The Trouble In The House

He inhaled lightly at the opening of the bottle. He let all the flavors permeate his nostrils. Cherry. Smoky oak and a hint of vanilla. He could already taste hints of the liquid on the back of his tongue. The scent lingered around the bottle and heightened as he poured it into the glasses in front of him. It had been a rough day for all of them. His wife and her sister had already started begging for wine before they’d started cooking dinner.

Now the scents of roasted tomatoes, sweet peppers, and garlic intermingle with the deeper, rustic aromas of the red wine.

“Is he still asleep?” the man asked, looking pointedly at his sister-in-law. She nodded, swishing the liquid around in her cup before taking a deep breath into her glass.

“He’s been in and out for the better part of the afternoon. I asked him if he wanted dinner, but he couldn’t gather his thoughts enough to answer me. I’m hoping he didn’t mix the meds again. Gosh, that was a nightmare. I suspect he’ll get up later and demand I make him soup.” She rolled her eyes.

The man chuckled humorlessly before sipping his own wine.

“Are the doctors still speaking positively? They think this slow treatment will be effective?” his wife asked. Despite her positive tone, the group still felt her underlying fear. They sat eating quietly for a moment.

“Generally speaking, this shouldn’t be a difficult thing. But with his age and other conditions…” She shrugged and took a bite of the grilled zucchini she had shoved onto her plate. “They want to start with the first session and see how he responds. But they are waiting for him to get the injection first. Such a small, tight window. They say if we do nothing, he’s going to have maybe six months to live, but we need to wait a month for the injection. He’s mostly worried about how long the doctor's visit will last for that first session… as if that matters.”

“You’d think after all his experience, he’d be used to that part by now,” the man teased. His sister-in-law smiled halfheartedly.

“You would think, but agh, I can’t tell you how many times he’s complained to me about it. I feel terrible for him having me as a nursemaid. I have no patience for that. I just want him to suck it up and keep going,” she muttered through bites of the steaming pasta. His wife smiled.

“That’s going to be harder, especially now. He’s hardly moving at all,” his wife answered. His sister-in-law rolled her eyes as she switched from food to wine.

“I know. That’s part of what makes this so stressful. I’m trying to be patient with him as he is getting up and dressed. But I can dress, do my hair, my makeup, and start making breakfast before he can get out of his pajamas. Then sometimes he’s calling me from the other room asking for help, but when I get there, he only wants me to watch him to make sure he doesn’t fall. I mean, I don’t want him to fall, but, gosh, that makes me anxious.” She rolled her eyes again and moved back to the meal in front of her. The man’s wife looked sympathetically at her sister, and then, when she thought he wasn’t looking, gave a worried look to her husband. He sighed and pretended he didn’t see it. He knew he was getting up in years, but he was still a long way off from needing as much help as his brother-in-law; and out of the two of them, he’d always been healthier than his wife.

“Well, I’ll be happy to take him to appointments on some days, like when you need to go to work. I don’t have a lot going on nowadays,” he smirked.

His sister-in-law reached over the table to touch his hand. “Really? That would be really helpful! He’s kind of a pain, though,” she warned, taking her hand away. He smiled at her. He knew she loved her husband desperately, and this was a stressful time for all of them. No one had expected this. But it still bothered him to hear her speak about her husband that way.

“I think I can manage,” he replied, turning back to the pasta in front of him. “I think we’ll be just fine together.”

The women around him seemed to calm down at the tone in his voice. He smirked softly in response. Everyone was silent for a while, focusing on the flavors of the meal. He finished off the rest of his vegetables and tried to scoop up as much of the sauce onto his last bites of spaghetti. It really was so much better since he had switched to the spicier sauce with bell peppers, he thought, despite his sister-in-law claiming that it was too spicy. He looked over and saw that she hadn’t hesitated to clear her plate, though. No, it tasted better this way.

“I think we should talk about living arrangements,” his wife added confidently, breaking the serene silence. The others looked at her.

“What do you mean? You two aren’t needing to move down here any time soon, right?” his sister-in-law asked, her voice edgy and sharp.

“No, not for us, but say your husband has another fall or something happens with the treatment, and you need help. You can’t lift him yourself, you’ve said. If we stayed downstairs, it might be easier. We could help, well, he could help,” she explained, gesturing to her husband. It wasn’t a terrible idea, though it seemed a little too preemptive. His sister-in-law paused, stared at the table, and swallowed the last of her wine before turning to him and silently pleading for more.

“What do you think?” she asked him as he refilled her glass. The man shrugged.

“I think we should wait and see how the first treatment goes. Let’s see how he’s responding and what he needs first. Then we can see if it’s necessary for us to move closer. For now, you have our daughter. She’s close and can help. She has before.” Everyone nodded silently and focused on their wine again.

Before anyone could answer, the back gate opened, revealing a younger woman carrying two bags and an energy drink, and a large metal bottle of water covered in stickers.

“Hey, I’m home. Did you guys save me some dinner?”

The older adults exchanged a look and forced more positive smiles across their faces before the younger woman could see them.

“Yes, of course, sweetheart. Go put your stuff down and join us.”

She nodded and headed off into the house.

“I think we keep the worst of it and the idea of us moving downstairs from her at least for the meantime,” the man ordered. The two older women nodded in painful agreement.