Suzie’s House 396 : Shenanigans

“The first time he got away from me, don’t laugh, he hid in the closet.” Donny grinned for a minute, then seemed to realize no one smiled back. “Hey, he could have fooled anyone. I swear I checked everywhere. Checked the closets twice. He had to have moved from one to another, always one step ahead of me.”

“Just goes to show I’m not as stupid as you think I am,” Walter said. His smile wasn’t entirely nice, but not exactly calculating.

“Anyway, he waited until I was screaming his name, then bam! There he was, just standing in the hall closet with this big huge grin on has face. Scared the sht out of me.” Donny started laughing.

Drew got the feeling Donny was envious of Walter’s skill, which pleased Walter. Maybe. Or maybe the two men hated each other. They sat across the coffee table and now and then an uncomfortable look passed between them, but right now they were the only ones grinning.

“I mean, just visualize it.” Donny waved his hands around. “There I am running around desperately, and I open the door thinking there’s no way he’s there because I’ve already checked, and he’s just there. Staring.”

“Yeah. He did that to the two aides I hired before you, too,” Ned muttered.

Drew suspected the incidents might have had something to do with why the other two aides were no longer working there, and why Ned might put up with a lot from Donny just to have someone.

“Well I got used to it,” Donny said with a proud tilt to his head. “So then he started crawling out of windows.”

“I have no recollection of that,” Walter said with asperity.

“Yeah, you never do,” Donny said. “Windows are better than closets. Closets are messing. It can be hard to see what is or isn’t in them. It’s a lot easier to spot him at a window, but I tell you, it’s a good thing there isn’t a second story to this house. He doesn’t care if there’s a rose bush outside, or if the window’s really supposed to open, or if he’s got pants on.”

“I always wear pants,” Walter glowered.

“Except that one time…” Ned said with a distressed expression.

“It would-a been a lot more than just the once if I wasn’t here.” Donny lifted his chin. “No offence, old man, but when I’m right I’m right.”

Walter looked offended. “Most the time I just walk out the front door,” he muttered. “I have a right to walk through my own front door.”

“Except when you’re crazy as bat shit,” Donny countered.

“Well, I think you get the idea.” Ned addressed his comments to Drew and Vin. “Mostly I find him around the capital square or in the capital building. That or I generally find him in parks.”

“Except that one time when he let himself into the neighbor’s house,” Donny grinned.

Ned ignored him. “Do you two think you can handle it?”

Drew and Vin gave each other dubious looks. It sounded and looked like they would be able to handle things for a while, but Alzheimer’s was a progressive disease. Eventually they would fail.

“For how long,” Vin asked. “And how quickly would we be called.”

“Oh, right away,” Donny nodded with the eagerness of a puppy. “I’d call you first thing.”

“You would merely be doing what I’m doing now so that I won’t have to take time out from work.”

“Yeah, I think we can do that. Here’s a copy of my contract.” Vin went full professional before Drew’s eyes. While the two of them hammered out the details, Drew followed Walter into the kitchen.

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