Forget Me Not

One week and six lunches later, Absidee found herself making extra time before work one day to pack a picnic lunch for herself and Beau. They'd done fast food or to-go services for their past lunches, but she wanted to do something different today. The weather looked to be warm but not hot and there was a pretty grove behind the shop that not too many people knew about; it would be the perfect setting for their lunch.

Since that first lunch, Beau had stayed true to his promise not to push her. He clearly was taking an interest, but never acted out of line or treated her as more than his friend. She had to admit that it drew her to him as well, but she had to keep her mind focused. She simply didn't have time to date. Having a friend was nice, however, so she crossed her fingers that maybe at some point their mutual attraction would fade away.

She put everything into a basket her grandmother had used when she and her brothers and cousins were children, for picnics in the backyard. She smiled at the memories, then turned back to her grandfather.

"Julie's coming to see you today, Grandpa," she told him.

"Who's Julie?"

"The lady who stays with you while I'm at work."

Mac frowned in confusion. "Since when are you old enough to work, Sidee?"

Absidee just sighed and smiled. She could tell today wasn't going to be a good day and questioned even leaving. Still, she knew that Julie had lost hours after her grandfather's fall because Absidee didn't want to leave his side, and she felt bad that the nurse was also losing money. Maybe they'd get lucky and Mac would nap for most of the day.

Julie arrived a few minutes early, and Absidee briefed her on her grandfather's status that day. The nurse greeted him, and he brightened up a little but not much.

"Has he been congested or anything?"

Absidee shook her head. "Been pretty normal, as far as I can tell. He hasn't complained of a headache or anything either."

"All right, well, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks, Julie. I'll see you this evening."

Absidee picked up the picnic basket and her purse and keys, then headed out the door. She knew she would be concerned for the rest of the day, but there wasn't much she could do at this point but maintain a positive attitude. At least she had lunch to look forward to.



Evelyn Montgomery was not a stupid woman by any means, and she had never considered herself to be one, either. When a week passed by without having heard any news from her son on what Dr. Turner had discovered from Beau's most recent scans, she began to wonder if she had been somehow duped. Although she was to drive Beau to the motorcycle parts store to have another lunch with Absidee, Evelyn found that there were more pressing matters on her mind.

"Beau," she began, leaning on the doorframe of the bathroom while he worked to make his slightly curly hair behave itself. "Have you tried calling Dr. Turner? I'm concerned that we've waited so long for the results."

He shrugged and continued with his hair. "No, hadn't thought about it."

"Honey, this is important. This is the possibility of you getting back every little independence you've been missing."

Beau sighed and turned off the light, heading to his room to pick out a shirt other than the ragged t-shirt he'd first selected in an effort to look casual. He was aware that his mother had followed him, but tried to ignore her as he picked a button up shirt from its hanger and changed from one shirt to the other.

"They called the house," Evelyn said quietly. "When you filled out your paperwork, you authorized the hospital to release information to your father and me."

He stopped buttoning halfway up the shirt and glared at her. "You couldn't have just told me that?"

"You couldn't have just taken their call in the first place?" Evelyn argued back. In previous arguments, she'd felt a mix of emotions, the most identifiable being sympathy. Now though, anger was beginning to top the list. "I don't know what's gotten into you. This used to be the most important thing to you, and it mattered how your father and I felt. Now it's suddenly about you. What's going on, Beau?"

"I just don't want to do it anymore," he snapped. "The doctors, the tests, all of it. I'm done. I'll do whatever I have to do to make myself functional."

"And what about Dad and me? We're just supposed to wonder about you all the time? If you're alone and seizing, or if maybe it is an aneurysm and you're laying dead because it burst and no one was around to call 911 or rush you to the hospital. You're being selfish!"

"And you and Dad aren't? What if I just want to live whatever time I may have left to the best quality that I can and not have to be in a medically-induced coma after a surgery that I may never wake up from? Is that what you want for your son?"

Beau stormed from the room and found the car keys hanging on a hook near the front door. He had his wallet and his phone, and by now the name of the auto parts store had been committed to his long-term memory. With Evelyn yelling after him to not even think about it, he slammed the door behind him, got in his truck, and drove himself to his lunch date with Absidee.



"You look tense."

It took all of five seconds for Absidee to see the stress etched into Beau's features. Their hour-long lunches certainly hadn't delved into the deepest depths of each other's lives, but she knew enough to know now when something was wrong.

"It's nothing." Beau shook his head and took a bite of the sandwich she'd made him. "That's a good sandwich."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "But I know it's more than nothing. We're supposed to be friends. Let me be your friend and help you."

Beau smiled, finding her concern for his tension simply adorable. "I don't know if you can help me. I wish you could, but it's just not that easy."

She pursed her lips in determination. "Well, then maybe you can help me. See, my grandfather is getting worse. As much as I don't want to admit it, he is getting worse. I can still take care of him, and the nurse who takes care of him while I work isn't overwhelmed, but my father thinks it's time to start looking at nursing homes. I can't bring myself to even think about it. Just because he can't remember sometimes - well, all right, most of the time - does that mean we just discard him? Put him away so we can get on with our lives?"

Beau took the time to think about his answer before replying to her. He tried to think of how he would feel if his memory got even worse than it was now and his parents had to put him in the hospital long-term, or even for life care. How long would he last after that? He felt like maybe that wasn't a good comparison, anyway.

"I think your grandfather, being the man you've told me about, would want you to be happy. He wouldn't want you to be tied down, if it came to that. What I'm saying is he wouldn't want you to decide between him and the rest of your life."

Absidee nodded. "You're probably right. It just isn't easy."

"I know," Beau said, chancing to reach over and squeeze her hand. He hated seeing that sad look on her face and had to figure out something to dispel it. "All right, I'll talk about me, I guess."

"Good," Absidee smiled.

"I guess this is the first deep dark secret I'm telling you," he started, dreading that he was already about to lie to her. He would tell her as much as he could, but not the whole truth. It was too much. "I have seizures sometimes. They don't really know why, but it makes me pretty dependent on my parents. That's why I don't usually drive myself. Anyway, my mother and I got in a big fight before I left the house. I honestly can't remember what started it, but I know it had to do with the doctors and everything. I told her I didn't want to do it anymore; that I wanted to figure out how to be functional on my own and just deal with it."

"And she doesn't agree."

"Neither of my parents agree. I just … meeting you Absidee, in this short time, has been an eye-opener. There's more to life than brain scans and blood tests. There are good people in the world, and it's worth just trying to have a good life with the cards you were dealt."

Absidee nodded. "But maybe the cards I was dealt was to take care of my grandfather, even if it means giving up everything else, not just college."

"It's not the same," Beau said, shaking his head.

"Isn't it? We've both been put in a situation that's less than what we want it to be, far less, but we're coping with it. You think my grandfather wouldn't want me to give up the rest of my life, but I think your parents just want you to not give up the rest of the life you could have if kept seeing the doctors and doing the scans and tests." She took a deep breath. "And, as your friend, Beau, as someone who cares about your well-being more than she probably should at this point, I wouldn't want you to give up the life you could have if you found an answer to these seizures."

Oh, how he wanted to tell her everything then. Beau knew she would understand and she would most like be gracious about it. Still, Heather's reaction to his condition stuck in his head and he didn't want it pushing Absidee away, too. So, he just nodded.

"Thanks, Absidee. That means a lot."

"You're welcome," she smiled genuinely. "Now, finish your sandwich. Strawberries and cream for desert, but you can't have any until you've made a happy plate."

He laughed at her joke, and the rest of the lunch was light-hearted and went smoothly. Absidee walked him out to his car and gave him a big hug before he got in his truck.

"Think about what I said, okay?" she asked.

"I will," Beau promised.



He took a deep breath before opening the front door to his house, expecting to get the tongue lashing of a lifetime from his mother.

Instead, he found both his mother and father sitting at the kitchen table. The house phone and both mobile phones were in front of them, and he could tell his mother had been crying. He sighed and cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Beau!" Evelyn exclaimed, pushing out of her chair to hug him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I'm sorry I left like I did and that I worried. It wasn't fair at all."

"Have a seat, son," Owen said, motioning to the chair at the head of the table. "We've got to talk about this. You cannot ignore your medical condition like you have been. I know that you want some sense of normalcy again, and I'm glad that the new friend you've made is giving you some confidence. I just want you to really think about things before you let yourself go. You could be cutting your life short."

Beau nodded. "I know that. I've already sacrificed a lot though. Motocross, Heather … my adulthood, it feels like sometimes. I just want it to be over."

"We realize that this has been harder on you than us, because it obviously affects you much more," Evelyn said, reaching over and squeezing his hand. "Which is why we have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" Beau repeated.

"Yes," Owen replied. "If you'll go back to Dr. Turner and hear out her treatment plan, if it doesn't work, any further treatment is up to you. All we're asking is for this one last chance to help you."

Beau took a deep breath, and thought about what Absidee had said. His parents were offering a compromise, and after everything they had done - uprooting their lives to come here so he could be treated - he owed them to at least agree to this one last option.

"All right," he said. "I'll do it."

His parents both breathed a sigh of relief and hugged him. He hugged them back wholeheartedly and tried to feel confident about his decision.



Dr. Turner posted several brain scans to the lightbox in her office and then turned back to Beau and his parents.

"The problem is here," she said, pointing to one area of his brain. "The spot that's been growing looks like a cyst in the medial temporal lobe. Because of it's growing size and location, it's adding increasing pressure to that hippocampus, and that's what is causing the issue with memory."

"It looks like a cyst?" Evelyn questioned.

"I have to be honest; I haven't ever seen a cyst this size. Generally we only see tumors grow this large, but the mass isn't as dense as we would see a tumor be. You're lucky, Beau, that the cyst hasn't burst. The fluids inside of it would cause severe damage to the surrounding brain tissue. We might not get you back."

"What are my options?" he asked.

"I want to try an experimental drug that should first reduce the size of the cyst. That way, when we do surgery, there is less of a risk of the cyst bursting during removal, and the surgery wouldn't be so intensive."

"Experimental - so there are risks?" Owen questioned.

"There's always serious risks when we're talking about the brain, but this drug does pose some additional risks. Because it targets the area the cyst is in, it's possible that Beau's memory could get worse before it gets better."

The whole family took a deep breath. Further loss of Beau's memory was always a fear; often enough information that was repeated would lodge into his long term memory, but more and more, he was missing things if they weren't written in his notebook. They all feared the day when he just stopped remembering things all together.

"I know it's scary, but it's our best option," Dr. Turner assured them. "I'll call out the prescription today and you'll inject it twice daily for a month, then we'll see you back here, unless your condition severely worsens."

"Whoa, wait," Beau said. "Inject it?"

"Yes. The experimental drug is an injection."

He groaned inwardly. All of the poking and needles were the worst part of his condition. Now he'd have to stick himself twice a day.

"What are the chances of this working?" Evelyn asked.

Dr. Turner sat at her desk with her hands balled under her chin. "I think Beau's chances are good. It is an unusual case, so all we can do is wait and see."

"Is there any way to know how the cyst might have formed or what caused it?"

"Not at this point, I'm sorry."

"We can't go back and undo it anyway," Owen said. "Thanks for your help, Doctor."

She shook hands with the three of them and told them the pharmacy should have the prescription ready within the hour.

"You sure you can handle this?" Owen asked Beau as they got in the car.

Beau shrugged. "I don't really have a choice, I guess."



Her brain was telling her it was too early to be awake, and Absidee knew it wasn't the alarm waking her. She pushed the covers back and sat up, trying to figure out what the noise was. She cringed when she recognized it as wheezing coming from her grandfather's room. Julie had told her his congestion seemed to get worse while Absidee was at work, but that it just seemed to be a little cold. Even though it was summer, her concerns grew quickly. The doctors had warned them that many Alzheimer's patients succumb to pneumonia even before the disease is able to claim their lives.

"Here, Grandpa, take this," Absidee said, offering him a small cup of cough syrup. He drank it down.

"Am I sick?" he asked, laying back down in the bed.

"Seems like maybe you are. We'll call the doctor in the morning."

Mac tried to answer, but another coughing fit drowned out whatever he was trying to say. Absidee brought him a glass of water which he drank down quickly, so she refilled it and set it on the tray next to his bed. He didn't feel too warm, so she opted not to take his temperature just yet. Knowing it was going to be a rough night though, she retrieved her blanket and pillow from her room and bunkered down in the recliner next to her grandfather's bed.

They were both up and down over the next hours until Absidee had to get up and make his breakfast. Mac certainly wasn't energetic enough to make it to the kitchen, so she set him up with a lap tray and took him breakfast in bed. After a quick call to her father, she was excused from work that day. Michael encouraged her to let Julie still come in so that Absidee could rest, and she decided maybe for once she'd accept the help.

The doctor called back around mid-morning, and scheduled Mac to be seen a few hours later in the afternoon. Julie kept an eye on Mac while Absidee showered and then took a few minutes out on the front porch to call Beau.

"Good morning," he greeted her. His cheerfulness seemed somewhat false, and she hated to have to cancel on him so last minute.

"Morning. How are you today?"

"I'm doing better. Not fighting with my parents anymore, at least."

"That's good," Absidee said, giving her only small smile for the day. "I'm sorry to do this so last minute, but I'm not going to be able to make our lunch today. My grandfather is sick and I need to take him to the doctor."

"I understand," Beau told her.

"I was thinking though," she ventured, "that maybe if he does okay at the doctor, and you're up to it, maybe you could come over for dinner tonight."

"Um, yeah, that would be great, actually." He was surprised that she had offered, but he wasn't going to pass her up on it. "Do you think you can text me your address so that I can have someone drop me off?"

"Oh, sure. Should I invite your parents? I don't want to be rude."

"No, it's fine. Just with the whole, um, seizure thing, I can't drive."

"That's right. I didn't forget, I promise, it's just been a hectic morning preceded by a long night. Do you want me to come pick you up? I wouldn't mind."

"That would work out, I think. Just let me know what time."

"Okay, great. See you then." She disconnected the call, slightly proud of herself. This was part of being friends, spending time together outside of lunch at the parts store. It wasn't a date, it was just dinner between friends. "Oh, come on, Absidee. You're nervous as hell, but you need a pick-me-up, so you asked him to come to dinner."

She shook her head at her own words, but knew how true they were. Seeing Beau was the highlight of her day for the past week, and she hated the idea of not seeing him, especially with the dark cloud that was hovering over her life right then.