The Decision (35 page)

Grandma tugged on Elaine’s arm. “I was hoping you’d get me that sugar-free angel food cake mix. Can’t you go back to the store and get everything now? It’s still early, and you know what? I’d like to go with you.”

“Not today, Grandma. We’ll go tomorrow.” Elaine really didn’t feel up to going back to the bulk foods store right now and hoped Grandma would just drop the subject.

Grandma stared at Elaine, and Elaine held her breath.
Please, Grandma, let it go for now
.

For the moment, Grandma just sat staring at the puzzle pieces in front of her. This was one time Elaine hoped Grandma had forgotten what had been said. There were times when Grandma would get upset about something and start whining, and then she’d suddenly get distracted and forget all about what she had wanted. Maybe this was one of those times.

Elaine glanced at Iva, who appeared to be busy snapping in another piece of the puzzle. “You’re free to go on home now, Iva. I can handle things from here.”

“Are you sure? I can hang around longer and assist you with anything you need to have done.”

“I appreciate it, but everything’s fine, and now that I’m home, I can take over,” Elaine assured her. “I may need to call on you again soon, though, and I’m grateful that you came here today, short as the time was.”

“Not a problem at all.” Iva smiled as she rose from her chair. “Guess I’ll be going, then.” She paused and placed her hand on Grandma’s shoulder. “Oh, and Edna, you keep working on that puzzle, ’cause you’re doing a good job. Why, I’ll bet you will probably have a lot more done on it when I come by again.”

Grandma grunted in reply as she studied the puzzle intently.

Elaine walked Iva to the door. “Thank you again for taking the time to be here today, Iva.”

“It was no problem at all. Edna and I had a good time visiting while we worked on the puzzle.” Iva gave Elaine a hug. “Remember, now, to let me know when you need me again. I really don’t have anything going on that’s all that pressing these days.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Elaine couldn’t help thinking how lucky Priscilla was that her mother was still with her. Elaine would give anything to have either one of her parents here to lean on right now.

She stood in the doorway and watched as Iva’s horse and buggy went down the driveway and turned onto the main road, thanking God, once again, for people like Iva who truly cared about others and wanted to help out in their time of need.

When Elaine returned to the dining room, feeling just a bit better, she was greeted with an angry scowl.

“I want to go to the store today.” Grandma’s tone was defiant, and she looked at Elaine in such a cold way that it caused her to shiver. “I want that cake mix, Nancy, and I want it now!”

“We can go later on.” Elaine would never win this argument, so she might as well give in. There was no point in correcting Grandma about her name, either. Whenever Grandma referred to her as Nancy these days, Elaine chose to ignore it. “First, I need to eat some lunch and get a few things done around here. We’ll go after that. Okay, Grandma?”

Grandma’s expression softened some, and appearing to be satisfied, she gave a quick nod.

While Elaine did some cleaning around the house, wiping several small blood spots off the wall, she tried not to get too frustrated. It wasn’t Grandma’s fault that she had to have her finger pricked to test her blood, but Elaine wished Grandma would at least wait until the bleeding stopped before she touched anything.
Grandma probably doesn’t realize what she’s doing
, Elaine reasoned, blowing a straggly piece of hair off her forehead while she scrubbed. She walked slowly back toward the kitchen and used her sponge to wipe another red spot off the wall.

As Elaine continued to clean, she remembered a story that Grandma had read to her a long time ago. The tale involved a young girl who had been exploring a forest, and in order to keep from getting lost, she would drop a piece of popcorn along the path every few feet. That way, if the girl got confused, she could find her way home by following the popcorn trail.

Grandma could do something similar. Only for her, she would have specks of blood on everything she’d touched.

“That should do it,” Elaine murmured after she’d finished cleaning. She collapsed into a chair at the table, then jumped back up when Grandma tromped into the kitchen.

“Can we go now?” Grandma asked, sounding kind of huffy again.

“Okay. Just let me get Daisy hitched to the buggy again.”

“Let’s take Misty instead. She hasn’t been out for a while and could use the exercise.”

Elaine was hesitant about taking Misty, but Grandma was right. It had been a few weeks since they’d used Misty to pull their buggy. The animal probably needed to stretch her legs. Elaine hoped the ride to town would be without incident and that Misty wouldn’t be too full of pent-up energy.

Everything went well at first, but all of a sudden, Misty became rambunctious. It took Elaine several minutes to get the horse under control, but fortunately, Misty started behaving rather well for not having been out on the road in a while.

Grandma’s contented smile told Elaine that she was enjoying the fresh air and, at least for today, had forgotten about her recent fear of riding in the buggy. Elaine had relaxed a bit, too, after getting Misty to settle down.

October was a beautiful month, and this afternoon was no exception. Elaine noticed how beautiful the landscape was, with the glorious colors of autumn all around. The crimson red maples and bright yellow birch with the orange of sumac mixed in would have made a lovely scene for a painting, mingling with the earth tones of freshly cut fields. Elaine had never painted anything on canvas, but if she ever found the time, she might give it a try sometime. Meanwhile, she’d been able to squeeze in a few minutes each evening after Grandma went to bed to paint more of the rocks she’d found near the creek not far from their home.

Last Monday, when their bishop’s wife, Stella, had come by to visit Grandma, Elaine had been able to slip away for a short time. She’d gone to the creek and picked up several nice rocks. Visits from others in their community were the only times when Elaine could get away, as she wasn’t about to leave Grandma alone, for fear of her wandering off or burning something on the stove.

“Are you warm enough, Grandma?” Elaine pulled the blanket over Grandma’s legs.

“I’m fine. Quit fussing all the time. You’re acting like a mother hen.” Grandma frowned, but then she reached over and patted Elaine’s arm.

Elaine relaxed a little, taking in a deep breath. This was one of those rare times when things seemed almost normal. If only it could last. Even Misty seemed to enjoy the crisp autumn air, having no pesky bugs to swish away with her tail.

Big puffy white clouds billowed on the horizon as they continued toward town. Elaine remembered how, a long time ago, she and Grandpa had put an old blanket on the grass and, lying there together, watched the clouds roll by. One time, Grandpa had looked over at Elaine and said, “Someday, Lainie, I’ll be sittin’ on one of those beautiful clouds, watching over you and your grandma.” Did Grandpa know back then that he’d be the first to die? Was he looking down on them today from one of those puffy clouds?

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking
, Elaine thought.
At least I can be sure of one thing—our heavenly Father’s watching over us
.

Elaine was thankful that even through the darkest of times God was only a prayer away, and He knew what they were going through and cared about all their troubles.

Riding farther along, Elaine looked into an open field and spotted a doe watching as they approached. Elaine was about to point it out to Grandma when a smaller deer shot out from the opposite side and ran right in front of Misty. How the two animals kept from colliding was beyond Elaine’s reasoning, but unfortunately the horse spooked. Misty took off like a bullet, and Elaine held on to the reins with all the strength she could muster. To make matters worse, Grandma seemed to enjoy the adventure, hollering for Misty to go faster.

“It’s like being in a race!” Grandma clapped her hands like an excited child. “This is fun. Go! Go faster, Misty!”

Elaine didn’t have time to look at Grandma, but from her shouts of delight, it was obvious that she had no idea of the danger they were in. At this speed even the slightest bump in the road could send them crashing into a tree, someone’s fence, or worse—a car.

“Whoa there, Misty! Slow down, girl!” Elaine shouted. But Grandma’s exuberant horse had a mind of her own. All Elaine could do was cling tightly to the reins and hope that Misty would tire out soon.

“Sit back, Grandma, and hang on to your seat!” she instructed.

Grandma seemed oblivious to everything as she continued to clap, shout, and giggle.

Elaine should have slowed down when she first saw the doe standing by the road. Again, she could almost hear Grandpa’s words when he’d told her another time:
“If a deer runs across the road, slow down, because there will most likely be another.”
This doe had obviously been waiting for her fawn to catch up before going any farther. Elaine had only gotten a glimpse of the young deer before Misty went haywire.

After what seemed like forever, Misty finally slowed to a trot, snorting and shaking her mane. Elaine’s arms felt as though they were coming out of their sockets as she let up on the tension of the reins. She was relieved that no cars had passed during Misty’s wild romp and that they were now out of immediate danger.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and it gave Elaine time to calm down. By the time she guided Misty to the hitching rack, Elaine was breathing normally again.

Once in the store, Elaine hurried to get everything on her list, and then she stopped to look in the aisle where the baking supplies were kept.

“There’s no angel food cake mixes here,” Grandma mumbled, pouting like a child as she pointed to one of the shelves. “It’s your fault, Nancy. You shoulda got it for me this morning. I’ll bet they had plenty of cake mixes then.”

“I can make a sugar-free cake from scratch after we get home,” Elaine said, hoping that would appease Grandma.

“That’ll take too long.” Grandma shuffled toward the checkout counter, muttering under her breath.

Elaine placed the things in her basket on the counter and waited for everything to be rung up by the cashier.

“Is that a wig you’re wearing?” Grandma asked the clerk while pointing to her hair.

Elaine was about to apologize for Grandma’s impolite behavior, but the clerk just smiled and said, “Yes, it is a wig. You see, I have cancer, and my treatments have caused most of my hair to fall out.”

Elaine hoped that Grandma would respond properly, or better yet, just drop the subject. To her surprise, Grandma looked at the cashier with a sympathetic expression and said in a tone of sincerity, “I’m very sorry. I didn’t realize that.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Elaine put in. “And I hope you’ll be better soon.”

“Thank you.”

After Elaine had paid for her purchases, she gathered up the packages, took hold of Grandma’s arm, and led her out the door. She was relieved that this shopping trip was over.

I
hope Elaine is at home,” Leah said to Priscilla as she guided her horse and buggy down the road the following day. It was another beautiful autumn morning, but there was a definite bite in the air—the kind of nip that warns of winter coming soon. “Maybe we should have called and left a message yesterday to let her know we were coming.”

“Well, if she isn’t home, we can visit with Edna,” Priscilla responded. “I’m sure she would appreciate some company, too.”

“I doubt that Elaine would leave her grandma at home unless someone is there with her.” Leah shivered as the cold air seeped into the buggy. “Let’s hope Edna knows who we are today. Sometimes when I’ve dropped by, Edna didn’t have a clue who I was. Elaine’s even mentioned that some days her grandma thinks she’s Elaine’s mother, Nancy.”

“That’s so sad. Dementia is such a cruel disease for the person who has it, as well as for their family. I wish this had never happened and that Edna could be healthy again.”