“Harriet! let me go!” His father yanked his hand free of Mary’s, coming close to elbowing Kenny in the nose.

The nurse kept a hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. “Jack, it’s me. Mary.”

His eyes found hers, a confused look passed over his face, then he sagged as memory washed back over him.

Mary glanced at Gray. “Your father caught you pulling up with the groceries. Saw the Thunderbird. Just got a little panicked and confused. He’ll be fine.”

Kenny straightened, a stricken look on his face. He’d not really seen Dad get like this before. Shook up, he stumbled away.

The motion drew his father’s attention. His eyes got huge. “Kenny, what’re you doing here?”

Kenny didn’t know what to say, still stunned by the Swiss cheese that was his father’s memory.

Mary covered for him, not hiding the truth, only patting his knee. “Jack, he’s been here all day.”

His father searched their faces, then leaned back in his chair. “Oh, yeah, that’s right… I remember…”

But did he? Or was he only acquiescing in an attempt to feign normalcy?

Kenny shared a glance with Gray, glassy with shock.

Welcome to my world.

“I’d better get back to finishing your dinner,” Mary said, standing and dusting off her knee.

“And I’d better finish unpacking,” Kenny said, seeking a hasty retreat.

“Good idea and wash up,” his father ordered with an echo of his former bluster. “Your room’s up-”

“I haven’t forgotten where it is,” Kenny cut him off, blind to the callousness of such a remark to someone suffering from Alzheimer’s.