Chapter 13
Paul Martinez was afraid to breathe. His mother, the mother who’d raised them with love and discipline and humor, the mother they’d lost to dementia over the last couple of years, was back.
She was fully lucid and her old self in almost every possible way.
With Scarlett on her lap, Marion absorbed every detail of the granddaughter she’d met many times before now, but this… This was different.
“She’s so beautiful,” Marion said, her eyes tearful. “Why haven’t you brought her to see me before now?”
“I have, Mom.”
Marion’s brows knitted with confusion. “No, you haven’t. And you’re married! Why don’t I remember the wedding?”
“We eloped, Marion,” Hope said, glancing at Paul with amazement.
“And there’s a boy. I remember a boy.”
“My son, Ethan. You and he are special friends.”
“Where is he?”
“He had a sleepover with friends last night, but we’ll bring him to see you soon.”
“I like him. He’s a nice boy, like my Alex and Paul always were.”
“Thank you,” Hope said. “We’re proud of him.”
“Is he your son?” Marion asked Paul.
“He’s my stepson, but I’m hoping to have the chance to adopt him. I love him very much.”
“I can’t believe everything that happened while I was away,” Marion said. “Where’s your brother?”
“He’s on his way.”
“From Washington?”
“No, Mom. He lives here now. On Gansett.”
“What’s he doing here? He works at the botanical garden in Washington. He shouldn’t be here.”
“He’s been back for a while now.”
“I don’t understand. Where am I?” She looked around the room that Jenny and Hope had helped them decorate to look homey and cozy for Marion. “This isn’t my home. I need to get home and get back to work.”
“You’ve been unwell, Mom,” Paul said gently. “For quite some time now.”
She raised the eyebrow that used to convey a wide range of emotions, back before her face became flat and expressionless. Watching her raise that brow hit Paul like a shot to the heart. “Unwell in what way?”
Paul wasn’t sure what he should say. Should he tell her the truth, or should he sugarcoat it? He didn’t know, so he looked to Hope, who was a nurse and probably knew better.
She leaned in and took hold of Marion’s hand.
“You have dementia, Marion. It’s become increasingly more severe as time has gone on.
Alex and Paul did everything they could to take care of you at home.
They hired me to be your caregiver, and that’s how I met Paul.
After a while, it became clear to us that you needed more care than we could provide for you at home. ”
Hope gestured to the room where Marion lived. “This facility was built by dear friends of Paul and Alex who wanted to help keep you close to them on the island. It’s even named for you.”
As Marion struggled to process what Hope had told her, Alex and Jenny came rushing into the room, looking terrified. He carried a sleepy-looking George. “What’s happening?”
“Alexander,” Marion said. “You’re holding a baby.”
Alex looked to Paul as he tried to understand what was going on. “Mom is feeling like her old self.”
“What?” Alex asked on a long gasp.
“This is Alex’s wife, Jenny, and their son, George,” Paul said.
“You… You named your son George,” Marion said, tearing up over the tribute to her late husband. “And you’re married.”
Alex sniffed and swiped at the tears that rolled down his face. “This is my wife, Jenny, Mom.”
Jenny stepped forward. “It’s so, so nice to meet you, Marion.”
Alex put George next to Scarlett on her lap.
Both brothers took pictures while they could, both knowing this interlude couldn’t possibly last.
Hope stood and leaned in to whisper to Paul. “I’m going to see if Quinn is here,” she said of Dr. Quinn James, the center’s medical director.
Paul nodded. “Thank you.”
After Hope left the room, Paul could only stare at the marvel of his mother appearing to be completely herself after living in a fog of confusion and disorientation for years.
“What is this?” Alex asked him softly while Marion was occupied with the babies and Jenny.
“I don’t know,” Paul said. “I couldn’t believe it when I walked into the room, and she said, ‘Hey, Paul, whose baby is that?’ I said, ‘She’s my daughter, Scarlett, Mom, and this is my wife, Hope.’ She asked when I got married, and I realized she was lucid. It’s been almost an hour.”
Hope returned with both Quinn and his fiancée, Mallory Vaughn, who was director of the nursing staff. “I updated them,” Hope said to Alex and Paul, who stepped aside to allow Quinn and Mallory into the increasingly crowded room.
“How’re you doing, Marion? I’m Dr. Quinn James, and I’ve been overseeing your care for a while now.”
“They… they say I have dementia.”
“Yes, you do.”
She seemed to be processing that information. “And that means I have trouble remembering things, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But I can remember my boys and my husband. We live on Gansett Island, and we run our business…”
“You remember right now,” Quinn explained in a gentle tone, “but it may not last.”
The babies began to get fussy, but Marion waved off their mothers. “Let me hold them, please.” She spoke softly to the little ones, consoling them until they settled and became interested in each other, as they usually were. She looked up at Quinn. “How long do you think it will last?”
“I don’t know. I wish I did.”
Marion looked to her sons. “Has this happened before?”
Alex nodded. “A couple of times, but never this long. This is… It’s such a gift, Mom. We’ve missed you so much.”
Marion broke down into tears as she hugged her grandchildren close while she could.
“I’m going to call Daisy,” Hope said to Paul.
“Oh God, yes. I should’ve thought to do that.”
Hope squeezed his arm and left the room to call the young woman who’d been such a dear friend to Marion. Daisy had been faithfully devoted to Marion since the day the older woman showed up on her porch after having walked barefoot into town.
Paul was uncomfortable from the sweat running down his back and face. The AC was on, but not at full speed, and it was warm in the close confines of Marion’s room.
“Do you think maybe I could go home for a while?” Marion asked her sons.
They looked to Quinn and Mallory for guidance.
“I suppose that would be all right for a short time,” Quinn said.
Paul took his reply to mean the doctor didn’t expect the period of lucidity to last much longer.
He had his reservations about taking Marion home.
Would they have trouble getting her to return to the care center when the time came?
And the house was different now. For one thing, he and Hope slept in the room that had once belonged to his parents.
“I’d really like to do that, if you boys wouldn’t mind,” Marion said.
“Of course, Mom,” Alex said, glancing at Paul. “Whatever you want.”
Daisy Babson had been shocked to receive the call from Hope Martinez. She grabbed her purse, phone and car keys and was on her way out the door when she nearly collided with David, who was coming in from a morning at the clinic.
“Whoa, what’s your rush?” he asked when he kept her from falling by grasping her arms.
“It’s the most unbelievable thing! Marion is completely alert. Hope called to tell me. They’re all there, and they wanted me to come see her.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Do you mind if I go with you?”
“No, I’d love that.” Her phone chimed with a text from Hope. “Marion has asked to go home for a little while, so they asked me to meet them there.” She returned Hope’s text to let her know she’d see them at their home. “Isn’t this so incredible?”
“It is, for sure, but it probably won’t last. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“I know,” Daisy said with a sigh. “But it’s a miracle while it lasts.”
“That it is.”
David drove them around the island toward the Martinez compound, where the family lived and worked. “What’re you doing one month from today?”
“I can’t recall. Give me some hints.”
He poked her leg, making her laugh.
“Oh! Do you mean marrying the love of my life?”
“That’s what I mean. I can’t believe it’s finally almost here—again.”
“Don’t jinx us.” They’d postponed their wedding, which had been scheduled for last September, after his father had had a massive heart attack.
“Nothing’s going to stop us this year, baby. And besides, it’s just a party. We’re already married in all the most important ways.”
“That’s very true. If we never had a wedding, it wouldn’t change anything.”
“Maybe so, but I’m ready to stand up in front of everyone we love and tell them what you mean to me.”
“Who would’ve thought that getting beat up by my ex would lead me to my own sweet, sexy doctor?” Daisy asked with a sigh.
“It’s hard to believe everything that’s happened since that night. Weird how something so awful can lead to something so great.”
“I won’t ever profess to being thankful to what’s his name, but I am thankful every day that you came into my life and we found each other. You have no idea what a mess I was before I had you to put me back together.”
“Likewise, my love. We’re very lucky.”
She placed her hands over her abdomen. “And about to be so much more so.”
“How will we ever stand to wait nine months? Ugh.”
“It’ll go by fast. I’m just glad that I won’t be showing yet for the wedding.”
“But we’ll know there’s a special package on board for our big day.”
“Yes, we will.”
“When can we tell people?”
“After three months. You know how often things go wrong in the first trimester.”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong.”
“And you know that for sure?”
“I do. I feel it in my bones. We’re going to have a beautiful baby who looks just like his or her gorgeous mommy.”
“Or handsome daddy.”
“Let’s hope they favor you.”
“Stop it. I want handsome sons who look just like you.”
David took the left turn into the gates at Martinez Lawn & Garden, drove past the greenhouses and retail store and then took a right toward the house where Paul and Hope now lived.
“Hey, Daisy…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t be upset if she doesn’t remember you. She met you when she was deep in the throes of dementia.”