Saturday, May 27, 2006

Hallucinations Again

Mom calls me in the evening--that is, her weekend caregiver Racquel calls for her.
"Did you have a nice visit with Emily?" I ask.
"No, it was worse than ever," she says. "I love her and she's a sweet girl, but she tries to tell me what to do."
"Just like I do," I say.
"Yes," she says. "Did you know she had a little four-year-old girl?"
"What?"
"She was with her. She looked just like Emily at that age."
"Mom, Emily didn't have a baby recently."
"Well, maybe they had it illegitimately and hid it. They must have. It looked just like her."
"No, Mom."
"When we were leaving Japan, we heard that a haberdasher had been appointed president. But he reached out his hand to a bomb and couldn't be sworn in. He died a year later. Maybe they'll appoint a DAR now. He wanted Emily Lincoln."
"We're you watching a tv show about this, Mom?"
"Yes... This is a heck of a place. I'm thinking of moving out to the PEOs."
"Oh, you are? You like the PEO sisters, don't you?"
"Yes, I think I'll move into their place," she concluded. Then suddenly: "I have these scabs on my chest, and I wonder if they're going to turn into cancer."
"No, Mom. You get scabs from scratching. It's not cancer. Okay, Mom, thanks for calling."
"I wonder about that little girl with Emily. She didn't introduce me to her. I wonder what her name is."
"Mom, you must have been asleep, dreaming."
"Oh, I have good dreams!"
"Yes, you do."
"I heard that bears are running around in occupied places. Good thing Elbert died when he did or he'd have been eaten by one. It's a wonder I wasn't eaten by one."
"Yes, it's a wonder. But Mom, there are no bears in Santa Irena, so don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?"
"Santa Irena is a beach place. There's no forest. Bears are only in Colorado."
"That same man got me dressed today. He didn't call me sweetheart. He called me 'beautiful lady.'"
"Okay, Mom. Nice talking to you. I'll talk with you tomorrow."

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