Ev
"I don’t know, Donnie.” I said. “He keeps telling me to look out for the neighboring man but I have no idea who that is and neither does Ness.”
“Okay.” Donnie said. “I have never seen anyone have seizure before. It scared me.”
“You handled it well, Donnie.” Ness told him. “You were a champ.”
“Thank you,” Donnie told her. “I am worried about him.”
“I am too,” I said and put my arms over Donnie’s shoulders. He didn’t pull away from me.
Dug came out of the bathroom in his pajamas. “Ma, I am gonna go to bed. I am tired. So sleepy.”
Ness walked over to him and gave him a hug. “I love you, Duggie. I love you so much.”
“Ma, I love you. Sorry about the floor. “He told her. His speech was slightly more slurred than usual. His skin was pale and his eyes were dull.
“Good night, Dug, “I told him. “ I hope you sleep well.”
He shuffled into his room. He stopped and turned around and looked at Donnie. “She is your mom, Donnie. Forgive her.” He went in his room and shut the door and left us standing there surrounded in our silence. It was very unnerving.
“I am taking him to the doc tomorrow,” Ness said. We still stood there staring at his bedroom door as if it were about to explode. He didn’t come out again. I felt an emptiness in the room without him.
I looked at Ness and suddenly, I realized that she wasn’t as spry as I had thought she was. She was a frail old woman, caring for a disabled man-child. I wondered if she had made arrangements for Dug if something should happen to her. I reached over and took her hand.
“He is okay,” I reassured her. I wanted to give this strong woman comfort, but I didn’t know how.
“He has never done that before, Ev.” She told me. Her voice was quivering. “Something is scaring him and scaring him badly.”
“I know.” I replied. “I wish I knew who the neighboring man was.”
Ness looked at me. “Ev, if the neighboring man has Dug this scared, I don’t think you want to know who he is. Whoever, he is, must be one mean son of a bitch. My son just had a seizure because whoever this person is terrifies him. I don’t think we want to know who that man is.” Her voice was cracking. I knew her heart was breaking for her son. He may not have been born from her body but he was as much a part of her as any biological child. He was the life in her veins.