The toot of a horn caught his attention. How long had he been standing in the doorway to the barn, staring at the house and dreading what he had to face there? Speaking of godsends… He waved to David Lawrence and his girlfriend, Daisy Babson, as they pulled up the driveway and parked outside the house.

Alex and Paul never would’ve survived the last year without David guiding them through the medical maze surrounding their mother’s dementia. And Daisy had been a gift from above since his mother walked away from their home and landed in a rocker on Daisy’s porch in town.

“Hey, guys,” Alex said, going over to greet them.

“Hey, Alex,” David said. “I’ve got good news. I heard back from two of the agencies on the mainland with potential candidates for the nurse position. One of them is very anxious to move to a new place, but the other said she’d need to see it first.”

Alex released a deep breath that he felt like he’d been holding for weeks. Help was on the way. “When can we meet them?”

“I brought their emails and résumés with me so you and Paul can take a look. I figured if you like what you see, we can arrange something as soon as they can get here.”

“That sounds great. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“I’m happy to do what I can. I think this’ll be a great solution and will allow you to keep your mom safely at home while giving you and Paul some breathing room.”

“That’d be nice. Air has been a bit hard to come by lately.”

“I bet it has.”

“How’s your mom been today?” Daisy asked. “I brought her some of the perfume she admired last night.”

“I haven’t seen her since this morning. I just got home. Come on in. I know she looks forward to your visits.” And in another of the ultimate ironies of his life of late, his mother lit up with pleasure every time she saw Daisy, whom she’d met just a few weeks ago, but often seemed surprised to realize her own sons were now grown men. “I don’t know what we’d do without the ladies from the church who stay with her while we’re at work. And they cook for us, too. Everyone has been so amazing.”

Alex’s throat closed around the lump of emotion that settled there when he thought of the way the island community had rallied around his family in their time of need. While he wouldn’t have chosen to move home, he was thankful for the warm embrace of their longtime friends as he and Paul managed the daily crisis their lives had become.