“You are my family,” Bryony said, her inner scramble for equanimity ongoing.
Her father looked at the floor, his voice lower. “You’re selfish, like your mother.”
Another insult to her perception of reality. Her mother had never been selfish. Her mother had been kind and generous. Her father must be losing his mind.
Bryony took a breath, pulled out a second chair, and sat across from him. “There’s a new place out by the highway. You would have your own room, and they provide meals and housekeeping.”
“Places like that cost too much money.”
“You can afford it with your pension and selling the house. We can help.” Calm now, Bryony’s mind reviewed numbers in preparation to lay out a solid plan for her father’s future security and comfort.
“We who?” Her father looked up, sour-faced.
“Mitch and I can help.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her father pushed out of the chair and headed for the living room.
“What am I going to do?” she mumbled under her breath before calling after him, “What will you eat for dinner?”
“I’ll order a pizza,” he called back.
Bryony looked again at the stacks of dishes, pans with baked-on food, and fast food wrappers. Should she stay and clean up? No. She could not let herself be funneled into the vortex of tasks created by her father’s state of mind. He was in trouble, and there would be no easy fix. The dishes were the least of their worries, though she did move the newspapers from the top of the stove to the back porch. The possibility of a house fire made her shudder.
Pulling out her cell phone, Bryony ordered her father’s favorite pizza and a salad for delivery, and paid with her credit card.
Before she left, she kissed him on the top of his head.
“You’re blocking my view!” he roared.
As soon as she was out of the house, before she was off the front porch, she dialed Mitch’s number. His voicemail answered.
“Mitch,” she spoke into the phone. “Dad’s not safe at home. Please call me. We have to do something.”
She was opening her car door when her phone dinged to signal an incoming text.
Kind of busy here. You figure it out and let me know what you decide. Mitch added a thumbs up emoji.
Where was the emoji for feeling crushed under the weight of grief and over responsibility?
CAL’S HEARTY REUNION WITH AN OLD FRIEND
Tripping as he stepped out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cal almost ran into someone arriving. He saw first the camel coat ending below her knees. His hand brushed her arm before he could catch himself. Cashmere, definitely. He started to apologize before he raised his head, but stumbled again, this time over his words, when he saw the woman’s face.
Clear blue eyes opened wide with concern, not annoyance. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Cal managed to complete his apology before noticing the tall man by her side. The camel-coated beauty’s companion was tall, Brad-Pitt-handsome, with broad shoulders and a gray wool overcoat.
Another woman stood just behind the man. She was tall, slender, with a runway model pose, sultry eyes, and a slight smirk.
Rudy came through the door behind him, laughing. “Way to go, Cal Forster. You’re number one in grand entrances and exits.”
By this time, Cal was upright and stable, though a bit embarrassed. “I’m really sorry,” he said.
“Cal?” the man asked. “Cal Forster? By golly, it is you.”
The man looked vaguely familiar, but Cal couldn’t place him. Maybe the parent of a student from way back when?
“Chuck,” the man said. “Chuck Henderson!”
Cal looked up into the familiar, albeit aged, face of his old friend. “Chuck?”
“Cal!” Chuck pumped his hand, and then hugged him around the shoulders. “This is Cal Forster, honey. I told you about him. Remember?”
The beauty on Chuck’s arm smiled. “You’re kidding.” She offered her hand. “Chuck has pictures of you two as boys. Imagine running into each other after all these years.”
Cal shook her hand as he looked at Chuck. “Unbelievable,” he said. “Weren’t we about fourteen when you moved?”
“Summer before our freshman year,” Chuck answered.
Gesturing first to the woman by his side, he said, “Cal, this is my wife, Charity.” His wife gave a little wave as the other woman stepped forward. “And this is Susie. She’s an old friend of Charity’s. We try to visit whenever we’re up this way.”
“Delighted to meet you,” Susie said, extending her gloved hand. “Any friend of Chuck’s is a friend of mine.”
Rudy stayed long enough to be introduced, but made a hasty departure, calling over his shoulder while jogging to his car, “Sorry folks! Duty calls. Hey, Cal, since Susie’s local, make sure you give her one of my business cards!”
“He’s in the carpet business,” Cal said, his attention back on the three people in front of him. “You want his card, Susie?”
