And They All Fall Down

#3 Mother Dearest

John pulled into the parking lot of the rehabilitation hospital. Immideatly he felt the coldness. He had never been fond of hospitals of any kind. He remembered as a kid going to visit his father. With a shiver, John pulled himself together and made his way through the automatic front doors.
There was no one in the lobby. It was for the most part silent except for the receptionist who was chatting on the phone. As she saw John approaching, she tucked the phone against her shoulder. "Hi sir, how may I help you?" It was obvious she hadn't worked there very long. "Yes hello. I'm here to pick up my mother. Her name is Jerica Braswell."
She turned her attention to her computer screen, typing something into her keyboard. Her long nails clicking on each key. "And what is your name?" Silence falls once again. "John Braswell."
"Alright. It does show that she's ready to be discharged. Go ahead and have a seat Mr. Braswell. They will call you in when she's ready to go." With that the girl resumed her conversation on the phone. After about ten minutes of waiting, a man in a white coat and wide-rimmed glasses stepped out of the side door. " John Braswell?" John stood. " Come with me sir."
They made their way down the hallway, stopping in front of a long glass window. John could see his mother inside. She was just sitting there staring off into space. "Mr.Braswell there is something you need to understand. The stroke your mother suffered was extremely severe. Her being here for six months has helped, but the damage to her brain is irreversible. She requires full care. She can't talk and her movement is minimal. With help, she can eat but other than that for now she isn't responding on her own." John's lips curved into a thin line. He hated to see his mother this way. "I understand sir. Thank you for giving her all the care that she needs."

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When John was only a few minutes away from his house, he called his wife. After a few rings, Lisa picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi honey. I'm almost home. I was wondering if you could step outside. I'm going to need help getting mom into the house." Sure enough when John pulled up to the front of the house, there she was waiting patiently on the sidewalk.
John popped the trunk and climbed out of the car. "Let me just grab the wheel chair." They both helped the brittled old woman into the wheel chair, then together carried it up the front steps. By the time they reached the top of the porch, they were out of breath.
"Alright I'm definitely going to make a ramp at the new house." John said with a sigh. Gently he wheeled her into the house. "Alright mom, you have one of the biggest rooms." He wheeled her down the hallway, all the way to the last door on the right. " it isn't much but we got your bed, dresser and curtains put in here for you." John gave his mother a sympathetic smile. She only stared forward. John pushed her into the room, placing her in front of the opened window. "Dinner should be ready soon. I'll come check on you shortly. I love you mom." He gently kissed her cheek. He paused at the door glancing back once before cracking the door and walking back up the hall.
John made his way back outside to pull the chalkboard and mirror out. His wife met him at the door. " And what do you have there?" Lisa looked amused. " What I have here my dear, is beautiful peices of art." John smirked, giving her a quick kiss as he passed. She shut the door slowly. " It looks like junk to me." Lisa picked up the dusty chalkboard. "Well there is plenty more where this came from. There's a lot of stuff we have to go through. But these were in the attic and I thought they would make a beautiful addition to our home. I mean look at this woodwork Lisa." He rubbed his hand over the wooden boarder. "Fine. Clean them off. I'll hang the mirror in the hallway. As for the chalkboard you can ask your daughter if she would like that. That's even if she knows what to do with it." She smiled at John, walking over to kiss his cheek. "I'm gonna go finish up dinner." And with that she disappeared into the kitchen.
After cleaning off the chalkboard , John tucked it under his arm and picked up the box of thin chalk pieces. He made his way up the stairs. He found his daughter sitting on her bedroom floor playing with the few dolls she had unpacked. "Hi Aggie. Look what I got for you." John held the medium sized chalkboard against his chest. "What is that Daddy?" Aggie looked up at him with curiosity. " It's a chalkboard! You can draw and write on it. It's more old school but it's pretty cool huh?" Aggie shrugged, going back to playing with her dolls. John sighed, leaning the chalkboard against the wall by the door and setting the small box of chalk along side it. "I'll leave it right here for you. Dinner should be ready shortly." John kissed the top of his daughters head and headed back downstairs.

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The gentle light of the moon made it's way through the cracks in the curtains. Aggie awoke to a noise coming from outside her door on the stairs. She pulled the blanket up to her eyes, staring at her partly opened door. "Mommy? Daddy?" There was no response. The creaking of the wood only got louder. Slowly her door began to open. Aggie sucked in a breath and covered her head with the blanket. She could hear bare feet making their way into the room. Then silence. Aggie waited but nothing had seemed to be happening. Slowly she pushed the cover down.
"Grandma?" Aggie stared blankly at the old women. She just stood there in her white nightgown staring down at the chalkboard. She was holding the box of chalk. "Grandma Jerica?" Aggie sat up slightly. The old women slowly turned her head. "Shhhhh." Dropping the box, she walked out of the room.

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"How did you sleep last night?" Lisa asked as she fixed Aggie a bowl of cereal. " Good. Grandma came into my room last night." Lisa smiled over her shoulder. " Oh did she now? And what was she doing in there exactly?" Aggie took a bite of cereal. "She was playing with that chalk board Daddy gave me."

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John got his mother dressed and fed before setting her back in front of the window. "I love you mom, I'll be back tonight. I have some work I have to get done." Gently he kissed her forehead and walked out of the room. Jerica just stared out the window. A few minutes passed before something slipped out of her hand and hit the floor. A thin piece of chalk.