OCR Text |
Show Moon - 223 tube attached to the cart. Toward the end he'd stop breathing in his sleep, the monitor would go off and she'd rush in, hook him to a temporary respirator, call the ambulance. This happened several times. It's clear she loved her father beyond words, and I think she can't forgive herself for not letting him go much sooner. Her first husband died a slow and painful death from lung cancer. Her second managed it a bit more quickly, from heart trouble. James, whose presenting problem seemed to be mere alcoholism of a gentlemanly sort, she would keep alive. She took infinite pains with his diet, monitored his drinking, got him to quit smoking, bought them memberships in an exclusive club and insisted he take up golf. The most remarkable thing was that she got him to wear bright-colored golf clothes, finally breaking him out of his dark magisterial suits and ties. He was losing his eyesight; his hearing was almost gone, so she got books on cassette and the best hearing aid on the market. She was a strong one. There was that one bad moment at the kitchen table the last time I saw him. I told you about this before I started this journey, remember? I tried to talk to him straight-on, told him I wished he hadn't gone after me, but he twisted the moment like a ruined train rail. Except for that, he didn't so much as try to kiss me after he and Kate were married. That may be the highest tribute he paid her, but it's one she'll never know about. Kate was strong, but she couldn't save James, not when it came to cancer, though she tried. She kept him going on cruises and playing golf until he could no longer lift a suitcase or climb into the golf cart. Not far from the end, Kate brought him to my wedding, which I also already told you. She guarded him |