Home...The Other One XV

He looks worse, he asked me if his daughter from Alberta would be able to find him...I'm his daughter from Alberta. We've already been through this part, the loss of memory, the hallucinations...I hate this part. He can't even recognize us...how lonely can one person become? I smile and hold his hand, "I'll keep a look out for her." it's all I can offer to my father who sees me as a stranger. My sister is standing far back, she hasn't seen this part yet...this is a new nightmare for her. She and my father were always thick as thieves, she was daddy's girl and I was always closest with my mother. I look back to find her shrinking into a corner; I let her shrink. I walk out of the room telling him I would be right back and then re-enter with a new attitude, "hey dad I just got here, how are you?" Maybe if I just tell him who I am then we can skip the part where he tries to remember where he knows me from. He squints and looks at me confused, "Natalie?" I nod agreeing. "The nurse just went to find you." I kiss his forehead and change the subject to his food and home and what happened.

He fell one evening while trying to make his way to the bathroom. He took off his emergency button because his wrist felt sore and couldn't reach it to press the button. By the time my cousin found him a days and half later he had lost over 4 pints of blood and was severally dehydrated. How is he alive? My guess...Irish stubbornness.

I open his jello and start to feed it to him. My sister starts to emerge from he shadows and slides in to hold his other hand.