“What kind of snit?”
“When we told him we were making potato salad for the barbecue tonight, he threw a little fit, claiming nobody was going to the Oroscos’. Period. I told him, like you suggested, that he could stay behind. By himself. I suppose that’s what made him mad.” She let out a weary sigh.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mom. I hoped it would motivate him. I should’ve known.” Jewel looked up and down the farm road but saw no pedestrians. And no vehicles either. “Do you think that would be enough to send him off like this? Off the farm, I mean?”
“Heaven only knows.”
“Well, I’ll get my car to keep looking for him.” Jewel turned back to the house. “Why don’t you tell Cooper to do another quick search around the farm?”
“Yes. We’ll both look. If we find him, I’ll text you.”
Jewel agreed to do the same. By the time Mom and Cooper were calling out and scouring the farm, Jewel was backing out in her SUV. Torn between anger and angst and fear, Jewel left a dust cloud behind her as she drove down the driveway. At the road, she felt like flipping a coin to determine which path her dad may have taken. Finally, she chose to head toward town because Dad had mentioned how he missed his early morning coffee with his buddies at the feed store just the other day. When she’d offered to taxi him there, her mom had quietly intervened, explaining that his friends didn’t even meet there anymore. Hadn’t in years. But maybe in his mixed-up mind he imagined them cheerfully waiting there and had set out to meet them.
After making it nearly to town, and feeling certain he couldn’t walk this far, Jewel headed back, ready to search the other part of the old farm road. As she drove, she checked in to learn Mom still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him. “I’ll keep looking,” Jewel assured her. As she drove on past the farm, where properties were larger and set farther apart, she prayed that God would keep her dad safe ... and help her find him. Half a mile from their farm, Jewel spotted a pickup truck pulled off on the side of the road. A couple stood outside, looking down at a man in the ditch. To her horror, it was Dad, leaned lifelessly against the slope of the earth, his face pale. She pulled to a fast stop, jumped out, and dashed over.
“Dad! Are you okay?” She knelt in the dried grass beside him, her heart pounding, but relieved to see he was breathing. “Are you okay?” When he didn’t answer, she turned to the man. “Did you hit him with your truck?”
“No way!” he answered defensively.
“We just stopped when I noticed him lying there,” the woman said.
“Probably drunk.” The man shrugged with disinterest. “But the wife insisted we stop and play good Samaritan.”
“Is he your father?” the woman asked with wide eyes.
Jewel ignored them and reached for her dad’s hand. “Dad?Talk to me. Are you hurt?”
His eyes fluttered open, then closed. “Too tired,” he muttered.
“You walked too far,” she told him. She stood, looking at the couple. “He has dementia.” She pointed to the side of her own head. “Memory stuff. You know?”
“Oh, yes, I do know,” the woman said, then lowered her voice. “My uncle has Alzheimer’s. I know how they can wander away sometimes.”
“Can you help me get him into my car?” Jewel asked the couple.
It took all three of them to get Dad onto his feet. Then the guy helped Jewel get him into the car and the woman returned with a lukewarm bottle of water. “He might be dehydrated,” she said. “It’s pretty hot out.”
“Thank you.” Jewel wanted to hug this woman. “Youarea good Samaritan.”
“Just being neighborly.” The woman smiled. “We’re the Crawfords. Our farm is about ten miles down this road.”
“We’re the McKerrys,” Jewel told them as she handed her dad the water. “This is my dad, CT.”
“You should get him a medical ID bracelet,” the woman advised. “My uncle has one. You know, in case he wanders and doesn’t know his address and such.”
“That’s a great idea.” Jewel glanced at her dad, who was now sipping his water in the shade of the car. He seemed fairly well recovered as he attempted to make farmer small talk with Mr. Crawford. Before long, the couple mentioned that they had perishable groceries in their car and needed to go. Jewel thanked them again and got into her SUV. “I’m glad you’re okay, Dad, but you really had us worried.”
“I’m fine.” His tone was aggravated, almost as if she’d spoiled his fun. “People worry too much.”
She wanted to scold him but bit her tongue instead.
“Took a walk,” he mumbled. “Nothing to fuss about.”
“Where were you walking?” she asked as she turned on the engine.
“Town.”
“Uh, did you know town is theotherway?”
