ALL OF US AT THE SAME TIME
©Jo Dereske 2014Chapter 24
The Revolt
With Louise so weak and teetering on the outer edge of her life, we returned to the little house to prepare a brothy chicken soup for dinner, debating whether to call relatives for what might be a final visit with Louise, when Kipling suddenly said, surprise lifting his voice, “Take a look at this.”
I looked out the window. Louise, fully dressed, sat on her patio in her metal chair, her bare feet up on the rock tree ring. She’d been living in her nightgown and robe for days and the fact that she could summon the energy to dress herself had seemed impossible that morning. We were astounded and thrilled and rushed outside to greet her.
"Who's paying my bills?" Aunt Louise demanded as soon as I stepped onto the patio.
"Ray is," I told her, my smile still wide at this beautiful vision of her up and dressed and apparently recovering. It was miraculous. We were overjoyed. "You gave him power of attorney so he could pay all your bills for you," I explained as I had so many times. I felt jubilant, teary-eyed.
"Well, I'm well now. Nobody needs to have control over my money except me."
"You're still the boss," I assured her. "Ray only does what you tell him to."
"I want control over my own money."
We talked it through again Read More