After the call the Gillian ended, Caroline went to join Kate who was enjoying the comfort of the sofa in front of the living room fireplace. She had needed something softer than the kitchen stool to sit on so she left Caroline to her conversation with Gillian. Caroline had poured herself some cognac before joining Kate. After wordlessly plopping down beside Kate, she swirled the dark caramel-colored liquid and inhaled it's bracing scent before taking a long sip from the snifter. "Sorry, after the exchange with Mum in the kitchen, I needed something stronger than wine. Do you mind?" Caroline put her snifter down on the coaster on the coffee table and turned to face Kate.

"Not at all. Wish I could join you," Kate said as she stroked her tummy and felt the baby respond. After a few seconds, she reached over and took Caroline's left hand and placed it on her tummy. Caroline silently maintained eye contact with her and smiled at the subtle reminder that no matter what was going on with Celia, there was still so much good in her life.

"Poor Alan! She's really gone round the bend from what he shared," Kate eventually remarked.

"I believe what I heard from her isn't even half of what she's been saying. I have no idea what we're in for next with her," Caroline responded. "It's just so sad. This should be the happiest of times for them. I honestly think something medical is going on. I got her to promise to see the doctor if I can get her an appointment tomorrow." She gazed at the fire wistfully.

"What do you suspect it is?"

"I don't know. She seems so normal one minute but then she's completely delusional the next. I mean, she's always been a little out there but what I heard is so far gone I don't know what movie was shown on that fight." She was full of sadness at the realization that Celia might be more unwell than she was prepared to face. "First thing tomorrow I'll ring the doctor to see if I can get her in to be seen. I don't know what else to do."

"Poor Celia," Kate said with a measure of defeat in her voice as she pulled Caroline even closer to her. Kate knew all to well from her father's struggles how tough times could get for Celia and the rest of them having to cope with her. "Just let me know what I can do to help."

All her worries temporarily melted away with the understanding that Kate was willing to help carry the burden that was Celia. When she was married to John, he only half listened to her when she needed him and he never helped her shoulder any of her troubles. It was no wonder she always felt so alone in their marriage. She wondered what she ever did to deserve to have Kate in her life.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Why don't we have an early night," Caroline suggested.


Caroline had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned all night, replaying her mother's delusions in her head as she tried to make sense of it all. By about 6:30 am, she went downstairs to make some tea and do a little school work so she wouldn't feel so guilty about taking a couple of hours off to escort Celia to the doctor.

As she went outside to get the newspaper, she heard a noise in the back yard and went round to investigate. She found Celia sitting in a chair with a cup of tea on the table beside her and a cigarette burning in her hand. She was rolling it between her thumb and index finger, looking at it intently while tapping her foot to the music she had quietly playing on her mobile.

"Mum? What are you doing out here at this hour?"

"Oh Caroline, you startled me! I couldn't sleep."

"Mum…are you...smoking?"

"You caught me. Yes, I found this old pack tucked away in a drawer and decided to have one. I think they might be left over from Kenneth as this was his brand. They taste awful."

"I've never seen you smoke. What…why…are you...alright?"

"I'm fine. I was just sitting here watching the sun come up, thinking about the last time I smoked. It was with your father just before I learned I was pregnant with you. You know, I never tried one until I dated your father. My mum always said it wasn't proper for girls to smoke and I was always too afraid of her to try one before your dad."

"Did you smoke much with him? I don't remember seeing him smoke."

"No, we agreed to quit when you were conceived. It's one of the few promises we made that we actually kept. We agreed that he could smoke if he was out with the boys but not any other time as we didn't want you to see us and pick up the habit."

"I can't believe you're smoking."

"I was really just taking a trip down memory lane. I use to love how sometimes at the end of a really good night he would light two cigarettes and hand me one. We'd sit close together and share the details of our day. Our life together back then seemed so perfect. But, just like the cigarette smoke as it rose above our heads and dissipated, our happiness vanished too."

"So you're sitting out here thinking about my dad?"

"I'm really sitting here thinking how fragile everything is," she said as she put out her fag. "Look at that tree. It looks so big and strong doesn't it?"

Caroline considered the old tree; its bare branches stretched out against the late winter sky were beginning to be lit up by the early morning sun.

"Notice the woodpecker hole up there," Celia said pointing to an opening in the upper third of its trunk. Caroline had never noticed before. "That's not a healthy thing for a tree. And look at those mushroom like growths on it. Those are signs it's dying. I'm guessing some of those limbs won't sprout leaves this spring. It looks so big and strong but as the seasons change I'll bet you will see you're going to have to take it down before it breaks and falls. You don't want it to hit the house. You think trees just get bigger and stronger the older and taller they become but that really isn't the case. Sometimes they just get weaker, just like people."

"Oh Mum. What made you spot that?"

"As I was sitting here, watching the birds flitting about among the trees, I started to think about what it must be like to touch the sky like they do. Then I started to notice the tree limbs as the birds danced among them." Caroline hadn't seen her mum being so introspective in a long time and she didn't know whether to be impressed or even more concerned.

"Well, I think it's too cold to stay out here. Why don't you give me those old cigarettes so I can throw them away? Come inside with me; I'll make you some fresh tea and some toast."

"I think I'll pass. I want to go pick up the newspapers and then make some breakfast for Alan. He'll be getting up soon," she said as she looked at her watch. "I'll see you later."


As soon as the local surgery opened, Caroline called to secure the first available appointment for her mum. She drove Celia to it and insisted upon going back into the examination room with her; she wanted to make sure that the doctor got the full measure of the delusions she heard the night before.

Thankfully, as the appointment progressed, Celia took the bait Caroline was chumming in the water and repeated some of the things she said to her just hours before. The doctor, at the end of the diatribe, gave Caroline a knowing look. An MRI was scheduled for later that same afternoon as there had been a cancellation. As they were leaving the MRI center, the attendant told Caroline to return to the surgery so the doctor could discuss the test results with them.

They had the last appointment of the afternoon so the doctor met with them in his office instead of in an exam room. He sat casually on a corner of his desk as he talked to them. He was trying to be as matter of fact as he could be so as not to scare them too much as he delivered the news that they discovered Celia had suffered from a series of small strokes called TIAs. Because of those TIAs, he suspected that she was suffering from some mild vascular dementia. It explained her delusions, the numbness in her hand, her headaches and her difficulty sleeping.

When Caroline questioned why the delusions seemed to be related to sex, the doctor explained that the blood flow to the pleasure center of her brain seemed to be the most affected by the TIAs. He wanted to send Celia to meet with a neurologist to confirm the diagnosis and talk about treatment options. Celia instantly denied that she was having any issues and said she only agreed to go along with the testing and doctor visits to appease her daughter.

The doctor escorted them back to the waiting room where their coats were now the only ones left on the coat rack. He pulled Caroline aside while Celia said goodnight to his nurse. He tried to reassure her that although there was no known cure for vascular dementia, there were some medication options that could help Celia lead a normal life. Hearing that Celia could still have many good years ahead of her gave Caroline a some comfort as she looked up at the barren trees outside the doctor's office on the way back to her Jeep.