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he had intended, instead he walked out of the rusted gate and turned
right, his decision purely based on instinct.
Bert felt if time had stopped when he had entered the home for
the elderly, so he was surprised to find outside life moving onwards.
The events of the morning slipped from his mind, seemingly
vanishing the further he walked. Mrs. Doyle, the couch, the man in
the corner of the room, the carpet, his carer, each shedding from his
mind like an item of clothing every block or so.
‘Excuse me Sir, you look a little lost, can I help you?’ A young
looking man asked Bert. After a long pause, he finally began to
answer the man’s question.
‘Uh… Uh… Sorry what was your question?’ Bert looked at the man
dubiously. The man’s eyes filled with sympathy.
‘Where are you from?’ He repeated, lengthening his syllables just
as Mrs. Doyle had.
‘Sunny Days elderly home.’ The man’s face flashed with surprise
as Bert answered him.
‘Let me take you there.’ They travelled in silence and the man
pulled up gently to the curb. Bert’s door opened and Mrs. Doyle
poked her head in the open frame.
‘We were worried you weren’t going to come back Mr. Partridge.’
‘Who are you?’ Bert asked, his voice filled with uncertainty. With
his question, Mrs. Doyle’s face fell, her normal stony features
softening for a split second.
‘Come inside, dear.’ She ordered to Bert. He waltzed inside, the
smell of the sitting room hitting him with full force once again.
‘Yes, Alzheimer’s I’mafraid.’Mrs. Doyle’s hushed voice drifted up the
path into the doorway. ‘I just wonder how he remembered the place.’
‘
Alzheimer’s? Who has Alzheimer’s?
’ Bert thought to himself as the
wind carried Mrs. Doyle’s statement.
‘Come along dear, let’s get you into your room.’ Mrs. Doyle
hooked Bert’s arm through hers and led the old man through the
dingy corridor leading off the tatty sitting room.
‘Who are you ma’am?’ The forgetful man asked for the second
time in five minutes.
‘Mrs. Doy-le.’ The woman answered with false gusto, this time
speaking to Bert like he was learning his a, b, c’s. ‘Do you know where
you are dear?’ She looked at him, craning her neck towards him in
anticipation.
8