The Mail Woman

52

*Kassidy
A WEEK LATER

I just got off the bus heading to my parents' house. Dad knew I was coming but he didn't know I was coming today.

I pulled up to the house and it was just the same. Nothing changed, but they did get a deck and flowers alongside the house. I tipped the driver, grabbed my things, and headed up the driveway. I made it to the door and my dad opened the door with a big smile.

"Heyyyy..." he said hugging me

"Hey Pops..." I said with a smile

"I didn't know you were coming today..." he said grabbing my bags from me

"I wanted to surprise y'all. Where's mom??" I asked

"She's taking her daily nap right now. She should be up in the next hour and a half..." he said and I nodded
"Good thing your mom got bored and fixed up your old room the other day..."

We walked down the hall to my childhood room. Opened the door to see Mom had changed the sheets, wiped down everything, swept the floor, and all.

"Oh, she wasn't playing in here. It smells good in here, what's that smell??"

"One thing that hadn't changed is your mom loves candles. The church family always giving her homemade and store-bought candles. She insisted on lighting candles throughout the house every day when she remembers..." he said

I sat on the bed and flopped back.

"Tired??" He asked

"No, not really..." I said honestly

"You want some to eat or anything??" He asked

"Something to eat would be nice, I haven't eaten since early this morning..." I said

"Today, I was making pepper steak with rice..." he said

"I'm down with that..." I said

We made our way into the kitchen. I sat on the stool behind the counter.

"So, how has mom been doing??" I asked

"She's been stable. Nothing new has come, I've been giving her these vitamins to help her not be so tired. She remembers things more sometimes. Overall she's doing better than she's ever had..." he said making me smile

"Wonder if she knows who I am once she wakes up..." I said

"I show her a picture of you every day and tell her who you are. So, she might know right off or she'll remember later..." he says making me nod

We started talking and catching up on life. I told him about Ke, my new job, and I slightly told him about Winter. He talked about the situation a little with me. He said he saw a spark in my eyes when I talked about her. He also said that once you find somebody that makes you happy and you feel that's genuine, it's a good thing cuz it's hard to find that nowadays. After that, he said no more. So I didn't know how to take what he was saying into action. What I needed to do next was the question.

_________
He was almost done cooking when he heard Mom get up. He went to get her while I waited. A few minutes later, I hear them coming down the hall. My eyes focused on the hall when they appeared. Her flowy hair was up in a bun with a few pieces out. The skin was clear and looked amazing. She looked great and very healthy.

They came down the hall and she was chewing dad ass up for not having her candles lit. I sniggered which made her look up. She paused and looked at me. She was looking at me for a good minute before a smile crept on her face. She walked ova to me with a bit of Dad's help. She reached out and touched my face making me smile.

"Kassi..." she said softly tapping my nose

"Hey Mom..." I said looking into her eyes and smile

She continued touching and looking at my face.

"Kassidy..." she said very low

As she touched my face more her eyes lit up. A big smile made its way to her face.

"Hug..." she said

I nodded quickly before she pulled me and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her with my head on her chest as she rubbed my face and hair. I closed my eyes as I snuggled into her more. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes to see Dad taking pictures of us. I smiled and he clicked another one. He smiled as she continued hugging me. I stayed there as long as she allowed me to. She ended up looking around and seeing the donut box. She went to get her a donut and took a seat on the couch. I turned on the TV for her, she wanted to watch The Price is Right. I put that on and went back to the kitchen where Dad was still cooking.

"Since she's had Alzheimer's I've never seen her asked to hug anybody or hug them that long. She doesn't even hug me that long..." he said

"I'm different..." I said smiling

My mom and I always had a special bond. It's been like that my entire life. She knew when something was wrong before I could even get a chance to tell her. She could lowkey read my damn mind. And I could be thinking something and she knows exactly what I thinking. She was always in my business which I didn't like when I was younger, but that special bond keeps me in her heart and mind to remember me which I'm grateful for.

______
It was finally time to eat.

"You want me to go get her and bring her to the table..." I said

"She's not coming to this table. She likes to eat and watch TV. So, you can take her the plate..." I said going in to grab her plate

"Before you do, get her eating board and sit it over her lap and put this over her clothes..." my dad said

I did everything he said and she was excited to eat. I brought her food with a drink and she started eating. I sat at the dinner table with Dad.

"How are you feeling??" He asked

"I feel okay. I was nervous coming cuz I didn't know how she would react to me. But, once I saw her it all went way..." I said and he nodded

"She going to have her days, but we gotta work through them. And I will teach you how to..." he said

"Thank you..." I said and he patted my shoulder

I'm aiming to have more up later this week. I know I've been MIA a lot lately. But bare with me and I hope y'all still enjoying the book.