Page 9 of Starved Until Sunset

Cody shook his head. “I can’t believe Faye is gone. I just saw her earlier this week, and she was looking good.”

“They can do that. Be right as rain, and then a day or two later, they’re just gone.”

“Life goes fast, doesn’t it?” Cody said quietly.

“It surely does.” Lacey smiled up at him. “In better news, your grandma’s been asking for you today. By name.”

“Really? Well, this week might end on a better note than I thought.”

Cody walked down the hall to his grandmother’s room and paused in the doorway to observe her. The lamps in the room were on, casting warm yellow light. Felicia sat in her chair, a blanket across her legs and her hands folded in her lap. She was looking into the darkness outside the window, her expression calm. From his vantage point, Cody could see the change in her from this summer: her wrists were thinner, cheekbones more pronounced. Her hair had lost its shine and body the past year as well, and the nurses now simply brushed it back from her forehead instead of having it styled.

Was this what everyone came to, this slow degeneration? How would he and Demmy change? Who would come to visit them once they had to go into a place like Parson’s Pines?

His phone buzzed in his pocket, startling him out of his thoughts. It buzzed again—an incoming call—and Felicia turned to look at him as Cody pulled out his phone and silenced it without looking at the name.

“Who’s that?” Felicia said, her forehead creasing as she frowned.

“It’s me, Grandma. It’s Cody.” He entered the room and switched on another lamp by her bed before approaching her.

“Cody?”

The creases deepened as she studied him. She was concentrating hard, most likely searching for his identity inside her confused and scattered memories. He hated these moments, more for her than him. He couldn’t imagine being so lost inside yourself that you didn’t know the people who loved you. The loneliness and fear must build in her a little more every day.

Pulling up a straight back chair, he sat and reached out to take her hands. The skin was soft and thin, the bones right beneath the surface. A few of her fingers bent near the ends due to arthritis. She had been a skilled seamstress as long as he’d known her, and had altered pants and shirts for Cody and his four brothers as they’d grown up.

“I’m your grandson, Cody. I’m Greg’s son.”

She smiled. “Greg was my husband.”

“Well, no…” He stopped, recalling what a social worker told him not long ago about simply agreeing with her. If he corrected her, no matter how gently he did it, he could upset her and cause her mood to plummet in a moment. With a smile, he said, “Sure, yes. Greg was your husband.”

Felicia’s expression brightened even more. “Have you spoken to him lately?”

“No, not lately. I do need to call him.” He leaned in a bit, careful not to move too far into her personal space. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, fine. Just fine.” She looked out the window at the darkness looking back in at them. “The nurses steal my candy and make me take a shower twice a week.”

“They sound pretty tough.”

“There’s one who’s mean. She treats me mean. But I won’t let her in my room.”

“Oh?” Cody’s phone buzzed again, another call. He released his grandmother’s hands and looked at the display. It was Demmy. “Give me just one minute, Grandma. I need to take this call, okay?”

“She tries to get in my room, but I keep telling her no.”

“I don’t blame you. Hold on.” He accepted the call and stood up, heading for the hallway. “Hi there.”

“Hi. Sorry to interrupt your visit.”

“It’s okay. Today my father is her husband, so we’re getting closer to the right kind of relationships, but still a bit off.”

“I know it’s hard for you. You’re so good to keep visiting her so often.”

Cody looked back in the room. The lamplight gave the few furnishings a warm glow and, coupled with the night outside, made mirrors of the windows. Felicia was talking quietly to her reflection in the glass. “She deserves it. She’s been a good grandmother.”

“Well, I hate to tell you this, but John called us in.”

“What?” Cody groaned and lowered his voice as he stepped away from his grandmother’s door. “It’s Friday evening. What’s going on? Did we twist the garland wrong or something?”