Page 4 of Maverick
The door to my father’s room pushed open, interrupting my thoughts. A middle-aged doctor with graying hair and kind eyes stepped through.
Dad cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. He looked so small in the hospital bed. Dad had always been a larger-than-life character, mucking through the woods with a gun strapped to his waist and a dog by his side. Even though we didn’t see each other often, he’d made sure to make every moment count when I visited. If I’d just given him an ounce of the concern he’d always shown me, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe I would have seen the signs sooner, gotten him help—
“Be careful,” he whispered, nodding toward the doctor. “Morning, Doc,” he said, his volume back to normal. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
“You too, Mr. Evans. I hear you had another exciting night.”
“If you mean another night where I had to fight off strange men, then yes. But I protected myself. And now my daughter Katie is here, so I can get my pigs and go. I need to see Noodle. She’s probably messed up the whole house, poor girl.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ve never been to a farm where they forced the buyer to spend the night, and I have to say I don’t like it. I won’t be doing business with you lot ever again.”
Tears filled my eyes and I quickly blinked them away. I could feel shitty about myself later. Right now, I needed to focus on my dad and what he needed.
“As I told you before, Mr. Evans, I couldn’t release you to go home alone. But now that your daughter is here, if she’s going to be staying with you…” He looked at me and I nodded.
“Yes. I’ll be staying for the next six weeks.”
“Perfect. I’ll get the paperwork started and a nurse will be in shortly to go over his medications and discharge instructions. A social worker will be in touch later to set up any additional services you may want. She doesn’t work weekends, but she’ll call on Monday.”
“Um, yeah, okay.” I looked back over at my dad, who had dozed off. I guess fighting all night took it out of him. “Can you go over what happened again? I don’t understand how he came in for a heart problem and ended up in la-la land.”
The doctor nodded. “Of course. As it generally happens with dementia, being out of his home environment was an additional stress. He became combative at night and couldn’t remember where he was or why he was here.”
“Wait, what? Did you say dementia? Since when?” There was a time when I never missed our weekly Sunday call. Then it was the monthly call. And now… fuck.
“It’s something he’s discussed with his primary care physician over the last year, according to his chart. He’s become increasingly concerned over memory loss and bouts ofconfusion. The social worker will get you the appointments you need to get a formal diagnosis.”
My stomach bottomed out. “I had no idea.”
“Don’t feel too bad,” he said gently. “That’s not unusual, especially with folks who live alone. If there were someone else with him, they might have picked up the signs more quickly or pushed him to get these appointments sooner.” He shrugged. “But we’re here now. And you can help him with the decisions he’ll need to make.”
“What kinds of decisions?”
“You may find that once your father gets back home, he snaps out of whatever delusion he was in and returns to the father you remember. Typically, that’s what happens. But the fact remains that he could go back into that state again. Living alone is no longer an option. He’ll either need in-home care or to move into an assisted living facility. But you don’t have to worry about that today.”
I rubbed my eyes. “If he’s already talked to his doctor, that must mean he’s already been thinking about it. And since he’s all alone, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind downsizing and moving to a facility. I hear they’re pretty nice these days. In fact, knowing him, he’s probably got it all set up and all I need to do is help him pack.”
The doctor raised his hand to cover a cough. Or was that… a snort?
“I’m sure you two will work it out. If I don’t see you again, have a great visit.” He walked from the room, leaving me with the snores and beeps, wondering what I was about to get myself into.
4
Kat
Iclosed the door to Dad’s bedroom, taking a deep breath. And another one. And a few more. The conversation at the hospital had thrown me for a loop. I knew my dad was getting on in years, but I didn’t realize what that fully meant. Or maybe I hadn’t wanted to.
My eyes filled with tears again, which was quickly becoming my new normal. But how could I not feel like a complete cunt? My dad had no one. I was an only child. He’d never remarried. And I left him to rot in this great big two-story house on fifty acres of land in the middle of nowhere. Of course this was too much for a sixty-five-year-old man to take care of. What was I thinking? Why didn’t I step in sooner?
I took another deep breath and wiped my eyes. There was nothing I could do about the past, but I was here now. I pulled out my phone and jotted down a quick to-do list. I crossed off the first item—bring Dad home. The relief was instant.
Over the next six weeks, we would solidify his diagnosis and set him up for success in a new home with an amazing staff. He could spend his days with his buddies and do crafts or go bowling or whatever people did in those places. I’d make a plan and everything would work out great. And now to tackle the next item on my list—finding that damn dog.
I changed into Ralph Lauren jeans and a pair of Burberry boots, deciding my work slacks and blouse weren’t appropriate for a romp in the woods. I was pretty sure Noodle would be somewhere close by. She was a bird dog, through and through. Limitless energy, always chasing small animals, and in a constant battle with her bladder. Although that could have been more of a Noodle thing than a breed thing. Dad had had her for about ten years and she was spoiled rotten. Ate at the table with him, slept in his bed, the works. I’d only been in the house twenty minutes and I was already picking fur off my clothes. There’s no way that princess would have run away.
But she was his constant companion, which was a heck of a lot more than anyone could say about me. I was determined to find that dog, even if the sound of my voice would probably send her in the opposite direction. I’d tried to get along with her, but the only time I spent around dogs was at my dad’s house. I thought I liked them well enough, but then she came along and peed on my shoes one too many times. If she’d been human, I’d have accused her of being jealous. But surely dogs weren’t petty like that.
I stepped between the pine trees and started down the path that led to the pig pen. Not much had changed over the years. When I was younger, Dad would take me out on the boat and we’d fish for bass and crappie. My heart warmed as I remembered the thrill of catching our dinner. He’d insisted I bait my own hook, with a wriggling worm from a plastic tub. Itusually took me a while to warm up to country living, but by the end of the two weeks, I hated to leave.
“Noodle!” I called. “Time to come home!” Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to find her. She was a dog, after all. You called. She answered. The end.
