The Walk Home

Chapter 1: Love and respect

The first sign that something had changed was the way the nurse smiled at my son.

“Hi, Sean!” she called from behind the reception desk.

Her voice carried across the nursing home lobby with the ease of someone greeting an old friend. Sean lifted one hand and smiled back.

“Hi, Maria.”

I stopped beside him.

It had been several months since I had brought Sean with me to visit my mother. Between school, homework, soccer practice, and the usual rush of family life, it had become easier for me to come alone. I normally visited on Saturday mornings while Sean slept late or spent time with his friends.

So when the nurse greeted him by name, I assumed she had remembered him from an earlier visit.

But then she leaned toward the intercom, pressed the button that unlocked the secure doors, and said, “Your grandmother is in the sunroom. She’s been a little restless today, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

Sean nodded as though this were ordinary information.

“Thanks,” he said.