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Back A Flicker of Light
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Katie Powner
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. About the Author
  61. Back Ads
  62. Back Cover

Bea stuck her fingers in her hair. This kept happening. She swore she just had her vitamins. Fear nipped at her. “I keep losing things. My brain just won’t work right. It’s almost like . . .”

Marge plopped onto the bed. “Like what?”

“Nothing.” Bea dropped her hands to her sides. “I’ve just never been so forgetful.”

“Ah, baby brain.” Marge picked up some clothes and started folding them. “I remember it well.”

Bea’s brow furrowed. “Baby brain?”

“Of course. Everyone gets it. Between the hormones and tiredness and extra stress, your brain goes haywire when you’re pregnant. It’s like it starts redirecting half of its resources to preparing for the baby.”

“But it feels like it’s not working at all sometimes.”

Marge nodded. “When I was pregnant with Jonathan, I forgot my own birthday.”

Hope burst and spread in Bea’s chest like an egg cracking open. Her forgetfulness was normal?

“One time—I think this was when I was pregnant with Sarah—I ordered takeout from The Baked Potato and then never picked it up and made spaghetti instead.”

Bea laughed. “They didn’t call you about the order?”

“Well, they did.” Marge grinned. “But I couldn’t find the phone.”

They both giggled. Bea never would’ve imagined herself giggling with Marge, but it wasn’t so terrible. Marge was kind of pushy. And nosy. But nice.

“I was afraid I was losing it,” Bea confessed.

“You’re not losing your mind, sweetie.” Marge’s smile remained, but her expression grew more serious. “You’re becoming a mom.”

divider

As Mitch drove home from his parents’ house, clouds hovered over the mountains, blocking out the highest peaks. He wondered if that was where the answers were. Up at the very top. Hidden.

He’d gone out to see his mom and dad after work for the past four days, but he was still conflicted about what to do moving forward. His mom had alternated between knowing what day it was and thinking it was 1998. Neither he nor his father had been able to figure out what made the difference. Why some days were worse than others. Even so, Mitch felt sure about one thing. Whatever was going on in her mind, she was more at peace now than maybe ever before.

Mitch had talked to the doctor by phone, who told him it was unusual but not unheard of for an Alzheimer’s patient to suffer so inconsistently and deteriorate so quickly. Dr. Wilson had also asked about her diet and recommended more tests to check for any new infections or issues. Mitch had scheduled the tests for Friday just to cover all the bases. Something told him, though, that they weren’t going to find any underlying causes for her decline.