“I’m going to watch TV.” My dad rose from his chair, but wobbled some.
“Let me help you, Dad,” Eli jumped up and escorted my dad to his chair and handed him the remote. Then he came to the kitchen where I was doing the dishes.
“What do we do if Nick doesn’t come?” I asked him.
“We take him to the hospital. I think we should do that anyway.”
“We need to respect Dad’s wishes, Eli. He won’t like it if we just take over.” I handed him a pot.
He picked up a towel to start drying the pot. “He’s sick, Mia. We need to take over.”
“Not now. Not this,” I said.
“How do you know? Whatever is going on could be serious.”
“Let’s just see if Nick shows up.”
Eli sneered but didn’t reply.
We’d finished the dishes and I was scooping ice cream I hoped my father would be able to eat, when there was a knock on the door.
I looked at Eli. “I hope that’s Nick.”
Eli’s response was to scowl.
We headed to the living area to get the door, but Dad had beaten us to it.
“Jim, everything all right?” Nick asked. His gaze drifted to me and then Eli, before returning to my father.
“Fine, fine. Mia and Eli just worry.”
“I brought my bag just in case.” Nick held up his medical bag.
“Pah, I don’t need that. Come in. I was watching a show on snakes.”
Nick followed my father into the house. “I saw a king snake the other day on run I took. It was a big mother fucker.”
My eyes widened at Nick’s words. Eli’s brows narrowed.
“I wonder if it was George. I had a king snake that lived out back for years. He had to have been five or six feet.”
“You named it George?” Nick asked as he gently helped my father into his chair.
“Yep, after King George. The mad king.”
Nick laughed as he stepped into the dining area, grabbed a chair, and then put it in front of where my dad sat. “Let me take a quick look at you, Jim.”
“I told them I don’t need a doctor.”
Nick smiled affably. “But I’m here. And what are the odds they’ll haul you off to the ER if I don’t see you?”
“I’ll take him anyway. I don’t trust you, Nick,” Eli said.
Nick flinched slightly, but he kept his attention on my dad.
“Oh, all right,” my dad acquiesced. “But make it quick. My ice cream is melting.”
With gentle hands and demeanor, Nick checked my father, taking his blood pressure and temperature, and then doing a variety of tests, one of which included having his ice cream.
“So, what’s the verdict, doc?” my father said. “Let me guess. Parkinson’s.”
Nick, sitting back in the chair, nodded. “Yes. It appears to be a progression of the disease, but you need to see your doctor, Jim. The difficulty swallowing is common, but as you can imagine, it’s also a big problem.”
“Are they going to put a tube in me?”
My heart broke for my father.
“Eventually,” Nick said it softly, but it was clear he was being brutally honest. “You should start thinking about having home help—”
“I don’t need that. My kids are here—”
“Jim.” Nick put his hand on my father’s thigh. “I know they’re here and that they want to help you, but both of them work. You’re going to be more susceptible to falling, and if you have difficulty swallowing, you’ll be eating less, which means you’ll be weaker. Having a person around will help you and keep you safe.”
“I’m not an invalid.”
It was the first time I saw my father not able to turn something around into a positive.
“I know you feel like your body is betraying you. It is. But your mind is sharp, Jim. There’s still a lot of living to do. In fact, I’ve been looking into you and me going to San Diego to see the bongos.”
“What the hell?” Eli said.
Like Eli, I was confused. Nick seemed to have a familiarity with my father that went beyond the norm. Sure, Nick had known my father all his life, but that was in the context of being Eli’s friend. They weren’t friends anymore, but Nick seemed quite close to my father.
“You’re sure they’ve got a bongo?” my father asked.
Nick nodded. “Yep. We could fly down, visit my folks. I know they’d like to see you.”
My father’s face lit up. When Eli started to say something, I squeezed his arm hard to stop him, and shook my head. I didn’t care if Eli hated Nick. They could have their feud elsewhere. I wasn’t going to let Eli take a moment of happiness from my father.
“I’ll set it up,” Nick said standing.
“Will you stay?” my father asked. “Mia got us ice cream.”
Nick cast a glance at me and Eli. “Sorry, Jim. I’ve got a hot date tonight.”
My gut flared with jealousy. It was probably that gorgeous attorney.
“Far be it to get in the way of love.” My father held his hand out.
Nick took it, and squeezed. “I’ll check on you tomorrow. And I’ll make those plans to see the bongos. Turns out I might have a lot of extra time on my hands soon.”
“Pah. You’ll be fine. Everyone knows you’re a great doctor.”
“Quack,” my brother said under his breath.
“I’ll walk you out,” I said to Nick.
Eli came with us as I showed Nick to the door.
“I meant it about starting to look for more help, especially when you’re gone during the day,” Nick said as we reached the door.
“I’m not listening to you,” Eli said. “You’re an asshole. You hurt my sister—”
“I don’t know what she told you, but she left me, Eli.” He shook his head, and glared at us like he was done with it. Done with me and Eli. In his eyes, I felt like he was saying our father deserved better.
“And stay away from my father,” Eli said as Nick headed out the door.
“For someone who pretends to care about his father, you don’t do a good job of
