Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Snap (09/04/08)
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TITLE: Remembering Old Friends | Previous Challenge Entry
By T F
09/11/08 -
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The door opened to show a white haired lady with a small smile on her face.
“Hi, Mrs. King? I’m Suzi Meek from Home Helpers.”
“Oh, yes, dearie, come on in. I am so sorry it took me so long to answer the door. Mr. King is having a hard time this afternoon. With a heavy sigh and slumped shoulders she led me back into the house.
I followed Mrs. King across the hard wood floored entryway into a large cozy living area. In a brown recliner next to an enormous hearth Mr. King huddled under a blanket. He was shaking his head and mumbling.
Slowly I squatted down in front of his chair and smiled as I said, “Hi Mr. King, My name is Suzi and I am going to sit with you for a while.”
“Go away,” his voice low and guttural. He reached out to swat at me.
“Now, Philip sweetheart, let’s be nice. Why don’t you tell her about your time in Germany during the war?”
Mrs. King’s voice was tinged with sadness, but her face was wreathed in a gentle smile. “He really doesn’t mean it –“
I put my hand on her arm and steered her back to the kitchen. “Its okay, why don’t you make some tea and relax for a little bit?”
I pulled a chair over next to his recliner. He looked at me and said, “Snap.”
“Snap, like snapping your fingers?” I put my thumb and ring finger together and snapped.
“NO! Snap, snap, snap.” The moaning began again.
Mr. King’s lip stuck out in pout like a three year old. He wrung his hands and moaned. There seemed to be no way to unlock the mystery behind snap.
Just then the front door blew open and a clattering on the hall floor took us by surprise. Mr. King sat up and smiled as a little black dog raced into the room and jumped in his lap.
“Scamp, come back here. You silly dog, you can’t run away from me like that.” A tall dark haired woman came into the room. She kissed Mr. King on the head, “Hi daddy, how are you? Hi Mom.”
“He’s been out of sorts all day. Suzi and I have been trying to calm him down for a while now. Oh dear, how rude, Amanda, this is Suzi from Home Helpers. Suzi, this is my daughter, Amanda.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I shook her hand.
“Same here. Scamp has been waiting patiently to come and see dad.” Amanda’s eyes twinkled.
That’s when I noticed that Mr. King’s eyes had the same twinkle in them. He grinned from ear to ear and sighed, “Snap.”
“Amanda, your dad has been saying snap all afternoon. Do you know what he wants?” I hoped that she knew.
“Oh, Snap! He means Scamp. A while ago when he was having a good day he told me a story about a dog he had as a child. He called him Snap because he would snap his fingers and the dog would come. He loved that dog so much."
The change in Mr. King was amazing. He calmed down and began to haltingly tell me about his childhood and about Snap.
“It truly is amazing how Scamp effects Daddy.” I heard Amanda say to her mom.
“Yes, Scamp doesn’t mind the problems. He loves him and that is all he needs to find your dad when he is lost in the fog of dementia.” Mrs. King was smiling at her husband.
Later, as I gathered my things and headed for the door I glanced back. Mr. King was giggling as Scamp, or should I say Snap, licked his face, tail wagging a mile a minute. He was snapping his fingers and Scamp was loving every minute of it.
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