Page 32 of Rebel

“Shit, you have been living your best life.”

Just then our food arrived and four bites in, he remembered where he found his fossil. “My family has property in the mountains. It’s locked in a family trust for me and my two brothers. Haven’t been there in years. We should go for a week or two before it gets too cold.”

“Maybe when the weather breaks. I’ve got too many jobs to catch up on right now to think about leaving for a week, much less two.”

He put down his sandwich and wiped his fingers on a napkin before speaking. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for helping Lacey get our business back on its feet. She’s had nothing but good things to say about you.”

I swallowed the food in my mouth and washed it down with a drink of my beer. “Thank you, sir. It’s been a pleasure working with Lacey. I’m not too good at keeping up with the paperwork for my own business, so the partnership we worked out has saved my ass.”

He jolted forward in his seat. “Ladybug gave you a working partnership in our family business?”

“No,” I told him quickly. “Nothing like that. We just made a side deal where I would help her out by working jobs for a reasonable wage and she would answer my business line and take care of the paperwork for my business. It keeps her busy doing what she’s good at, and keeps me busy doing what I dobest, which is working in the field. Trust me, your business still belongs one hundred percent to your family.”

Instead of looking happy, he seemed a little disappointed. “Oh, I was thinking that maybe our little ladybug was husband hunting. You’d be a good catch for her, because you’re easy going and good at wiring.”

I gave him a grin and pointed at him with the top of my nearly empty beer bottle. “You be sure to tell her that, Mr. Livingstone. Any man would be lucky to end up with your sweet daughter for a wife.” We both took a few bites of our food before I asked, “Wouldn’t you be worried about her settling down with a biker?”

“Probably, but you all aren’t just bikers. Storm made his rounds all over Griffinsford when he got out of the military talking about his support group for veterans. I didn’t need anything like that but one of my friends did. He told me all about how he was setting up an MC that weren’t outlaws. My Lacey could do worse for herself than veteran who’s a master electrician. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Then I have your permission to bring her flowers and take her on dates.”

His smile came back almost immediately. “Yeah, if she’ll have you. I want to see her settled down with her own family before I leave this world.”

“You ain’t going nowhere. Want to know how I know that for a fact?”

His expression turned knowing. “It’s because that wife of mine ain’t gonna stop making me go to the doctor until I’m cured, right.”

“Yeah, that was exactly what I was gonna say. She seems pretty damn persistent.”

“She is. I don’t know if any of this experimental stuff is going to work but it beats sitting at home flipping through old movies and infomercials, you know?”

“Yes sir, I do. You seem to be doing real good right now. If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on that wife of yours staying on top of all the doctors until she’s convinced that you’re in the clear.”

“I don’t care. If I could live long enough to see a grandbaby or two that would suit me just fine.”

I raised my hand and gestured to Rosie for two more near-beers as his words settled into my mind. I froze when I realized that I’d had four rounds of sex with Lacey without wearing a condom. At the time I thought for sure she was on birth control, but now I wasn’t so sure, and I mentally kicked myself for not asking.

We got on to the subject of his military service again, and he told me all about it three times in a row. It was my first indication that his Alzheimer’s was far from being in remission. Each time I listened like it was the first time, unsure how our prior conversation could have gone off without a hitch and then the conversation about his time in the military so poorly. Maybe it was because those were older memories or ones associated with stress.

I knew sometimes with dementia patients the past was clear, and it was the present that caused problems, though I didn’t know enough about his disease to get my head around the situation. One thing I did know was that I honestly liked him and that meant I’d have to educate myself, in order to know how to best support him.

When we finished eating and headed out to my bike, I asked, “Want me to bring my friend’s wolfdog over for you to visit with one evening?”

“Heck yeah, I’d like to see something like that before I die.” This was exactly the same thing he had said the first time I mentioned Mace’s wolfdog, Nine. Something about the inflection of his voice made me think he didn’t remember our earlier conversation.

As I drove him home, I felt all kinds of conflicted. I could easily see how something like this could be really hard on his family members. They were probably used to him being strong and competent and he still was in a way. Unfortunately, this was a disease that slowly robbed a person of their memories. These two women needed all the support they could get to cope with all the changes taking place in the man who had obviously once been the rock of their family.

I had stopped at a flower shop on the way home so we could pick up flowers for Lacey and her mom. When we walked in, I handed Lacey her flowers and he handed his wife the bunch he had picked out for her. Lacey and I stood together and watched as her mother’s eyes teared up. She told him quietly, “It’s been a long time since you bought me flowers.”

He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, “It’s long overdue and you deserve flowers every single day.”

We walked into the kitchen to give them some privacy when they started hugging.

Lacey put her flowers into a glass vase and filled it with water, then set out another vase for her mother to use once the hug fest was over. I sat down on a barstool at their counter and watched her fuss with the bright yellow blooms. I hadn’t been sure what to get her, but when I saw the sunflowers, I knew they’d be perfect.

When she finally glanced up at me, her expression was filled with so many emotions that I couldn’t decipher them all. “That was a really nice thing you did today for my parents, and I really appreciate it.”

“To be honest, I had a nice time with your dad. He’s quite a talker.”

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