Suburban Island V

They-Say Vision (Patience and Family)

They-Say Vision (Patience and Family)

-Patience-

This can't go on any longer. I decided this would be the best time to act. I made to room and booted up my laptop. You see, I have been in contact with my dad over the past month. At first, he wasn't sure who I was.

"Uh... who is this?" he asked.

"It's me, dad," I said. "Patience."

"Oh! It's you," he said. "How have you been?"

"Good..." I said. I couldn't help but to have my doubts about this. Still, this was all that I had to go by to save my aunt from losing her mind. I had to tread lightly for this to work.

We reconnected for a bit at first. Life in Alaska was normal for him. He could physically go to work and his kids could go to school. Yeah, I said that right. He was married and had more kids. I think he has twins. Both of them are boys. That's beside the point.

"How have you been holding up?" he asked me weeks later. I sighed and pushed my bangs back from my forehead.

"Not so good," I said. "I mean, I'm fine. It's just Aunt Patrice who's not coping so well."

"Has she stopped taking her meds?" he asked.

"There isn't really access to meds here," I said. Right then, I saw my opportunity. I sat up straight in my chair.

"Dad, I have a favor to ask you," I said.

Should I have touched to grandma about this beforehand? Probably. But somehow, I feel like we are running out of time. We all can't keep living here on Golden Leaf. That goes double for Aunt Patrice. Things have been getting worse for her. I don't know if grandma wants to admit it or not. It has to be me who does something. First, I was going to have to get grandma alone to talk to her.

I turned and looked at my door. They're still downstairs. I still have time to do this. By now, my desktop was up. I clicked on Zoom and logged in. Good, he's here. I clicked on Dad's name. The call started to connect. I held my breath. Come on. Come on, pick up. Dad's face popped up on the screen.

"Hello?" he asked. I let out a breath that I didn't know that I was holding.

"Hey, dad," I said.

"Patience," he said. "How have you been?"

"Fine," I said. "Well, one of my neighbors is missing. She went underground for some stupid reason."

"Oh no," dad said.

"They are looking for her right now," I said. "I hope she's going to be okay."

"Have you talked to your grandma yet?" he asked. I looked up at the screen.

"Huh?" I asked. "Oh. Not yet." I sighed and buried my head in my hands.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "There's just so much going on." I lifted my head and puffed up my cheeks.

"It's okay, honey," he said. No, it wasn't. I was supposed to be getting my aunt help. What kind of niece was I?

Wait a second...

"Hey, dad," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Can you hang on for a moment?" I asked. I took off my headset and walked out of the room.

----------

Good, grandma was alone in the kitchen. She had her scotch in a glass on the counter. I mean, what else was I expecting her to do? There wasn't much to do around this neighborhood anymore. Still, if I was going to act, I was going to have to do it now. I lifted my chin.

"Grandma," I said. She looked up and saw me.

"Yes, dear?" she asked. I walked over to the island and sat down on one of the stools.

"We need to talk about Aunt Patrice," I said. Grandma gave me an odd look.

"What about her?" she asked. I clenched my fists in my lap. I couldn't turn back now. I had to get this over with. I lifted my chin and took a breath.

"Could you come up to my room with me?" I asked.

"What for?" grandma asked.

"I have been talking to dad over the past few weeks," I admitted. Just by the look on her face told me she wasn't going to like where this was going.

"You did what?" she asked. I put up my hand.

"Please... hear me out," I said. "I know you aren't going to like this, but Aunt Patrice needs help. We can't give it to her here."

"What are you saying?" grandma asked.

"I figured that dad could get her the help that she needs and she could at least have a chance to escape from here," I said in one breath. Out loud, it sounded kind of cruel. But this was the only thing that I could think of.

"Please... just at least talk to him," I said. We didn't speak at first. Grandma finished her drink.

"Fine," she said. I about fell off the stool. I quickly bowed my head.

"Thank you so much!" I said. I leapt forward and hugged her. She didn't say anything as I let go.

"Take to him," grandma said.

"Right," I said. I slid off the stool and led her upstairsto my room.