Omega's Truth - Nora Phoenix Page 0,18

that Maz would overcome his fears and find the courage to be all in.

Maz found it impossible not to feel sorry for Melloni as the man watched Sando walk out, so clearly confused over what was going on. He’d said horrible things—though the veracity of his statements was certainly up for debate now—but he seemed to have forgotten that whole conversation.

“Who are you?” Melloni asked, his tone hesitant as if he realized he should know this.

“I’m Dr. Ahadi,” Maz said.

It might be better to set up a doctor-patient relationship than anything else, which would only get confusing. Under any other circumstance, he’d have asked Enar to take over, but that was not an option right now. Enar needed to be with Palani. They’d even closed the clinic for anything but emergencies, which Maz would handle as much as he could.

“Am I sick?” Melloni asked.

“I think so, Professor, but we’ll find out, okay?”

“Okay. But I can’t be away from home for too long. I can’t leave Sando alone that long.”

Maz put a calming hand on his shoulder, almost grateful the man was so out of it. It made it easier for him to switch to doctor mode and forget about the rage he’d felt at the man’s hurtful words. “Sando will be taken care of. I promise, Professor.”

“Good, good. He’s so smart. He’ll be a brilliant scientist someday…”

“He is. Why don’t you lie down for a bit? Maybe take a nap? You seem tired.”

Melloni nodded slowly. “I am. I think I was up all night working. My work is very important.”

“Yes,” Maz agreed easily.

Melloni allowed him to help him up, and he followed him into his bedroom, where the man dropped down onto his bed without undressing and fell asleep. Now what? Sando was right. His father couldn’t be alone anymore. He was a risk to himself and others, if not because of his outbursts, then because he had so clearly lost touch with reality. So Maz needed help, but from whom?

Different ideas popped into his head, but he dismissed them all. Could he…? Yes, that would work. After making sure Melloni was asleep, he hurried outside and called out to the first person he saw, which happened to be Kean, and asked him to get Sivney. Fifteen minutes later, Sivney sat down with Maz in the living room, which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months.

Sivney scrunched up his nose. “Ew. It smells like something died in here.”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if something did.” Maz opened a few windows. The rest would have to wait until later.

“We need to send a cleaning crew here. This reminds me of Naran’s room when I first met him. God, that was filthy.”

Maz grimaced. “Yeah, that wasn’t pretty. But we have a bigger problem here, and I was hoping you’d have some ideas.”

He explained to Sivney what he’d seen in Melloni’s behavior, and Sivney’s eyes grew big. “Do you think it’s early-onset Alzheimer’s? He’s what, sixty?” Sivney asked when Maz was done.

“It could be, but I’m not qualified to make that diagnosis. And whatever it is, the trauma he endured probably plays a role as well, as does his character.”

“Alzheimer often reinforces negative character traits that were mostly suppressed before,” Sivney said. “I’ve seen this with a lot of patients. It lowers inhibitions, so you see a lot of impulsive actions. Anger outbursts, loss of decorum, inappropriate language or behavior, all kinds of things.”

“I know this from theory, and I’ve seen maybe two cases during my internships, but as an ob/gyn resident, my contact with the elderly is very limited, as you can imagine. I was hoping you’d have some ideas on what to do.”

Sivney’s expression saddened. “It’s not like you can ask Enar…”

“No. Not that I’d expect him to know more, but even then. Not an option.”

“I understand. Let me think… I think there’s a nurse’s aide among the refugees, an omega named Yitro. Maybe we can ask him to help? And he could perhaps train someone else? It seems to me the professor needs round-the-clock supervision, if not actual care, so we’d have to create shifts.”

Maz loved the way Sivney said “we” as if it wasn’t just Maz’s problem. It made him all too aware of how badly he’d failed Lucan by holding back, by letting him carry the burden of Sando on his own shoulders rather than sharing it with him.

“That sounds like it could work. Where can I find Yitro?”

Sivney waved his hand. “I’ll take care of it.