Chapter 8 #2
“Yes, you are, but that doesn’t mean anything. You’ve had a rough few years, so if we could get a few easy years, you might find yourself feeling a whole lot better.”
“That’s already happened,” she stated. “Just having you home has been a huge help, and I appreciate that more than you can understand,” she said. “I just don’t know that I have too many more years to go.”
“Whatever years you have,” he began, staring at her steadily, “we want you to enjoy them as much as possible.”
She studied him for a long time. “I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have somebody who actually cares,” she muttered, taking a sip of her coffee, “because your father wouldn’t let me have any of my medications for my arthritis or anything like that.”
“Jesus, Nan. That means you’ve been in pain. So we will take you to the doctor and will see about getting new prescriptions and getting you back on top of your game. That way you’ll feel less exhausted and have more enjoyable days.”
“Is that the goal?” she asked.
“Yes,” he declared. “It’s about helping you to enjoy the days that you have.
I would absolutely love for you to have a lot more days.
We haven’t had nearly enough to enjoy together,” he noted.
“And I get it. For the last however many years, you’ve probably just been marking time, waiting for it to end. ”
Tears came to her eyes, and she nodded slowly. “Yes, I was just waiting for the end to come, hoping it would come sooner than later. But you’re right. It’s not the same anymore, is it?”
“No,” he snapped. “It is not the same at all, and there is no point in your enduring pain that we can reduce with a simple prescription. Let’s get however many years we can, but let’s make them good.”
She brightened at that. “Then get me to the doctor, and I can sort out what I might need. I know I could use something to help with the arthritis,” she admitted, as she put a hand to her knee.
“And I don’t know how my blood pressure is.
It may very well be down and reasonable now because you’re here, and he isn’t. ”
Wilden chuckled heartily at that. “I’ll make an appointment for you to see the doctor. I’ll also stop in and check on Jackson and see how he’s doing.”
“That’s a good thing,” she agreed. “You can also invite him for tea if you like. Do you think he would come?”
“Sure, I bet he would love that. He does drive and is trying to maintain some semblance of independence, and I think the driving is part of that.”
“Of course it is,” she said. “And I’m happy for him to do that if it’s something he wants to do. But if it’s a stress on him, let’s not push him because he’s afraid other people will take advantage,” she pointed out. “That’s exactly what happened.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ve decided to spend a bunch of time, not making restitution, but helping people who my father may have hurt.”
“And yet you told me how we’re not responsible for John’s actions,” she teased, with a knowing look.
“I did,” he acknowledged, “and I still feel that way, but wanting to help Jackson won’t go away.”
“No, it won’t, and maybe it shouldn’t,” she agreed. “He definitely suffered the most out of this mess.”
“Did he though? We’re still missing a veteran,” he noted, looking at her, “and I am worried that his situation may be way worse than what we have seen so far.”
She sat back and stared at him in shock. “Do you really think your father had something to do with that?” she asked, her voice faint.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “I can’t tell you that, but I’m concerned that we haven’t found him, and, as long as we don’t, we don’t get any answers.”
“But even if he is found, there’s still no guarantee of an answer,” she pointed out.
“Sometimes there just aren’t any answers.
” She looked pale. “And, in this case, if you do find out that your father had something to do with the other veteran’s disappearance, I’m not sure I want to know,” she shared, staring at him in horror.
“Agreed, but I still think that we’re always better off to have the truth and to just deal with that. It’s far better than burying our heads and thinking everything will somehow be okay.”
She swallowed and then nodded. “Would Jackson know something about it?”
“Good point,” he noted. “I’ll ask him when I get there this morning.”
“Will you take the dog away from him?”
“No, absolutely not. Why would you even ask that?”
She shrugged. “A lot of people would think that he couldn’t handle the dog.”
“That dog is a piece of cake to handle, and Jackson will do just fine with Sarge. They are a great help to each other,” he shared. “I hate to even think that people are saying things like that.”
“People say all kinds of stuff when they’re not getting their own way,” she pointed out, “and Jackson’s been pretty vocal about your father.”
“Ah, another reason for the bullies to pick on him, to make him stop and go away.”
“Yes, I would think so,” she said.
“Not exactly a nice thought.”
They talked a little bit longer, discussed a few of the house repairs to be done sooner than later, and the routine maintenance that hadn’t been done in a very long time, such as having the furnace serviced and cleaning the gutters.
“I’ll start doing the things I can do fairly quickly,” he shared. “There’s plenty around here that I can do. I know the trees need trimming and a bunch of stuff like that.”
She nodded. “Yes, and, if you can do that, it would be great.”
“Of course I can,” he said. “Even if I don’t get to it today or tomorrow, we’ll get there eventually.
” It wasn’t very long before he had breakfast made for both of them, and, after he cleaned up the dishes, he stood and announced, “I’ll head over to Jackson’s now and say hi.
” He stopped, looked down at Dagger, and muttered, “I wonder if I should take Dagger with me.”
“He would prefer it if you did, but, if you’re going to the police station, that may not be a great idea,” she muttered. “Still, if he’s with you, we know he’s going to stay out of trouble.”
Wilden nodded and left soon afterward.
Vivian woke up and rolled over happily, both dogs stretched out on the bed beside her.
She smiled and cuddled them both, then realized her phone was buzzing with texts.
She grabbed her phone, and, sure enough, it was Wilden, saying good morning and that he was heading over to Jackson’s to check on him.
Afterward, he’d be at the police station to confirm that everything was being done properly.
She wondered about that, curious as to how much pull he had to make that happen, but she was hopeful that he did.
As she got up to make coffee, she sent a reply text, sharing how she’d just woken up and thanked him for a lovely evening.
He phoned her. “Hey, I’m parked outside Jackson’s place right now, about to head inside, but I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed it too,” he shared, with a chuckle, “even though it was hardly a calm quiet evening.”
“No, but it was worthwhile,” she agreed.
“And we haven’t found Jackson’s cell or keys, so I’ll have to go back there soon.”
“Maybe I can come with you,” she offered, then yawned.
“Sounds as if you still need to sleep.”
“I want to, but I’m awake now,” she said, followed by a groan. “I’ll just start all the mundane things, like laundry, before I have to be at work again tomorrow. However, if you want to pop over after you’re done at the police station, I would love to hear an update.”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
After he disconnected, she got up and changed the bedding and worked on all the other things she had to get done at home, before realizing that she also needed to go shopping for groceries.
She had to do some food prep today because, if she didn’t eat properly throughout her workweek, she found it very hard to get through it all, especially the long days of surgeries she had lined up.
Since she had become the only doctor at the clinic, she found it much more draining, and she had to be on top of her health all that much more.
She got busy, quickly working through the various chores and tasks she needed to do, knowing that Wilden could show up at any point.
She was still vacuuming when the doorbell rang, and then the front door pushed open.
Startled, she realized it was Wilden. She laughed and turned off the vacuum and smiled at him. “Hey.”
“Hey. I figured you didn’t hear me knock on the door.” Then he dropped the leash so that Dagger could race toward her.
She bent down and cuddled the dog, as her two joined them. She smiled. “Good timing, I just finished.”
“Perfect. How about a hike?”
She stopped, considering it. “Actually I would love to get away, as long as we won’t be too late. I have to grocery shop and do some meal prep before tomorrow.”
“Perfect,” he said agreeably. “Let’s head out over to the other side of town. A couple of my old haunts are there. I used to spend a fair bit of time there, though not recently of course.”
“Good enough. Do I need to bring anything?”
“Nope. I’ve got a few granola bars, but, if you want a water bottle, bring that.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” she agreed.
Before long, they were packed up into his car. “Are we taking Sarge?”
He’d just turned on the engine. “Call Jackson and check if he’s okay with that.”
She called, and he was happy to have Sarge go out on another hike, so they looped around to his place, and she hopped out and walked up to the front door, knocked, then opened it.
As she poked her head in, she saw Jackson getting the leash onto Sarge.
“Looks as if you’re doing okay,” she called out from the door.
“I am now,” he said. “Nothing like a little bit of piss and vinegar to get the old juices going.”
She smiled at his attempt at humor. “I’m glad to hear that. You’re okay though, if we take this guy for a hike? Or do you want to come too?”