Perry was doing a lot better, five months after his heart attack. One night after dinner, Della took the dishes and went to the kitchen. Perry heard a crash, "Della!" There was no answer so he rushed to the kitchen. He found Della on the floor, unconscious, with shattered dishes around her. Perry called for an ambulance and rode to the hospital with his wife. After waiting for an hour, the doctor finally emerged.
"Is she alright?"
"She's had a stroke."
"A stroke?"
"It was mild, but she's still going to need a lot of help. She's awake and talking, but her mind isn't working as quickly right now. We also got her out of bed to see if she could walk and she could hardly stand."
"Can she recover?"
"I expect her to fully recover. The fact that she's already talking is a good sign. I'll keep her here while she has physical therapy and release her when I feel she can go home. She mentioned that you had a heart attack five months ago and that your daughter and her family went away again."
"Yeah, they had already planned it. They needed to go away after dealing with me for four months."
"I cannot release Della to your care until your doctor has said you are alright to take care of her. Plus, I doubt she'll go home until then either."
"She won't," Perry sighed. "Can I see her?"
"I'll take you to her room."
Perry walked into his wife's hospital room. She was sitting up in bed, awake. When she saw Perry, she smiled at him. Perry smiled back and walked over to his wife. He kissed her before sitting down. "I'm sorry I scared you," she said sweetly.
"Don't be," he said, "it's not your fault. You had no control."
"I just feel bad because I remember how scary it was when you had your heart attack."
"How do you feel?"
"I can't really describe it. There are times when I feel like my mind's blank. Times when my brain is slower."
"Have they tried to get you out of bed?" he knew because the doctor had told him, but he wanted to see if Della remembered.
"Yes," she said.
"How did that go?"
"Not well," she answered.
"Well, I'm sure that you'll make a full recovery."
"Did you call the kids?"
"Not yet," he answered.
"Don't," Della said.
"You expect me to not tell our children that their mother had a stroke?"
"Between this, your heart, your knee, and my broken hip, they'll probably put us in a home."
"Sweetheart, I'm a lot better. Once I have that surgery, I'll be lighter and able to get in better shape. Oh, I need to reschedule that."
"Perry, don't," Della said.
"Sweetheart, you are the one who needs taken care of right now."
"What if you have another heart attack?"
"Della, Maureen and her family will be home in a couple of weeks. I'll push it back until one week after they return. I'm going to have to tell them why."
"Please, Perry, just don't tell them."
"What do we do when they visit? Or when Maureen and her family come home? Or when they find out I didn't have the surgery?"
Della sighed, "I don't know."
Two days after her stroke, Della was more rested, so they tried to get her out of bed again. She was able to stand but too tired to walk. After a week she was walking, but she needed to hold onto someone or something for balance. Two weeks after her stroke, Della was discharged. She had told the doctor that her daughter was coming home the following day and convinced him to release her.
Perry and Della were thrilled when Maureen, Paul, Faith, and Grace walked in the next day. The girls ran to hug their grandparents. Paul greeted them and took the girls to their room. "Why the quick escape?" Della asked.
"Why the attempted secrecy?" Maureen asked.
"What?"
"Were you ever going to tell us about your stroke?"
Della glared at her husband, "Perry!"
"Don't be mad at him for doing the right thing."
"When did you even tell her?"
"I called after you had fallen asleep last night. All of our children know."
"I can't believe you went against my wishes."
"Mom, we're not putting you two in a home. At least not yet. You guys have just had a rough two years. It happens," Maureen said.
"I need air," Della said as she grabbed her cane and stood. Perry went to help her, but she moved away from him. Della went to the backyard and sat on a patio chair.
"The doctor said she may be extra emotional for a while," Perry explained.
"I bet, as a husband, you were just thrilled," Maureen joked.
Faith, Grace, and Paul walked back out, "where's grandma?" Faith asked.
"She's sitting outside," Maureen said.
"Can I go play in the backyard?"
"Well," Maureen wasn't sure.
"I'll go with her," Paul said, "Gracie, you can come too." They went outside and it appeared that Della didn't mind. They walked back in a few minutes later to get the girls some juice, "Perry, you should go talk to her," Paul said.
"She probably wants to be alone, or at least away from me."
"Grandma sad," Faith said, "been crying."
"You three go back to what you were doing," Maureen said, "we'll take care of her."
Faith, Grace, and Paul went back to play. Maureen decided to join them and Perry joined his wife. He sat quietly and took her hand. They sat in silence for a bit. "You don't deserve this," Della said softly.
Perry looked at her, "deserve what?"
"Having to always care for me."
"Della, I like taking care of you."
"It all started when I was pregnant with the boys."
"Darling, yes, your last pregnancy was terrible. Yes, it nearly killed you. Yes, you broke your knee two years later."
"Then three years later I was diagnosed with cancer."
"You were cancer-free just a couple of months later."
"Six years later I ended up in the hospital twice. Once was because I had double pneumonia."
"The other was because you saved our daughter's life. It was twelve years after that you broke your hip. I want you to look at me." It took a moment, but Della looked at him. "I love you with all my heart and soul. The only reason I'm taking better care of myself is so I can have more time with you. If it's possible, I love you more today than the day we met. That's saying something because I told Paul Drake Sr. that night that I was going to marry you before I had even met you. I've had it bad for you all of these years. I will continue to care for you as long as I can. Do you understand?" Della's eyes had tears in them. She nodded her head and Perry pulled her into a hug. He held her close and soothed his crying wife.
