The Golf Champion
“Please come, please come, please come, pl-ea-se come. Please come, please come ….”
I hear the voice and open the door. Bea looks up at me with frantic eyes. She has kicked off the comforter and must be freezing. I feel her feet, ice cold.
“Thank God, you’re here,” she says with obvious relief. “Help me out of bed. I have to congratulate him.”
Another dream! Bea insists Sven’s son has just won a golf tournament and gives me all the details while I feed her breakfast.
“Now I want to get out of bed,” she repeats, swallowing a last bit of banana.
Gently I remind her that she hasn’t been out of bed for three months.
“Get Sven,” she orders.
“But why, Mother?”
“To help me get up. He’s waiting.”
“Who’s waiting?”
“The man I met yesterday at the golf tournament,” she exclaims with exasperation. “He said he loved me. The other day he talked to me for a whole half hour on the telephone. Can you imagine? And, he’s beautiful. The most handsome one there. I wish I had met him 30 years ago.” She pauses and says with a coy smile. “He likes me.”
The phone rings. Bea looks up as if she expects her secret lover may be calling. Actually, it is Nancy’s son Nick. He and his wife are in town and want to stop by. I put down the phone and return to Bea’s bedside.
“I simply must get up and meet him,” Bea insists, again trying to rid herself of the comforter.
Distraction is in order: “Guess who IS coming?”
Bea stops kicking and pays full attention.
“Nick and Elspeth. Nancy’s son, Nick.”
“When?”
“In about an hour. They just called.”
Bea peers around the room with a worried expression on her face. “Are the covers as attractive as they could be?”
I assure her they are.
“I wonder if they smell?”
“I will spray air-freshener, okay? Now you take a nap.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” she says and closes one eye.
An hour later Nick and Elspeth arrive. They get to hear all about the golf champion. Bea surprises us by remembering that the Macdonalds used to live in a building near the subway with Italian neighbors and a beautiful view. Bea also confides that she is only going to live a few more months.
We have a nice long visit.
Seeing old friends is so good for the soul!
I hear the voice and open the door. Bea looks up at me with frantic eyes. She has kicked off the comforter and must be freezing. I feel her feet, ice cold.
“Thank God, you’re here,” she says with obvious relief. “Help me out of bed. I have to congratulate him.”
Another dream! Bea insists Sven’s son has just won a golf tournament and gives me all the details while I feed her breakfast.
“Now I want to get out of bed,” she repeats, swallowing a last bit of banana.
Gently I remind her that she hasn’t been out of bed for three months.
“Get Sven,” she orders.
“But why, Mother?”
“To help me get up. He’s waiting.”
“Who’s waiting?”
“The man I met yesterday at the golf tournament,” she exclaims with exasperation. “He said he loved me. The other day he talked to me for a whole half hour on the telephone. Can you imagine? And, he’s beautiful. The most handsome one there. I wish I had met him 30 years ago.” She pauses and says with a coy smile. “He likes me.”
The phone rings. Bea looks up as if she expects her secret lover may be calling. Actually, it is Nancy’s son Nick. He and his wife are in town and want to stop by. I put down the phone and return to Bea’s bedside.
“I simply must get up and meet him,” Bea insists, again trying to rid herself of the comforter.
Distraction is in order: “Guess who IS coming?”
Bea stops kicking and pays full attention.
“Nick and Elspeth. Nancy’s son, Nick.”
“When?”
“In about an hour. They just called.”
Bea peers around the room with a worried expression on her face. “Are the covers as attractive as they could be?”
I assure her they are.
“I wonder if they smell?”
“I will spray air-freshener, okay? Now you take a nap.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” she says and closes one eye.
An hour later Nick and Elspeth arrive. They get to hear all about the golf champion. Bea surprises us by remembering that the Macdonalds used to live in a building near the subway with Italian neighbors and a beautiful view. Bea also confides that she is only going to live a few more months.
We have a nice long visit.
Seeing old friends is so good for the soul!
posted by Alexandra Grabbe at 5:45 AM
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