One and the Same
3
The door shuts with a solid thud and Albert sinks to the floor. He was going to have to cancel his plans today, the protest was going to affect his Dad. He sighs and pushes his hand through his hair, maybe if he brought Margie she could keep his dad from spiraling.
My first memory isn't of my parents or friends. It's seeing the black car pull up to our house, the one that everyone dreads seeing. Dad says that Mom acted like a true woman in response to the summons. she didn't cry just kissed us goodbye and promised to write before leaving. I would look forward to her letters but the longer the war dragged on the worse it was for my dad. He would stop mid-sentence and stare into the ether, and his smiles were tinged with sadness. He pulled into himself more and more, it got to the point where the only time he would leave the house was to visit the temple and pray for mom.
When we were notified that she had died something inside him broke. He stopped smiling and for days was so deep in his own mind he wouldn't respond to Margie or me. If I left him alone he wouldn't move from the chair in his room. It could be considered a hard job for a child, but I had already taken on most of the responsibilities and there were days when he was almost back to the the dad I knew. If I wasn't there he might have just wasted away.
Sometimes I wonder if that is what he would have preferred.
Albert opens the car door for the dogs and sighs at the sign that says Glenwood Springs Retirement Community. He knows the sign is supposed to be welcoming but all it does is remind Albert of his failure. He leads the dogs inside and greets the receptionist, "Hello George."
"Welcome back Albert. Sam will be happy to see you."
"Is today a bad day?"
George sighs, "It's not the worst but it's not good either."
Albert's heart sinks, he knew it. His dad had never been very good with conflict and these protests and riots had already caused the nurses to monitor him more, "I thought that might be the case, hopefully seeing the dogs will cheer him up." Albert looks at the dogs. Rosey is sniffing around the foyer while Margie calmly looks up at Albert. He can't help but think Margie knows how terrible of a day it will be. Albert silently sends a prayer to the side of Lorein responsible for widowers that his dad won't have to be put on suicide watch again.
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