The Second Man by Emelle Gamble Read Free Book Online

even though he had made the gesture every Easter Sunday they were together.
    Her mother’s surprise today would surely be more real than in old times.
    “Jill, wait up!” a man shouted as she reached for the door.
    She turned in surprise to find Carly’s dad, Dave Hart, dapper as always in a plaid sport coat and dress pants, hurrying up the sidewalk.
    “Dave! Hi!” They hugged at the doorway, the bright sunshine making her squint. “What a nice surprise. Happy Easter.”
    “Happy Easter to you. Carly called last night and told me your mom moved in here ahead of schedule, so I thought I’d come see her.” He squeezed her arm. “How are you, honey? You look great. Excited that my girl is hitting town?”
    “I can’t wait to see Carly. And the baby. I bet you and Leslie are excited too.” Jill said this even though Dave’s second wife did not get along very well with Carly, probably a big reason why her best friend was staying in a hotel.
    “We are.” He took her arm and they walked inside, registered, and headed for Dorothy’s room. “I hear a lot of your old comrades in arms are coming in for the reunion. That Norwegian kid, too, right?”
    “Swedish. Max. Yes, that’s true.” She kept silent, not ready to share with anyone that she had already talked with Max.
    Dave nodded. He was an ex-cop, an old comrade of her dad’s days on the police force. Her father had held Dave in high esteem and said he was a great listener, not a lecturer, and was a man he could always trust.
    “How’s Dorothy doing?” he asked.
    “She’s only been here two days, but yesterday she seemed anxious. It’s going to take time.” They stopped so Jill could enter the door code, set at 7777. The residents in the Alzheimer’s wing had to be kept locked in. Jill had doubted the wisdom of a code with all digits the same number, as people forgot codes, but might accidentally keep hitting the same button and get out.
    Dave held the door for her, but closed it quickly as a resident Jill had been warned about, Mrs. Meeks, dressed in head-to-toe polka dots, rushed toward them.
    “Hi there, Mrs. Meeks,” Jill said. “Happy Easter.”
    “Where are my roller skates?” Sandy demanded. “And Frisky. Where’s my dog?”
    “I haven’t seen him.”
    Mrs. Meeks squinted and then meandered back toward the dining room.
    Jill and Dave continued down the hallway. “I’ve seen her waiting by the door every time I’ve been here. She knows there’s a way out. The Alzheimer’s is not quite as advanced with her as it is in my mother case.”
    “This disease is so harsh. If your father was here, it would kill him to see Dorothy in a place like this.”
    “It would be tough for him, but I can’t help but think that maybe Mom wouldn’t have gone downhill so fast if Daddy had still been around.”
    Dave squeezed her arm. “He wouldn’t have done anything more than you have. My wife’s sister has Alzheimer’s, and her doctor says it’s not stress or grief or anything else that makes a person get worse. It’s the body making too much of that protein that clogs up all the brain cells, and the fact we don’t have any medication to stop it.”
    “I know, I know. I’ve read a million articles, but still . . .”
    “You’ve done the right thing by Dorothy, all down the line. She’s lucky to have you to make these decisions for her, kiddo.”
    “Thank you for saying that. I try, but I wish I could do more.” Jill knocked lightly on Dorothy’s door then opened it and found her mother sitting in the chair by the bed, rocking slowly back and forth.
    “Hey, Mama. You’ve got a couple of visitors.”
    “Buketa bucketa. Uncle Bill. Bucketa, bucketa,” her mother whispered.
    Jill touched her shoulder. “It’s Jill, Mama. And Dave Hart is here to see you.”
    Dorothy squinted up at them. “Who’s that man?”
    “It’s me, Dave. How you doing, beautiful?” He kissed her on the forehead. “Nice place you got here. Lots of