Life in the present tense

It was the cards I noticed first this morning. Each one neatly placed on the windowsill. Carefully butted up against the thin line of mastic securing glass into frame; they were spaced almost exactly it seemed, but without the benefit of a ruler I couldn’t be sure. They ran in order, Hearts, then Spades, Diamonds and finally Clubs; each suit starting Ace’s low. You were moving slowly, gathering them up into a neat stack and beginning to lay them out again. I watched you for a while before going to the kitchen to make the first of many cups of tea. The kettle boiled, I poured water into two mugs on top of the tea bags and splashed in milk. A quick stir, the bags were fished out and dropped on a ‘save the teabag’ dish bought as a gift in Harrods on a long-forgotten trip. I took one mug into the sitting room and placed it to the side of the spread, avoiding your carefully orchestrated movements. Card out, card placed, card adjusted for spacing. Card out, card placed, card adjusted for spacing. “There’s a cup of tea here for you Dad”, I spoke the words quietly and without urgency. Any urgency would upset your routine and you would become distressed. “Frish hand you” You smiled at me when you spoke, a gentle smile that touched every part of your face and illuminated your eyes. I understood what you were saying even though the words didn’t make sense, and I smiled back touching you on the arm as I did so before turning away to get my own mug. Settling on the...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - Category: OBGYN Authors: Tags: Fiction alzheimers short story Source Type: news