Last Supper

'Who is he?'

She was standing with one of the nurses looking through the open door of her great-grandfather's room at the stranger seated by his bed. The man had black messy hair, was wearing jeans and a leather jacket and was engaged in an animated conversation, hands moving as he spoke. What truly captured her attention, though, was the look of happiness on her great-granddad's face. He was just as engaged in the conversation as the man was, trading words back and forth with a level of awareness she hadn't seen on him in years, not since before they'd moved him into the home.

'We don't know,' the nurse answered. 'He comes by every Wednesday and brings dinner.'

'Is Grandpa D always this happy?' the words were soft, filled with wonder and a spike of happiness that relieved some of the guilt she'd been feeling about not being able to visit more often.

'Every time,' the nurse confirmed and the look on her face said this little weekly scene was one that pleased her also.

'Do you know what they talk about?' She'd never managed a visit on a Wednesday before, but now she was wishing she had, if only so she could have seen this version of Great-Grandfather Dudley. This was the version her dad remembered, the one who was fun and full of life, not the one who struggled to perform simple everyday tasks.

If she interrupted, would she be able to join the conversation? Or would just stepping into the room send him back into the forgetful fog that so frequently dulled his days now?

She chose to stand back and watch. She wasn't sure she'd ever get the chance to see this again, the way his face lit up at whatever his visitor said, the way his own hands moved as the conversation progressed. How he laughed with abandon as she hadn't see in far too long.

She wasn't aware of the nurse leaving her, wasn't aware of the tears dripping down her cheeks, until the conversation on the bed wound down and the man with the black hair said his goodbyes. He stood to leave and met her eyes. He smiled.

She smiled back through her tears, blinked and he was gone.

Her great-grandfather was asleep when she stepped into the room, so she placed a kiss on his forehead smoothed what little hair he had down and sat down by his bed. He might not have been awake, but she wanted him to have the company.

When his breathing slowed to a stop, his chest stilled, she was glad the last moments he'd had were filled with laughter and fun.