could feel the
heaviness of the situation growing on my shoulders. I was praying. Praying she
was all right. Praying she would know what was happening. Praying she was my
mom today.
As Andrea and I walked into mom’s room, I saw her sitting at
a table, working intensely at something. I held up my hand to Andrea as a
signal for her to wait by the doorway. I didn’t want Mom to have too much of a
commotion with me entering with another person.
She heard my shoes squeak as I walked inside. I sighed out
loud when she turned to look at me and didn’t appear frightened—she
looked…Excited.
“Cooper!”
There was nothing sweeter than hearing my name from my mom’s
lips. She knew me today. She was quick to stand up and rushed over to me,
wrapping her arms around me. I held on to her for quite awhile. Maybe Ms. Wells
was wrong. Maybe somehow Mom’s mind had traveled back to present day. Maybe she
wasn’t trapped in the sick time capsule that kept her wandering down a dark
path of memory lane.
But quickly my grin faded.
“I thought you weren’t coming back from the honeymoon until
next week, honey.”
Shit. It was 2009. And I’d just married Iris.
Her eyes shifted to the doorway and landed on Andrea. “Well,
what are you doing out there, Iris? Come on in! Let me get you two some coffee!
I can’t wait to hear all about it!”
“No, Mom, we don’t need coffee. We had some on the way.” I
walked over to Andrea and spoke softly. “I’m so sorry…”
She shook her head and smiled. “What’s her name?”
“Grace.”
Andrea approached her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s so
great to see you, Grace.”
I laughed. I was amazed by how okay Andrea was with all of
this. She was going out of her way to make the situation seem somewhat normal.
The weather here was in the 70s. It was pretty damn nice to walk outside
without coats. But what was nicer was seeing Andrea in a tank top and tight
jeans. No makeup. It wasn’t needed. She seemed so simple. So perfect. She never
worked as hard as Iris did with her appearance, which made it so easy to fall
for her natural beauty.
“Honey, what did I say about that? Don’t call me Grace! Call
me Mom! Come on, now. Sit, sit.” Mom ushered her into the room and sat us down
on her bed. She took the chair across from us. It was so strange. We were
sitting in a nursing home, yet in my mom’s mind we were sitting in her living
room. How could that be? I wished I could take a drive through her brain to see
what was happening.
“So how was Thailand?” she questioned.
Andrea looked at me and nudged my arm. “You tell her, babe.”
I went into explaining the beauties of Thailand. The
wonderful elephants we rode. The beautiful buildings, the museums, the amazing
stone structures. The pandas at the Chiang Mai Zoo were pretty astonishing, but
the fact that the word panda was now forever engraved in my heart as a
connection to Andrea made it even more remarkable. It was her favorite animal, and
there was not a doubt in my mind that the woman I wished I could have taken to
Thailand was sitting next to me.
I found myself falling for her each moment our eyes locked.
Each time she caressed my hand. I knew I wanted to fix Andrea, to help her move
on. But the truth of the matter was that she was somehow fixing me.
Mom was happy. I hadn’t seen her happy in such a long time.
Whenever I asked Iris to come visit with me, she said she felt uncomfortable
with nursing homes. And she hated lying to my mom about the time period. She
thought it was unhealthy the way I played along with her illness. But I didn’t
think of Mom as being ill. I thought of her as being lost. And if I were lost,
I would hope to have someone around me who was willing to help me find my way
home.
Her eyes shifted to Andrea’s ring finger and she gasped.
“Where’s your ring!?”
Shit. There wasn’t a ring. At least there wasn’t until
Andrea reached into her purse, pulled out her engagement ring from
heaviness of the situation growing on my shoulders. I was praying. Praying she
was all right. Praying she would know what was happening. Praying she was my
mom today.
As Andrea and I walked into mom’s room, I saw her sitting at
a table, working intensely at something. I held up my hand to Andrea as a
signal for her to wait by the doorway. I didn’t want Mom to have too much of a
commotion with me entering with another person.
She heard my shoes squeak as I walked inside. I sighed out
loud when she turned to look at me and didn’t appear frightened—she
looked…Excited.
“Cooper!”
There was nothing sweeter than hearing my name from my mom’s
lips. She knew me today. She was quick to stand up and rushed over to me,
wrapping her arms around me. I held on to her for quite awhile. Maybe Ms. Wells
was wrong. Maybe somehow Mom’s mind had traveled back to present day. Maybe she
wasn’t trapped in the sick time capsule that kept her wandering down a dark
path of memory lane.
But quickly my grin faded.
“I thought you weren’t coming back from the honeymoon until
next week, honey.”
Shit. It was 2009. And I’d just married Iris.
Her eyes shifted to the doorway and landed on Andrea. “Well,
what are you doing out there, Iris? Come on in! Let me get you two some coffee!
I can’t wait to hear all about it!”
“No, Mom, we don’t need coffee. We had some on the way.” I
walked over to Andrea and spoke softly. “I’m so sorry…”
She shook her head and smiled. “What’s her name?”
“Grace.”
Andrea approached her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s so
great to see you, Grace.”
I laughed. I was amazed by how okay Andrea was with all of
this. She was going out of her way to make the situation seem somewhat normal.
The weather here was in the 70s. It was pretty damn nice to walk outside
without coats. But what was nicer was seeing Andrea in a tank top and tight
jeans. No makeup. It wasn’t needed. She seemed so simple. So perfect. She never
worked as hard as Iris did with her appearance, which made it so easy to fall
for her natural beauty.
“Honey, what did I say about that? Don’t call me Grace! Call
me Mom! Come on, now. Sit, sit.” Mom ushered her into the room and sat us down
on her bed. She took the chair across from us. It was so strange. We were
sitting in a nursing home, yet in my mom’s mind we were sitting in her living
room. How could that be? I wished I could take a drive through her brain to see
what was happening.
“So how was Thailand?” she questioned.
Andrea looked at me and nudged my arm. “You tell her, babe.”
I went into explaining the beauties of Thailand. The
wonderful elephants we rode. The beautiful buildings, the museums, the amazing
stone structures. The pandas at the Chiang Mai Zoo were pretty astonishing, but
the fact that the word panda was now forever engraved in my heart as a
connection to Andrea made it even more remarkable. It was her favorite animal, and
there was not a doubt in my mind that the woman I wished I could have taken to
Thailand was sitting next to me.
I found myself falling for her each moment our eyes locked.
Each time she caressed my hand. I knew I wanted to fix Andrea, to help her move
on. But the truth of the matter was that she was somehow fixing me.
Mom was happy. I hadn’t seen her happy in such a long time.
Whenever I asked Iris to come visit with me, she said she felt uncomfortable
with nursing homes. And she hated lying to my mom about the time period. She
thought it was unhealthy the way I played along with her illness. But I didn’t
think of Mom as being ill. I thought of her as being lost. And if I were lost,
I would hope to have someone around me who was willing to help me find my way
home.
Her eyes shifted to Andrea’s ring finger and she gasped.
“Where’s your ring!?”
Shit. There wasn’t a ring. At least there wasn’t until
Andrea reached into her purse, pulled out her engagement ring from
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