Page 112 of Hopelessly Wild


Font Size:  

Maybe it’s why Samuel lost contact with them over the years.

Pulling on my coat, I head out to the lounge room to where Mum and Dad are playing with Rose. She’s walking sideways around the room, holding onto the furniture and periodically plopping onto her rear until she pulls herself up again.

“It won’t be long before she’s walking,” Dad boasts.

Mum wraps a scarf around her neck. “I hope it’s not soon because you’ll be chasing her from room to room.”

“I know, right.” I watch her crawl to the barrier across the stairway and peer down. “No, Rose,” I say gently like I do every other time, hoping she understands it’s an out-of-bounds area.

“Good luck,” Dad says and then scoops Rose into his arms. “I’ll distract her while you two make a getaway.”

Placing a hand on Dad’s arm, I give it a gentle squeeze. “I love you.”

His eyes meet mine with an understanding and appreciation of what Mum and I are about to do.

“We’ll be back after lunch,” Mum tells him and kisses him on the cheek.

We dash down the stairs to her navy Mercedes parked in the basement and crank the heating too high. Mum gives me one last look before reversing the car. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, so ready.” Then I pull up the directions to the care facility to visit Gran’s friend, Brenda.

The drive is mostly in silence until I direct Mum through a gated driveway and into a parking lot designated for visitors.

I pull my taupe woolen coat around my chest. We sign in and wait for someone to assist us.

After explaining the reason for our visit, the receptionist almost sent us away until she located a note from Thomas, Brenda’s brother-in-law, alerting the staff we’d be visiting.

After assigning us sticky visitor badges, she leads us through two sets of glass doors and punches a code into the facility’s locked doors.

We walk along a hallway and turn into another until we come across a large lounge area where families and friends are spread out on a dozen sets of lounges.

“If you head outside, you’ll find Thomas sitting with Brenda under a shaded tree. She loves the garden, so we take her outside every day.”

“Her friend also loved the garden,” Mum replies, and the receptionist nods even though she’s clueless as to who Mum is referring.

We make our way across the freshly mowed grass to a garden brimming with colorful flowers lined with lavender. The aroma is delightful as is the rainbow of color. No wonder Brenda likes to come outside.

A bald man makes eye contact and then smiles. “Brenda, you have visitors. Remember Ivy’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter?”

Brenda’s gaze meets Mum’s, and even from here, I can tell she doesn’t recognize her. A lap blanket covers her legs, and a navy cardigan hanging loose over her shoulders and arms outlines her thin limbs. In a steady rhythm, Brenda picks at a loose thread in the blanket, her gaze fixed in the distance.

Thomas stands to greet us. “Ladies.” He nods.

Mum hugs Thomas. “I’m not sure if you remember my daughter, Eden.”

“Nice to meet you, Thomas. Thank you for allowing us to see Brenda,” I say.

Thomas smiles. “Last time I saw you was when I was visiting Brenda and my brother, and Ivy called in with you and your sister. You were both under ten years old,” he says affectionately.

“It’s been a long time,” Mum says and rubs my shoulder.

“Take a seat,” he says and pulls two more plastic chairs into the circle. “Thanks for visiting Bren. There are days where she sees nobody. Both her children are interstate and visit once, maybe twice a year. She barely recognizes them, and her grandchildren are strangers to her.”

“That’s sad for her.” Instead of sitting, Mum squats in front of her covered knees. “Hi, Brenda. Do you remember Ivy? I’m her daughter-in-law.” Brenda hums a tune, seeming unaware Mum is even speaking to her. “We know how close you both were. You had some grand adventures nursing together.”

Brenda’s eyes flick over Mum’s face before focusing on the blanket.

“I’m sorry. I thought there was a slight chance she might remember, but her dementia has progressed. She doesn’t recognize anyone.” Thomas pats Brenda’s hand. “I try to visit once or twice a week. I can’t handle that no one is here for her. But when you reached out, I wanted to see if she’d recognize you. For so many years, Ivy and Mum caught up. Mum would tell Ivy stories of her time nursing after Ivy had stopped.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like