Russ put his hand against the small of Joslynn’s back as he guided her into the pancake house. It wasn’t often he went on a breakfast date, mostly because he liked sleeping late, but if getting up early allowed him to spend time with her, he’d meet her anywhere and anytime.
She had dark smudges under her eyes, and she’d covered a yawn more than once. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was to rush around a busy emergency room for fourteen straight hours three days in a row. That she hadn’t wanted to run this morning was enough to tell him how exhausted she was.
“I want some eggs and some sleep,” she said as she slid into her side of the booth. “I’m dead tired.”
“You’ll get both,” Russ promised as he turned his inverted coffee cup over to alert the waitress he needed some caffeine. When Josie didn’t mimic his action, he asked, “No coffee?”
She shook her head. “It’ll keep me awake.”
“Ah. Makes sense.”
Instead of picking up the menu, she unwrapped the napkin holding her silverware.
“Know what you want?” he asked.
“My usual.”
“So you come here a lot?”
“Yep. Some of us come over here after our shift. Huge portions and the waitresses are awesome.”
As though to prove her point, a fortysomething waitress brought a coffeepot over to fill Russ’s cup. “Good morning.”
Before he could even take a sip, his cell rang, and he checked the ID. “Mom?”
“I need your help!” his mother said, her voice frantic.
Adrenaline rushed through his body. “What?”
“Please come home!”
Heart pounding, Russ asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Just come home. We need your help.”
“Did you call 911?”
There was no response. A quick check of his phone showed she’d ended the call.
He anxiously tried calling back, but his attempt went right to voicemail. “Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?” Josie asked.
“I’m not sure. Mom begged me to come home right away. Said she needed my help,” he replied, debating whether to call 911. Since he had no idea exactly what was going on, he didn’t know what to tell a dispatcher. Did they need the police? Firefighters? An ambulance?
His parents’ home was only a brief drive away, and he figured he’d go there first to get the facts. “I’m sorry, Josie. I’ve gotta go.”
She was on her feet as well, tossing some money on the table. “I’m going with you.”
Russ hadn’t told her anything about his father’s illness, and he wasn’t sure this was the best way for her to find out. “It’s okay. I can handle this.” Then his brain kicked in.
She’s a nurse. They might need medical help.
“I want to go with you,” she insisted. “You can fill me in on the way there.”
With a hard swallow, he nodded. Her tagging along meant that the time had come to share with her exactly what was wrong with his father. He only hoped that she wouldn’t come to the conclusion that her boyfriend might be a ticking time bomb and decide a relationship simply wasn’t worth the effort.
She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
* * *
“How far?” Joslynn asked as she buckled her seat belt.
“Only about five miles,” Russ replied, firing up the engine. The tires squealed as he sped out of the parking lot.
“Please tell me what’s going on.” He’d sounded so worried on his phone call, but she knew little of why they were rushing away from the restaurant.
After taking a corner so quickly that she was forced to brace herself against the door, he finally said, “I’m not sure, but I imagine it has to do with my dad.”
“Your dad?”
“I wasn’t quite ready to tell you yet, but he has Alzheimer’s.”
She placed her hand on his thigh and gave him an affectionate squeeze. “Oh, Russ. I’m so sorry.”
What else was she supposed to say? Alzheimer’s was one of the most insidiously tragic things that could happen to a person—to a family. Her first thought was that Russ’s father had to be too young for that kind of diagnosis, but then again, the disease could hit at any age.
“Yeah,” he said, his mouth bowing to a fierce frown. “So am I.”
“What was the call about?”
“All she said was to come home right away.”
Joslynn was surprised when Russ pulled his SUV into a driveway. Seemed as though they’d just left the restaurant. They scrambled out of the vehicle as a middle-aged woman with disheveled wet hair came hurrying down the front porch steps in her stocking feet.
“What’s wrong? Where’s Dad?” Russ asked, jerking his phone from his belt. “Tell me what happened so I can call 911. Did he fall? Is he hurt?”
The woman—one who Jos recognized as a former ER patient—shook her head and went hurrying back up the stairs. “He ran away.”
“He what?”
“He’s gone, Russell.” She waved them into the house, and Russ and Jos obediently followed.
“I took a quick shower, and when I came out of the bathroom, he wouldn’t answer me. I’ve been looking everywhere.” The woman shoved her feet into her shoes and then bent over to tie the laces. “He must’ve gone outside. We need to search for him.”
Joslynn took a good look around, trying to assess the situation. Her gaze fell to the front door. The rug that touched the threshold had a distinct border, which was something in their favor. “Was the door open?”
“Mom,” Russ said, “this is Josie. Josie, this is my mom, Yvonne Green.”
After a quick look of pleading directed at Jos, Yvonne shook her head again. “We need to start in the garage. Then we can check the shed out back.”
Since Yvonne clearly didn’t want Russ to know they’d already met, Joslynn focused on the problem at hand. “Was the front door open?” she asked again.
“No. None of the doors were open, but…”
“I don’t think he went outside.” Jos pointed to the floor by the front door. “That rug has a visual boundary. He probably wouldn’t cross it.”
Russ cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
Pointing to the rug again, she replied, “Alzheimer’s patients normally won’t cross a thick line like the border of that rug. Most Alzheimer units have carpet borders put all around the perimeter of any room the patients congregate in. It keeps them from wandering.”
“I have a rug exactly like that by the back door,” Yvonne said. “You really think he didn’t leave?”
Joslynn nodded. “Have you searched the house?”
“Not well,” Yvonne replied, combing her fingers through her damp hair. “I hurried to get dressed so we could start searching.”
“Then we should start in the house. If we don’t find him here, we’ll call 911 and get some help for a larger search.” Jos shifted her gaze to Russ. “Why don’t you start upstairs? That’s where the bedrooms are, right?”
He nodded.
“Closets to hide in,” she said. “Look everywhere. Under beds, anyplace a body could fit.”
“I’ll check this floor,” Yvonne said. “Would you mind looking in the basement, Josie?”
“I’d be happy to.”
As Russ ran up the stairs, Yvonne led Joslynn to another stairway. “Down there.”
“We’ll find him,” Jos said, placing her hand on Yvonne’s arm.
Wiping away a tear, Yvonne nodded. Then she hurried off as Joslynn headed down the stairs.
The lights were on when she entered the basement. The first cavernous room held a pool table and a vintage pinball machine. Old-fashioned paneling lined the walls, and the floor was covered with rust-colored carpet that had to be older than she was.
A door leading from the room was open and the naked lightbulb hanging in the center of the ceiling was illuminated, which made her think she might be on the right track. After a quick check under the pool table and pinball machine, she headed to the next room. This was a utility area with a water heater, the furnace, and a washer and dryer. Instead of being finished, the room had a concrete floor and the walls were open to the studs. She searched behind anything where a man could fit and found nothing. There was one more door, again open, and she walked through it.
A masculine chuckle made her let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Fumbling against the wall for a switch, she turned on the lights to find a storage room full of shelving units. Resting on those metal surfaces was everything from board games to large boxes marked with myriad descriptors from “Christmas” to “baby clothes.”
She didn’t know Russ’s father’s name, so out of habit, she called, “Sir? Are you in here?”
Another chuckle helped her focus on the direction of the sound. She started walking between the shelving units.
“Sir?”
“You found me!” A man stepped out from between two of the sets of shelves to her left. “I thought I had a good hiding place!”
“You did. It took us a long time to find you,” Joslynn said.
“Sharon?” When he tilted his head, she saw clearly the resemblance between father and son. All Russ had to do was look at his father to see himself in another twenty-five years. The same face shape, bright eyes, and short light hair, albeit his father had a peppering of gray at his temples.
“My name is Joslynn. Would you like to go upstairs to see Yvonne and Russ?”
“I was hiding from Yvonne. I thought she wanted to play. She loves to have fun.”
Holding out her hand, Jos nodded. “She’ll be glad I found you.”
He took her hand. “I’m glad to see you, Sharon.”
“I’m Joslynn,” She led him out of the storage room and then the utility room, turning off the lights and shutting the doors behind her.
Dragging his feet, he pointed at the rack of pool cues. “Do you wanna play a game of pool?”
“No, thank you. Yvonne is worried. We should go see her.”
With a pouty lip, he followed her up the stairs.
“I found him!” Joslynn called. “Russ? Yvonne?”
Heavy footfalls sounded upstairs, and as she led him toward the family room, Russ came bounding down the stairs. “Dad!”
Yvonne hurried in from the back of the house. “Baron! I was so worried.”
Baron Green dropped Jos’s hand and wrapped his arms around Yvonne when she threw herself against him.
“Where was he?” Russ asked, coming to stand next to Joslynn.
“He was in the basement storage room, playing hide-and-seek.”
Easing back, Yvonne frowned at her husband. “Hide-and-seek?”
“You like playing games,” Baron announced.
“When I know I’m playing them,” Yvonne scolded.
“You hid, so I did too.” He pointed at Joslynn. “Sharon knew.”
“Who’s Sharon?” Jos asked.
“His baby sister,” Russ replied. “She lives in Arizona.”
Yvonne let out a heavy sigh. “You do look a lot like her when she was younger.” Then she swatted Baron’s chest. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
Having spent some time working geriatrics, Joslynn immediately wanted to rattle off ideas on how the Greens could make a few changes. Helpful supplies like special locks. Places where they could connect with other Alzheimer’s families to share ideas on coping. Workers that would help keep an eye on the patient when his caregiver had other activities.
Why hadn’t Yvonne told her that her husband had Alzheimer’s when she’d visited the ER? Joslynn remembered stitching up a cut on Yvonne’s arm, and they’d chatted amicably during the procedure. Most people who were caregivers for a chronically ill spouse wanted to talk at length about their situation. Yvonne hadn’t said a word, so Joslynn had never had a chance to make suggestions about his care.
Baron wasn’t her patient, and Jos had no business telling him what to do. She could, however, offer help. “There’s a really great social worker at my hospital who specializes in helping families with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.”
Pushing away from her husband, Yvonne flashed Joslynn a rather fierce frown. “We don’t need a social worker. I can handle things fine by myself.”
Ah. So that’s the way of it.
Yvonne’s pride was keeping her from asking for the help she clearly needed—a problem that was common enough for Joslynn to understand and sympathize with. Jos figured there wasn’t a single thing she could recommend that Yvonne would accept since she was intent on caring for Baron all by herself.
* * *
Russ bristled at his mother’s quick dismissal of Josie’s suggestion that they get some help.
Ever since his father’s diagnosis, his mother had been killing herself trying to show that she was capable of giving Baron everything he needed. It had taken a lot of heated arguing just to get her to agree to have the housekeepers come once a week.
“Maybe I can talk to the social worker,” he offered, not surprised when his mother’s frown was quickly focused on him. Her need to stand on her own two feet was admirable, but in this case not necessarily wise.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Yvonne insisted. Taking her husband’s hand, she announced, “We should have breakfast now.” A glance back. “Would you two like some oatmeal?”
Russ looked to Josie, who gave him a quick shake of her head. “No thanks, Mom. Josie is exhausted. She’s a nurse and works nights. I should get her home so she can get some rest.”
Instead of grilling him over the fact that he’d brought his new girlfriend here, Yvonne merely nodded and led Baron to the kitchen.
Once Russ and Josie were back in his SUV and leaving his parents’ driveway, he figured he owed her an explanation. “Dad’s only fifty-eight. He was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s last year. Mom swears she doesn’t want their lives to change because of it.”
“I hate to say it, Russ, but that’s a bit naïve.”
He let out a sigh. “I know. But what am I supposed to do?”
“Your homework. The more you know about the illness, the more suggestions you’ll be able to offer to help them. Would you like me to contact the social worker? Just because your mother doesn’t want to talk to her doesn’t mean that you can’t learn how to help anyway.”
Although conditioned childhood obedience wanted to kick in, he nodded. Josie was right—he needed to learn more about what his parents faced.
“There are a lot of simple things they could do that would prevent things like what happened today,” she said. “Your mom just needs to be willing to let someone else give her a hand.”
A snort slipped out. “Not likely, but I’ll try.”
Her palm covered his thigh. “I’ll help any way I can.”
“You mean learning this deep, dark secret isn’t going to send you running for the exit?”
“It’s not a deep, dark anything,” she insisted.
It was hard to have this conversation when he was still driving because he wanted to see her eyes. Thankfully, they were close to the restaurant. “You’re not worried about the genetic connection?” It was a deeper question than it seemed on the surface. They’d been a couple only a short time, and should she admit any concern about Russ one day being affected, she might also be admitting that she’d developed feelings for him.
“Genetics isn’t everything,” Josie replied. “Have you been tested to see if you have the gene?”
Russ shook his head. “Not sure I want to know…Maybe someday.”
“From what I’ve learned, it’s like a lock and a key,” Josie said. “You need both. Genetics might give you the lock, but something in the environment is the key that opens that lock. You’re not necessarily going to have the same fate as your father.”
“So I can go ahead and have the six kids I was planning on?” he teased as he pulled up next to her car.
A glance to her face found a frown every bit as ferocious as the one his mother had given her earlier.
“What’s wrong?”
“You want kids?”
“Well, yeah. Not six,” he said with a chuckle. “But a couple might be nice.”
Her frown didn’t ease.
Russ picked up her hand. “Tell me what’s got you so upset.”
“I guess since you told me about your father, I should confess my own deep, dark secret.”
“You have a secret?”
She let out a sigh before nodding. “Now that we’re a couple, I have something I should probably tell you…I can’t have children.”