What They Had

Is she not answering?

No.

Thank you. You're welcome.

Here you go.Thanks.

You're welcome.

Emma.

Emma, Emma.

Come on.

You haven't packed anything.

Come on.

Okay. All right.

Where's your suitcase?

Here.

Whoa.

Oh. Ruth.

Okeydokey.

Sweetheart.

Goddamn it!

Ruth!

Oh, God.

Shit.

Yeah. Hey, Dad.

Oh, man. All right, all right.

I'll be there. Yeah, nothing.

Shit.

Nicky?

What do you mean she's gone?

From our local Doppler radar blizzard warning still in effect...

Come on!

Fuck you! That's not nice.

Bringing snowfalls highest

in Lake, Cook, and DuPage county.

Expect up to 11 inches there...

Emma, put that out. Come on, he's here.

Yo, dickheads.

Come on.

Hi.

Got your $10 coffee.

Hi. Thank you.Hi. Yeah, yeah.

Come on, hon. Come on.

Need help? No.

No Eddie, huh? No, he had to work. Where's dad?

He's looking for her. He's looking everywhere, every single place

she's ever been in her life.

- Did you check the hospitals? - Yeah.

Yeah, we checked the hospitals, St. Giles, Rotary Club,

we even went by the nursing home in case she thought

she was still working there.

- Did you call the police? - Of course we called the police.

Do they have Dad's number? Yeah.

Yeah, they've Dad's number,

they've got my number, your number, your number.

And they've got Marion-Down-The-Hall's number. The condo.

He's going out of his mind, Bitty. He's white as a ghost.

When he called me, I thought he was having another heart attack.

I knew this was gonna happen.

Yeah. I've been tellin' him for years, "You gotta figure out"

what you wanna do with Mom when the time comes because we all know it's coming.

"We all know how this thing works."

It's hard on him.Yeah.

Well, you know what's gonna be hard for him?

When she turns up next week

in a goddamn block of ice.

It's over. She is not staying in that condo anymore.

She's going to a place, and he's gonna have to let her.

And if I hear one goddamn peep about frickin' Florida,

so help me God.

What happened to quitting?

Life, Bitty. Life happened to quitting.

You can't smoke in here, I'm chemically sensitive.

You're who? Chemically sensitive.

What kind of California bullshit is that?

That's your ringer?

For Dad it is.

Hey, Pop.

Dad.

I told you not to call her.

Bitty, it's Christmas. You oughta be home with your husband.

Is she all right? She's swell, she's fine.

Hiya, sweets. Hi, Gramps, you okay?

Yes, thank you.

Oh. Nicholas.

Damn it, I knew that you'd start smoking again with that bar.

Dad, are you all right? Have they checked your blood pressure?

I'm fine. What'd the doctor say?

He hasn't been in yet. Then how do you know she's fine?

Because she's fine. Go take a look at her, down that hall.

What?

Mom.

Is that my baby?

Yeah. Oh!

I'm so happy to see you.

You too. You all right, Mom?

Oh, that's my baby, too.

Yeah.

Oh!

Honey! Hi, Grandma.

Listen, do you need some money? No.

Let me get you some money.

See she's fine. Where's my purse?

You don't need your purse, Ruth. Yes, I do, you turkey.

Sit down. Where the heck was she?

- Aurora. - Aurora?

She got on the commuter.

Rode the damn thing back and forth

until the conductor finally screwed his eyeballs in.

- Did she really? - Where did she get on at?

Berwyn.Hmm.

She walked to Berwyn in a snowstorm?

She's fine, Nicholas.

She doesn't look fine to me.

She's fine, Mom. She's fine, Ruth.

Excuse you,

I was in geriatrics for 30 years,

thank you very much.

Where's your diamond?

Oh, um, I forgot to put it on.

What do you mean, you forgot?

She doesn't wear it. Yes, I do.

I take it off for work. How come?

Because I have my hands in raw poultry all day. Ow, Mom.

That hurts. Did you guys go to mass last night?

No, I... We were gonna go today.

We were? Yeah.

You were?

Mm-hmm. Yes.

Come in. Are we ready for a pelvic exam?

Pelvic exam?

That's my baby.

Hmm?

Now they are safer in memory care,

they also typically improve.

Some of them feel more at home among their peers than with their own family.

As strange as that sounds.

Look, the reason I did a pelvic exam is because

during wandering episodes, women are often assaulted.

Sexually.

I didn't see evidence of that today

but I'd be very concerned about her getting out again.

Dad.

Hey, Dad. What?

I'm on the street.

So go then. Ruth. Come on, honey.

No, I'll take her with me.

Come on.

I'll go.

Bye. Am I going with you?

Yeah.

Goddamn hospitals.

Goddamn teenage doctors.

What happened to the Camry?

I'm 75 years old, Bitty. Fuck the Camry.

Let's go.

It's a convertible.

What about putting the top up?

I gotta fix that.

This is a rocket, watch out.

Like that?

Hey.

I got your lo mein.

Oh, yeah? Where's your mother?

She's in the back with Emma.

All right.

Hey, come here.

Come here. Come here. What?

What? What's the matter?

She hit on me. Who?

Not Emma.

Mom? Yeah.

Yeah she put her hand on my knee, and she was...

looking at me like she wanted to... She hit on me.

What'd you do?

I just kept calling her Mom.

I said thanks, Mom. It's nice to see you, too, Mom.

I'm really glad you birthed me, Mom.

You're laughing. Don't laugh, you asshole. I'm sorry.

No, I'm fucking traumatized.

Your face. My face?

It's not funny.

Hey.

You want to go for a drive with Uncle Nicky and me?

No. Uncle Nicky is a dick.

No he is not. Don't say that.

Did you fill out your new dorm application?

Yeah.

You did?

Yes.

All right. Well...

are you sure you're gonna be okay here by yourself?

Okay.

Well, I have my cell. Oh, really, you do?

Great, I'll call you. We'll have a chat.

Don't...

Don't let those guys catch you with all of this.

Let's go, dickie-doodle.

- So Jimmy Laciak, remember him? - Yup.

He sits on the board of what's considered

to be the best memory care place in Chicago.

They got a waiting list a mile long,

but he says he can get Mom in there February one.