Short Story

Nowhere Man

The Sicilian Storyteller

Written for Six Sentence Story
incorporating the prompt word “bank”.

Ruth looked up from her book and stared at her husband Fred as he fiddled with his iPod; at one time, he knew every little detail about that thing but now the device totally confused him and in frustration Fred cursed as he threw the iPod across the room yelling “Damn thing’s busted!”

Ruth sighed and retrieved the iPod, placing it on the table between their recliners and glanced sadly at Fred who sat in his chair looking straight ahead; Ruth asked herself “Where is my husband of 55 years?” because for her it was like he was gone, replaced by this ‘nowhere man’.

In an attempt to help Fred settle down, Ruth calmly suggested they look at the iPod together after dinner to figure out what was wrong but that only seemed to anger Fred even more and he shouted back at Ruth that he was not a child and she shouldn’t patronize him; when Ruth apologized and told Fred she was going into the kitchen to make dinner, he snapped at her saying it didn’t matter because he wasn’t hungry anyway.

In the kitchen Ruth wept silently; it was like this ever since Fred’s diagnosis of early onset dementia and now they squabbled over everything, especially things he used to do without so much as a second thought, like paying the bills, but these days he got lost walking to the bank on the corner.

Fred used to be very handy but now he couldn’t even set his alarm clock and when Ruth offered to sort out his meds for him, he lashed out saying he could do it himself but he mixed up the dosage and had a terrible reaction leaving him feeling hopeless and helpless.

Fred came into the kitchen and, without being told, went straight to the spot where Ruth stored her cutting boards and knives and started helping her prepare the salad, perfectly chopping vegetables and chatting amiably about a movie his friend Jack thought they might enjoy; the old Fred was back .
 at least for the moment.

NAR©2024

Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt!

This is the Beatles with “Nowhere Man”

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58 thoughts on “Nowhere Man”

    1. Everyone is different, I suppose, and there are varying degrees. We hear often that the short term memory is usually the first to go. My mother was quite happy living among her new friends in the senior care facility however, by the end of her life, she had absolutely no idea who I was.

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  19. My eldest Sister’s husband has had this for some years now. He’s in a home because my sister can no longer manage. He doesn’t know us, or his wife, children, grandchildren or great grandchildren anymore…. It’s an evil cruel disease 😕💜🌞💜

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