Remember Us

By Ofelia Gränd

Charlie Wilkins had everything he wanted -- a husband, a daughter, a house that was his home. He still has his husband, but William has forgotten who he is. He still has his daughter, but the roles have switched, and Ann is now the one taking care of them.

There is only one thing Charlie wants, and that is to spend the rest of his days with William by his side. But William is living in a nursing home, and Charlie is living ... somewhere. Ann says she will fix it; she’ll make sure they’ll get to live together again. Charlie hopes she will before William either escapes or figures out Charlie has left him in someone else’s care.

He promised William they’d stay together till death did them part, and he meant it, but what was he to do when he no longer could take care of William?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jul 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781646568178

Ofelia Gränd

Ofelia Gränd is Swedish, which often shines through in her stories. She likes to write about everyday people ending up in not-so-everyday situations, and hopefully also getting out of them. She writes contemporary, paranormal, romance, horror, Sci-Fi and whatever else catches her fancy.Her books are written for readers who want to take a break from their everyday life for an hour or two.When Ofelia manages to tear herself from the screen and sneak away from husband and children, she likes to take walks in the woods...if she’s lucky she finds her way back home again.Subscribe to Ofelia's Mailing List!https://subscribepage.io/68FxpG

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sunday

I couldn’t stop rubbing my knuckles; the winter cold always made the burning ache worse. I should walk home before it got dark outside. But I couldn’t bring myself to move.

William was studiously ignoring us—he did every time Ann came to visit. It was like it got to be too much for him. It hurt her, of course, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I understood why she didn’t see us very often anymore. She had a life of her own, and it was rough being ignored by your father. It didn’t matter that she was an adult; being forgotten was hard.

Everything was hard nowadays.

Dad. She reached out to stop my rubbing. Her almost-grey eyes were haunted, and the ever-present guilt crawled up my legs and into my core. If I could, I would’ve saved her from this, saved her from everything coming. I’d sworn the first time I’d held her in my arms nothing bad would ever touch her, but I had no power over this—had no power over anything anymore.

Let me walk you to your room.

No, it’s all right, love. I’ll stay a bit longer. I smiled; we both knew it was fake, but it was custom.

He doesn’t even know you’re here. She let go of my hand and bit her lip. Her eyes turned glassy as she blinked a couple of times in rapid succession.

It doesn’t matter. I know I’m here. William did, too. He just didn’t know who I was.

She nodded and started to get up. I waited; I wasn’t off the hook yet.

It’ll be dark soon.

I know.

She still didn’t leave, and I waited some more, then she grabbed her purse, stopped in the middle of the small room. With a deep breath, she neared the armchair by the TV where William was sitting. Daddy?

No reaction.

Ann waited, as did I—not for William to respond but for her to give up. It was the same thing every time. She tried to get him to acknowledge her, and he refused to.

Daddy, I’m leaving now. I’ll see you next week, okay?

William continued to watch the TV—an interview with some famous football player. He hated sports, but he kept staring at the screen as if it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. For some reason, I found it funny.

Ann’s shoulders slumped, and she glanced at me where I sat grinning. Are you sure, Dad? I’d be happy to walk you home.

I want to be with him. I willed her to understand. It was too much to ask, I knew it was, but I couldn’t leave him. What would I do in an empty flat? It wasn’t home. I only bought it to have somewhere close by to sleep after William had moved here.

Ann and I had sold our house. She had taken care of most of it, but I’d helped out as much as I could. It was just a building, but it was where William and I had lived our lives, where we’d raised our family, where we’d loved, fought, laughed. It became more than a house; it became a home.

The flat wasn’t my home. Nowhere without William would ever be my home.

Even when he doesn’t know you’re you? She sighed.

Maybe you’ll understand one day. I prayed she never would. For her to understand, she’d have to end up in a similar situation, and I hoped she wouldn’t.

"I understand, Dad. I do, but can’t you let me take you to your place? It’s one day, you’ll be home early, you can watch something on TV and rest. He’ll still be