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Maybe she would have to try to find someone to help, but healthcare was expensive, and she hardly thought that she could afford it.
Changing her clothes, she put her suit in the plastic bag she brought for that purpose and put it in her bag. Hurrying out to her car, grateful that it wasn’t the dead of winter, which made getting around so much harder, she drove the short distance to Sweet Water and her home.
At first, she smiled as she saw that Jim was up and out, standing on the porch. Her happiness turned to dismay as she realized that all he was wearing was his underwear.
She supposed she should be happy that he even had that on, since once she caught him in the backyard completely naked, and when she confronted him, he had no idea how he got there and hadn’t even realized that he was naked and outside.
That was just what she needed, a neighbor to report them for indecent exposure. She didn’t know if she could explain to the authorities that Jim really didn’t know what he was doing sometimes.
Maybe it was time to have him committed to a facility that was meant to take care of that type of patient.
She didn’t want to do that though.
“Jim. Darling. Aren’t you cold?”
“Who are you?” he asked, squinting at her with his brows drawn. He hadn’t thought to put on his glasses before he went out. Maybe he’d forgotten he even wore glasses.
Her heart squeezed. He’d been so dashing when she’d fallen in love with him. So confident, an arrogant US airman on vacation in the south of France. How could she not be flattered and excited when his attention had fallen on her, a little country girl from France? An unassuming girl from the country who had no hopes of ever being noticed by a handsome, older man.
Their courtship had been a whirlwind, although the red tape she had to go through to get a visa and immigrate to the United States had not been a whirlwind. It had been a major headache, but Jim had stood by her through everything, loving her and wanting her. No matter how hard their governments made it for them to be together.
“I’m Agathe, your wife.”
“I’m not married.” Jim looked down at his hand and saw the wedding ring she’d put there four decades ago. “Who put this on my finger?”
“I did. Forty-three years ago.”
Jim looked back up at her, his brows drawn down mulishly, but he didn’t argue. It was obvious he had no clue.
“I think maybe we better go inside and get some clothes on you.”
“No.”
It wasn’t nearly as cold out as North Dakota would get, but she needed to think of something to say to get him in.
“You don’t want me to go in your house by myself, do you?”
She prayed it worked as he continued to stare at her, not moving.
Finally, he looked around and said, “I told my friends I didn’t want them to leave me, and they’ve gone off and left me with you. I don’t know where you came from, but you better not have stolen any of my stuff.”
“I wouldn’t steal any of your things, darling.” She tried to keep the sadness out of her voice, and the hurt. She knew he didn’t mean it. He didn’t know what he was saying. The Jim that she lived with all of these decades loved her, totally adored her, practically worshiped the ground she walked on. He’d always treated her like she had been a precious jewel that he had found in a foreign country. And she had never had any doubt that his love was true.
She supposed that made it easier to take care of him, but it made it harder to hear things like that. Things he never would have said to her if the terrible disease that was marching through his brain wasn’t altering his personality.
“I’ve been lied to before. I’m going to report this to my superiors,” he muttered to himself as he turned around and stood at the door, waiting for her to open it for him.
Her Jim, the Jim she’d been married to for forty years, would never have allowed her to open a door in his presence.
He’d babied her, cherished her, loved her, and taken care of her for years. It was the least she could do to do it for him now.
Lord, please give me strength.
Chapter 18
“My goodness, how she’s grown,” Claudia said as Ellen walked out of the post office in Sweet Water.
“I know. She’s getting heavy,” Ellen said, putting an arm of support under Alice, where she hung from the carrier attached to the front of Ellen. It had been almost a month that Travis had been taking care of her. And she really had changed in a noticeable way, losing some of her newborn look and looking more like a chubby little baby.
