Mom pulled up right at 12:00 on the dot. I asked dad if he was ready for some good food. We waved goodbye to mom as she drove off for her hour of whatever she wanted to do. I remember looking back at her and she had this huge grin on her face. Dad and I walked into Perkins, “table for 2 please.”
Dad asked me what I was going to have. I told him a cup of soup and a ½ sandwich sounded good. I asked him what he was thinking. He said “this” and pointed to the country fried steak, eggs, hash browns, and pancakes picture. I agreed that it sounded pretty good. I told him I was thinking also about a slice of Lemon Meringue pie, but only if he would share it with me. He said he wouldn’t turn it down.
We talked about the weather, a beautiful sunny 45-degree day in Indiana. Unseasonably warm. We talked about my sons, Myles and Will. Myles had a basketball game that night and dad asked if I meant Will. I said no, it was Myles who plays basketball. I told dad about Will and his new club he joined at school, The Rubik’s Cube club. Dad stated that Dennis (my husband) should teach the club. He remembered that my husband could solve a Rubik’s cube in a few minutes flat.
Our coffee and tea came. Dad reached for the creamer. I had never known of him to use creamer in his coffee. When I asked, he said he thought he would try something different today. Dad went on to tell me that as he was getting ready this morning, his old friend from his childhood named Phil walked out of the bathroom as said hi to him. Let me back up…
A few weeks ago, my dad started seeing people in his home. My mom had called me one night saying she found food in the back bathroom. When she confronted my dad about it, he said it was for Butch (his brother) who is living in the floorboard. I visited the next evening and dad took me into the bathroom and asked me if I saw my uncle? I looked into the mirror on the closet door and told my dad no but agreed that it looked very similar to my Uncle Butch. They do have a strong resemblance. Dad said that Uncle Butch was living under the floor. I asked dad how he got there and if Aunt Ruby (my uncles wife) knew he was there? He said he comes in from an outside door and wasn’t sure if my aunt was aware. I told him that I am sure she misses him, and he should go back home. He agreed, we walked out of the bathroom, and that was the end of the conversation. Later, that night, I spent a long time looking up Dementia and hallucinations/delusions and seeing things that are not there. I was amazed at the information I found. Never even knew it was a thing. I also learned about sun downing, which is when the sun starts to go down, it is more common for those with Dementia to see things that aren’t there. I realized; dad was seeing his brother in the mirror looking back at him. Dad was truly seeing my uncle.
Lunch arrived. I was sure that dad would not finish all the food that was brought to the table. He had 2 plates just for himself! As he started to cut up his country fried steak, he blurted out that President Trump had decided to hire someone else. I asked him to explain. He said that he had received an offer by email to run President Trump’s cabinet. He stated that he had replied to the email several times but never heard back. He said that his first question to the President was what the salary would be and the second being whether he would have to move for the job or not. He said if he had to move, he wouldn’t take it because he would have to leave us, his family (silver lining).
In between bites, he told me the guy he hired was from Mt. Carmel. (Note, I had mentioned when talking about Myles that his game was in Carmel tonight). He said this guy must have been a better fit, but he knows he would have been a good hire too. I asked him why, and he said because he knows how to work with people. I agreed with him.
The waitress brought out the slice of pie. I looked over at dad as he slurped up the last of his eggs over easy. I smiled as egg yolk dripped from his chin. He had eaten every bite of the steak, eggs, and hashbrowns. He took a pancake from the other plate and placed it on the empty one, right on top of the remains of egg yolk and ketchup. He buttered it, poured syrup on it, and motioned for me to cut him half of the pie. He said go ahead and put it right on top. I asked him if he wanted it right on top of the pancake and he said, yep. Lemon Meringue pancakes! I watched as dad ate the concoction and chuckled to myself. My silver lining.
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