don’t understand what’s happening. Why can I remember Daisy, but I don’t remember my sons getting married or having children?”
“Dementia is a very complex disease,” David said, “and it rarely follows any sort of predictable patterns.”
“They said the lucidity won’t last… Is that true?”
“I’m sorry to say that it is.”
“Will it happen again? Will I remember things again in the future?”
“I don’t know that. I’m sorry.”
“But it’s not likely, is it?”
“No, it’s not.”
Marion set her jaw and gave a short nod. “Thank you for being honest with me.”
“Of course.”
Daisy could see that it pained David to have to be honest with Marion, but she gave him credit for his kindness.
“Could I hold baby George?” Marion asked.
“He would love that.” Jenny settled the baby on his grandmother’s lap. “Would you mind if I took some pictures of him with you?”
“My hair is a mess,” Marion said, raising a hand to straighten it.
“No, it’s lovely, Marion,” Daisy said. “Chloe comes to do it for you every Friday morning.”
“Chloe… Does she have pink hair?”
“Sometimes,” Daisy said. “You never know what color it will be.”
“She’s a nice girl.”
“She is, and she has a nice boyfriend named Finn McCarthy.”
“Little Finn McCarthy? Big Mac’s nephew? He’s just a teenager.”
“Not anymore, Mom,” Paul said. “I think he’s twenty-seven now.”
“Twenty-seven! My heavens. How did that happen?”
They talked for an hour about other island residents, who had married whom, who had children, people her sons had grown up with and other news. At one point, Alex walked to the other side of the porch where he stood looking out over their property, his shoulders hunched.
Jenny went to him, wrapped her arms around him and offered what comfort she could. How cruel it had to be for Alex and Paul to have their mother back while knowing she couldn’t stay.
As the afternoon passed, Marion’s faithful friends from church came by to see her. Ethan came home with his friends Kyle and Jackson in tow. Ethan delighted Marion, as usual, but she rarely let go of Daisy’s hand.
Daisy was honored to be someone who provided comfort to Marion and stayed by her friend’s side even as she roasted in the unrelenting heat.
Baby George had sat with his grandmother for more than an hour before he got fussy for his mommy. Despite the heat, the family stayed close to Marion all afternoon.
David put his arm around Daisy and whispered to her, “We’re supposed to stop by Charlie and Sarah’s.”
“We’ll do that later. I can’t leave Marion. You can go if you want, and I’ll catch up.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
Charlie Grandchamp worked the grill in the scorching heat as sweat rolled down his face and soaked his T-shirt. There’d been a time in his life when the heat and sweat would’ve annoyed him, but it took an awful lot to rile him these days.
He was free, in love with the most amazing woman, and they were surrounded by family and friends in their gorgeous new home. Nothing could get him down today, not even the power failure that had them cooking everything they’d bought for the party and feeding people as they arrived, rather than all at once later as they’d planned.
The only thing he needed to make this day perfect was to see his daughter, Stephanie. He hadn’t seen her in a week, since she and Grant left for LA to attend the premiere events for the film that was telling their story to the world. He wanted to know if she’d decided to see it or not. She’d been leaning toward not when she left, and he could surely understand that. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see it either, although he was curious about how his son-in-law and the Quantum team had told their story in the film. So he might see it for that reason alone.
Sarah’s daughter Cindy joined him at the grill, bringing a large platter. She had light brown hair and brown eyes and a warm smile that made Charlie feel welcome in her life. “Mom said to bring this to you.”
“Thank you. Thought you were working today.”
“I worked this morning.” She cut hair at the Curl Up and Dye salon in town. “I didn’t take any appointments this afternoon because I wanted to be here.”
“How’s Chloe doing?”
“Not so great from what I hear.”
Chloe Dennis, who owned the salon, had been dealing with a significant flare-up of her rheumatoid arthritis.
“I’m sure the heat isn’t helping,” Charlie said as he transferred steak and chicken from the grill to