Aiding Aida Ch 01 The Stroke Fairy

Chapter 1: The Stroke Fairy

My mom's elder sister, Ada, had been married to her husband, Frank, for sixteen years when he had his stroke. Ada and Frank married a little late in life; she was 28 and he was 30 when they decided to tie the knot. They only dated for three months but--as Ada said to one and all: "when you know you know." They were both members of the same church, which is where they met each other. It was a conservative congregation; premarital sex was frowned upon. Thus, I'm fairly sure that Ada was a virgin when she married Frank.

The church's "no sex before marriage" prohibition may have led to a significantly shortened betrothal. I'm just saying.

My mom was the Matron of Honor at their big church wedding, having already been married to my dad for four years at that point. Mom was 25; she was married to my dad and already had a son (me). I know she wanted a daughter as well but, tragically, my father passed away before any more children came.

It's kind of curious when you think on it. Frank was 46 when he had the stroke that left him largely incapacitated, and my father was only 28 when a drunk driver killed him and left mom and I all alone. I think about those things a lot. What does their early health issues say about my expected lifespan? Nothing good, I expect.

I was 19 when Frank had his stroke. I had just started my second year of college. Mom and I had been on our own for thirteen years at that point. Mom had dated some after Dad's death, but nobody really stuck around all that long. She told me that no other man could measure up to the high standards that Dad had set. It had just been the two of us, together, since his death. Well, we were together until I went off to college. After that, we only saw each other on holidays, as I lived in the college's on-campus dorm.

Then Frank had his stroke and everything changed.

Mom called to tell me the news. I walked outside the dorm to take the call, because the music was too loud to hear anything. There was always a party going on somewhere in the dorm--and I was usually in attendance. My grades reflected my dedication to partying. My priorities were, let's say, focused on areas other than my studies. I didn't feel really great about my decisions, to be honest. All that work to get into college, and now I was blowing it. I told myself I was practicing the Roman virtue of contentment. I was content to party all the time and get mediocre grades. Cicero would have approved--or so I told myself. Sometimes I almost believed my bullshit rationale.

"Your Uncle Frank had a stroke," Mom told me over the phone while the music provided a nice background accompaniment to her news. "Right now, it's pretty bad. The doctors aren't sure when--or if--he will recover. Naturally, your Aunt Adelaide is devastated, poor thing."

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Mom," I said--and meant it. We were never exactly close to Aunt Ada and Uncle Frank, but they were family and we didn't have a lot of family. Both sets of my grandparents had died before I was 10 years old. I didn't have any cousins; at least, none who lived in our state. So, I sincerely wished my aunt and uncle only the best. Having a stroke was

far

from the best. "Is there anything I can do?" I added, confident in the knowledge that there was nothing I could do, because I was at college.

There was a short pause.

"There is," she finally said. "Aunt Adelaide needs some assistance right now. Frank's stroke means that she has to take care of him full-time. She needs help around the house. You know: chores. Cleaning, maybe some cooking. I know you like cooking. Maybe do the laundry for her. You can help her by doing chores."

"Oh," I replied. "Um, how?" The campus was only about fifteen miles from Frank and Ada's house, but I didn't have a car. They might as well have lived in another state, from my point of view.

"

Uber, Mister,

" she said shortly. I realized that she was under stress as well. She was probably worried sick about her sister and brother-in-law.

"Ahh... don't they belong to a church? I mean, isn't there a church support network kind of thing for this?"

"

James Allen Jones!

Stop it! This is

family

we're talking about!" There was a brief pause. "You don't have so many family members left that you can afford to ignore the ones who need you. Especially when you can be at their place in less than half an hour from your dorm room."

I sighed.

Fuck it.

"All right. I'll go there this weekend, after classes are over. Just text me their address. Okay?"

My mom sighed back. "How about tomorrow? She really needs you, Jim."

I tried not to sigh again. Tomorrow night was "Throw-up Thursday." It was a weekly party I always attended; the huge party was one of the highlights of my week. "All right, Mom. My last class is over at two. Tell her I'll be there about four p.m. Should I bring anything?"

"Can you bring her some dinner? Doesn't have to be fancy. Fried chicken would be fine. You can get fried chicken at a dozen places."

"

Mom

...." I could hear the whine in my voice.

"You can put the bill on the emergency credit card."

"Fine. Consider it done."

"Thank you, honey. You're a gem."

Fuck it.

*****

As I said, we weren't close with Ada and Frank. I had lived fifteen miles from them for more than a year but never visited. No invitation was issued; I never asked for one. It wasn't a big deal. They had their church thing; that took up most of their time and attention. Whenever we did see them, they always went on about Missions and missionaries, and helping out this or that cause. I mean, I appreciated they were into good works--I really did! Just... their focus seemed too much, like it was an obsession or something. I didn't believe you could buy your way into Heaven by doing good deeds. I don't think it

hurt.

But I don't think Heavenly membership requires a resume chock-full of good deeds. Heaven doesn't work like college or a corporate job--or so I believed.

But what do I know? Mom and I weren't religious people. I was officially agnostic but the last time I had been in church was when I attended Dad's funeral service. I guess we both felt as if Ada and Frank took care of that particular issue for us. Like, they

more

than made up for our lack of religiosity.

Anyway, they did their thing and we did our thing. At least until the Stroke Fairy fucked with Uncle Frank. Now things were going to change.

The Uber dropped me off at their really nice house about 4:30 in the afternoon. The sun was still up and it was kind of hot and humid. The driver gave me a dirty look as I exited, because his clean car now smelled like Colonel Sanders. I kind of felt the same way he did, to be honest. Mom had ensured I knew how to cook. I would much rather have made fried chicken but there was no way to properly cook in the dorms. I think the Resident Assistant would kind of frown on me or my roommate setting up a decent kitchen in our dorm room. So, the Colonel supplied. I tipped the driver nicely but I didn't believe that tip was going to significantly impact the negative passenger rating he was going to give me.

Aunt Ada opened the door and I could tell right away that she had been crying. Normally, she was made up perfectly, with her long black hair up in some fancy look. Normally, her slim body was hidden underneath expensive clothes and sparkling jewelry, her nails agleam from a recent visit to the salon.

But not tonight.

Tonight, she was in sweatpants and an over-large T-Shirt. Her face was pale without makeup, her hair fell messily down her back. She smiled weakly at me and gestured me into her house.

"Where do you want the--"

"Oh, just put it in the kitchen, Jimmy. It was very nice of you to bring us some dinner."

Jimmy.

Nobody had called me Jimmy since I was twelve years old.

I didn't comment. I put the bucket of

finger-lickin' good

TM

chicken pieces on the kitchen counter. Aunt Ada opened the fridge.

"We have water, milk, ice tea, and lemonade. Which would you like, Jimmy?"

I would like a beer. Or maybe a margarita. Or maybe just a shot or two of decent tequila. Or a Jack and Coke. Anything but what you have.

"Ice tea is fine, Aunt Ada."

We sat together at the kitchen table. I sipped ice tea and she sipped water. We just looked at each other until the silence grew awkward.

Finally, I said, "How is Uncle Frank?"

Wrong question, because Aunt Ada started to tear-up immediately.

Fuck! I'm so stupid sometimes!

She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. She took a big gulp of water. "He's doing... as well as can be expected," she said, not meeting my eyes.

I reached across the table to find her hand. "It's going to be okay," I said. We both knew I was lying.

"Thank you for--"

"Anyway, what can I do? Laundry? Cleaning? I can only spend a couple of hours here tonight but I'm all yours. What do you need?"

She took a deep breath. "Well... if you could help me with the laundry, that would be great. It would be a big help."

Laundry I could do. Mom made sure of that before I was fourteen. She worked full-time; I took care of household chores. Sometimes I made dinner for both of us. That's how we survived for so long without Dad.

I started to stand but she put her hand on my arm. "Can we just... can we just sit here for a while, Jimmy? Together." She smiled wanly. "I've been alone with Frank since he came back from the hospital. Just, um, just sitting her next to another fully functioning body--one I don't have to care for--feels like a treat."

I looked at Aunt Ada; she looked back at me. Neither one of us ate the Colonel's chicken with its secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. Looking at Ada gave me a chance to compare her with my mother. Ada was tall and thin, about five feet six or seven; maybe about 140 pounds. Mom was about five feet five and about 150 pounds--maybe a bit more than that. They both had dark hair--black I would call it--and brown eyes; Mom wore her hair short but I knew Ada wore her hair long--though (as I said) today was the first time I had ever seen it worn down. Mom's bust and hips were definitely bigger than Ada's; though I couldn't exactly see Ada's bust under her T-Shirt, I remembered it from other visits. Mom was more voluptuous, I guess you could say--but Ada was always the more elegant of the two sisters. I guess she had married well and used the income from her lawyer husband to her advantage in the dressing and makeup departments.

Aunt Ada must have been checking me out, because she finally cleared her throat and said, "You've grown, Jimmy, since the last time we saw you. What was that? About two or three years ago? Your graduation?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm a sophomore now."

"What are you studying?"

I shook my head. "I still haven't picked a major, Aunt Ada. I guess... well, I'm not sure exactly what interests me. I mean, I like history and some of the business courses." I shrugged. "I know I need to commit to a major soon--like, in the next couple of months. But I... I don't know." I shrugged.

She nodded. "I understand. It's hard to choose a life when you're only twenty years old."

I smiled. "Thanks for understanding. Sometimes I get the feeling that Mom doesn't understand. She's been an accountant forever. Like, I think she may have been born an accountant--you know?"

Ada laughed. "I

do

know!" Then, after a couple of seconds of chuckling, she got all quiet.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. It's just... I haven't laughed since I got the news about Frank's stroke."

"Can you talk about it with me? They say talking about things helps."

It was Aunt Ada's turn to shrug. "What can I say? It's pretty devastating at the moment. The doctors say he has a decent chance of recovering--to what extent they won't say. They say we'll know more in the next three or four months." She sighed and looked away from me. "Right now, Frank is almost completely paralyzed. He can't speak; he can't really form words, though he can hear me and I know he understands what I'm saying to him. But he's helpless, Jimmy.

Helpless.

I have to help him with everything--from feeding him to changing his catheter. I even have to wipe his butt after he poops!"

I reached out and patted her hand. "It sounds really hard, Aunt Ada. I know it's hard for you. Thank God he has you to help him out!"

She dried her tears with a logo-branded napkin and nodded.

"But right now, I'm here to help

you

out!" I proclaimed. "So... show me the way to the laundry!"

She smiled and led me by the hand to a pile of dirty laundry. It was a surprisingly long walk. I had forgotten how financially well-off Adelaide and Frank were. They lived in a nice neighborhood, in a large five-bedroom, two-story house. Whereas Mom and I made do with a two bedroom, two bath, apartment for my entire life. The two of us lived in a two-bedroom apartment; the two of them lived in a five-bedroom house. It didn't really seem fair.

Then I thought about Frank's condition; I realized that Mom and I weren't so badly off.

*****

I finished the laundry by eight. While I did the laundry (including folding everything), Aunt Adelaide took care of her husband. She fed him some chicken (after removing the greasy skin and cutting the meat into small chunks) as well as some of the Colonel's mass-produced mashed potatoes. She wiped him down. She gave him his medicines. Then she kissed his cheek goodnight and gave me a tight hug as I waited for the Uber to arrive. I fervently hoped I had a different driver for the return to campus.

"Thank you," she said. "Just you being here tonight helped. A lot."

I nodded. "Glad to help you out, Aunt Ada. How about I come back on Saturday, after my school stuff is done? Say, about maybe 2 or 3?" I smiled. "If you want, I can cook us a better dinner than we had tonight."

"I don't want your studies to suffer, Jimmy."

"They won't. I'll wake up early and get my stuff done. If I can't get it all done, I'll bring it with me."

"We have a bedroom that Frank uses as a home office. You can study there if you need to." She smiled slightly. "You can also use his gym stuff in the garage, if you want. It would be nice to think all that expensive equipment isn't going to waste."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll text you a grocery list for Saturday's dinner."

*****

Aunt Ada and I settled into a kind of routine. I would visit her on Tuesdays and again on Thursdays, arriving in the late afternoon and departing after dinner. On Fridays, I would come over after my last class and stay the weekend, leaving Sunday evening. Since most of my classes were on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, it worked for us both.

After the second week of Ubering back and forth, Aunt Ada loaned me Uncle Frank's car to commute between school and her house. Giving me the car made sense because he wasn't going to be driving again for a long time, if ever.

Uncle Frank's condition improved over time, if only very slightly. I still remember the first time I was allowed to see him. He sat up in his bed, a large pillow cushioning his back and neck. He just sat there and stared at me while Ada jabbered away about how well I was doing in school and how nice I was to come help them out. He didn't speak; his mouth drooped down into what looked like a deep frown. From time to time, he moved his head slightly; one time his right hand twitched as if he wanted to grab something. But that was it; otherwise, he sat there staring at me like a frowning Buddha statue while Ada spoke too loudly and I tried to look caring and compassionate.

We soon had a system for communication with Frank: blink once meant "Yes" and blink twice meant "No." There was a small white board next to him where he could write words, but he usually didn't have the strength or coordination to write anything anybody could read. Still, two guys can have a pretty decent conversation when the only responses expected are "Yes" or "No." Women: you may want to take note of that fact. I'm just saying.

You might think all this extra off-campus activity would have hurt my grades, but you would be wrong about that. The fact is, they improved significantly. I didn't go to hardly any parties anymore and I had Frank's quiet study to work in. Plus, Ada always asked me whether I had any homework to do or whether I had to study for a test. If I said "yes" to either of those questions, then everything else was put on hold until my school stuff was done. Ada always made it seem like my studies were more important than anything she or Frank needed from me. I guess I must have listened to her, at least on some level, because my academics soared. By the time the first semester ended in December, I was actually proud of my grades for the first time.

Also, I started to use Frank's gym equipment on a regular basis--about four times a week. On other days, I ran a few miles around the neighborhood. All in all, my body (finally!) got into a non-embarrassing shape.

Ada and I began to take evening walks after dinner, just chatting about things in general. Whenever we encountered one of her neighbors, she introduced me but kind of omitted the fact I was her nephew. Instead, I was "Jimmy, who helps me out with Frank." Honestly, I didn't care how she introduced me. The way I saw things, if her neighbors were such good friends

they

would be over helping out, doing the laundry, cooking meals, and taking care of household chores. The fact that the only time we saw them was during our evening walks told me everything I needed to know about them.

Same thing for the church "friends" that Ada and Frank had made over their many years of attendance. Sure, a few of them called once in a while. Some brought over a casserole or two in the first days of Frank's stroke. But as the weeks passed, we saw less and less of them. Maybe their disappearance had to do with Ada not attending church anymore. With Frank in the condition he was in, she really couldn't take the time to attend, even if she wanted to. I suppose I could have watched him for a couple of hours on Sunday, but that was usually the day we did our shopping for the week. So, Ada basically stopped attending her church. And her church stopped supporting her. At least, that's the way I saw things. Maybe there was a different way to look at the situation. I don't know. I'm just saying.

The truth is, I began to look forward to my visits, to helping out Ada and Frank, and to getting away from campus life and all its distractions. The more I was away from the dorm, the better I felt about myself and about life in general. That may sound weird, but that's how it was.

Toward the end of the first semester of my sophomore year, our routine was firmly in place. Then things changed once again.

*****

Thursday afternoon had been a chilly day, normal for late Autumn. I got to Ada's house around 6:30--a little later than usual, but I wanted to finish a paper that was due on Monday. When I arrived, the house was silent.

I thought maybe Ada had gone to the grocery store. Usually, we shopped together on Sundays, but maybe she or Frank urgently needed something? I didn't know, but that's what I guessed.

I walked up the stairs to check on Frank but before I could knock on his door, I heard Ada crying from her room, which was down the hallway. I walked to her door and listened for a few seconds. Yep, she was crying.

I didn't know what to do, but then my hand kind of reached up and knocked softly, like it had a mind of its own. I heard the crying stop and then the sound of a loud sniffle.