A Bird in the House

Sometimes Dee shuts her eyes and imagines flying like a bird, simply floating high above everything. But that's impossible without wings. And besides, she has to take care of her mother, Bessie, which is ironic, since her brother, Georgie, was Bessie's favorite child. Bessie has a constant refrain, "Tell me if I did something bad, Dee. I must have done something awful, otherwise why wouldn't Georgie come see me or even call me?" Ignored by her mother as a child, Dee has been Bessie's caregiver (feeding, washing, wiping, and tending) for nearly a decade. But now, in 2008, Bessie has begun wandering and seeing things that aren't there. Dee's full-time caregiver job is intensifying (add tracking, trailing, soothing, and reassuring). Plus there's increasing financial pressures. She'll never fly. Caregiver. She's the caregiver and it's pretty well known that care-getters often outlive their caregivers. And then there's Georgie-the dimpled, handsome son that they only see on his TV commercials. He's started coming around. What's he up to?