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“It’s weird to think I might have this whole family out there from a completely different culture who doesn’t even know I exist.”
“I’ve figured that there was a reason your mother didn’t much want to do with them.”
“I wish she was still around so I could ask her about it.”
“Me too, kid.”
She hated how much effort some of their conversations took, whether because her father wasn’t feeling well enough to speak or he shut himself up out of some preconceived notion that Rhea wasn’t interested.You know things about my extended family,she often thought.Yet you’ve barely told me anything about my grandparents.That went for his late parents as well.
Between Rhea and the doctor, it was arranged for Danny to be moved to a nursing home for the rest of the month. After that, it would be up to her how she wanted her father’s care to proceed.
But there was one thing weighing on her… and Paige.
“I don’t see any other way,” Rhea said over dinner one night. Since her father moved to the nursing home, she now spent most of her day back at home – at least when Paige was there. “He might have to move in with us for a while.”
Paige picked at her food. “How long is a ‘while?’”
“It’s impossible to say right now. A few months. At least.” Rhea averted her gaze from her wife. “Until he can take care of himself and he doesn’t seem at immediate risk for yet another heart attack. The doctor made it clear that another would probably kill him.”
At least Paige was patient while Rhea recomposed herself. “I see.”
“We’d have to move him into the downstairs guestroom since he can’t climb stairs,” Rhea continued. “Which means moving some of the exercise equipment out of there. We don’t use it anyway.”
“Not since I went back to work at the gym, no.”
“I could easily arrange for the downstairs bathroom to be fitted with some handicap things.” Rhea had already thought this through, although she hoped Paige hadn’t noticed. “We’d still have a nurse come by most days. Especially on the weekends, so we can go out and do things if we want.”
“Would your father be okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t he be? I think he’d go nuts if he thought he was keeping us from having a marriage. He already thinks I’m nuts for visiting him every day.”
“It kinda sounds like having a babysitter for a grown man.”
“I try to not think about it that way.”
Paige neatly placed her fork at the top of her plate. “We do have a pool, and pools are great for people recuperating from all sorts of things. It’s a great way to get exercise without straining yourself.”
“The doctordoesthink it would be good for him to walk around the shallow end.”
“It creates enough resistance to give you a decent workout,” Paige concurred.
“Yeah. I wish he could go home, you know? That’s the house he picked out for himself, and he likes it there. It lets him think he has independence. I mean, hedoeshave independence. He merely needs help right now.”
“Maybe you could stay with him overnight when the nurse isn’t there.”
“I’ve thought about that, but he only has one bedroom, and that couch sucks. I’d feel better having him here. We’re closer to the hospital and his doctor, too.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought a lot about this.”
“I’ve tried to anticipate every angle before pitching it to you. This is your house too.”
“He’s your father. Of course, we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he’s safe while he recovers.”
Rhea couldn’t bring herself to eat another bite. “I often don’t know what I’d do without you, Paige.”
“This is what we deal with as a couple, right? Parents get sick and need our help.”
Rhea hadn’t conveyed her thoughts well enough, but she didn’t bother to try again.Everything I say simply sounds weird.She did appreciate her wife’s help, though.I couldn’t do this without her.Paige was her anchor. She was the woman who gave Rhea something to look forward to at the end of a long day fretting over her father and questioning her eventual mortality. The hit to their love life had come hard, but Rhea couldn’t even think about it right now.
