinced him, which unnerved her. She felt as if she were swimming upstream in her own home, fighting the currents, and she didn’t like the feeling. He wasn’t at Caldwell anymore, he was in her apartment, and she expected her word to be law. And she was getting the strong feeling that Simon didn’t live by other people’s rules. He was courteous and considerate, but he definitely had his own ideas, and they weren’t hers.
He went to check on Salima then, and after a few minutes, she let him unpack for her, and she told him where she wanted her things. He noticed that her closets here at home were almost empty, and he realized how seldom she was there. Caldwell had become her home, and he wondered if Blaise was going to try to keep her there, or at a similar place once she got older. Simon thought that would be a tragedy for Salima, and a terrible waste. She had a bright mind, and was capable of far more than anyone expected of her, particularly Abby. He didn’t want to speak ill of the dead, and he had liked her,
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