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"It was no problem."
"When are you headed back to Tampa?"
"In a few days. You came for a visit at a good time. Katherine is having a pretty lucid day today."
"That's good to hear. Where's Jessie?"
"She ran out to grab some coffee. Katherine is in the living room."
Eli shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to talk to her tonight about the facility. She probably won't remember anything later on, but I will. I need to get this over with. It's been weighing heavily on my mind."
His father nodded. "I'll give you some space."
"Actually... it might be nice to have someone else around while I tell her. That is, if you don't mind."
"Of course not. Do you want to do it now?"
"Yeah. Might as well."
He walked into the living room and found his mother sitting in her chair, watching television.
"Hey, how's my favorite lady?" he asked softly.
"Eli!" His mother's face lit up when she saw him. "I'm so glad you're here, honey."
"I'm really sorry I haven't been over in a while. I've been pretty busy. Forgive me?"
"You're here now, and that's all that matters." She squeezed his hand as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Troy's here. I'm so happy the two of you are talking."
"That's all because of you, Mom. And the letters. I read all of them. And I read yours, too."
He sat down on the couch, leaning forward as he spoke. "I know you feel guilty, but you don't have anything to feel bad about. I’ve told you that before. I know why you did what you did. And I love you no matter what."
His mother grew teary eyed. "I was so scared to lose you."
"I know. But it's all in the past now."
His father sat on the opposite end of the couch. "That's right. The past is the past," Troy said. "What matters is now."
Eli hesitated, feeling the familiar surge of panic and anxiety begin to build, but he fought through it. He had to do this. He had to talk to her now, while she was here in the moment with him.
"Mom, I know we don't talk much about your Alzheimer's, but you need to know that it's getting worse. And your nurses..." He paused, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. "It's tough for Jessie and Irena to do everything by themselves. You need more care. I wish I could help more, but my job makes that really difficult."
"So I need more nurses?"
"No, Mom. You're... you're going to have to move to a new home. One where they have more staff available."
His mother was quiet for a moment. "Because my memory... it's bad now."
"Yeah," he said softly. "It's getting very bad. And you need to be somewhere where they can give you more help than Jessie and Irena can give you. More than I can give you."
"When?" she asked, glancing over at him.
"Soon. I just want you to know that I've been there to see the place. It's nice, Mom. It's a good place, and they can help you. And it's here in Vegas, right nearby, so I can visit all the time. You're not going to be alone there, okay? You can always reach me, and I'll come see you every chance I get, as long as I'm not on the road playing hockey." He let out a shaky breath. "I just want you to know that I'm doing this because I love you, and I want the very best for you. Right now, living here isn't the best thing for you. And my mom deserves the best, so we have to do this, okay?"
His mother reached across the arm of her chair and grabbed his hand. "Don't worry. I'll be fine there, Eli. I understand."
He swallowed hard. "I'm going to make sure of that. I'm going to take care of everything."
