Talon felt like he was late. A panic was slowly taking over his whole body. Maybe staying late wasn't the best idea. "He would have to take his car if he was to get his mother Sherry to her appointment on time. Panic set in his bones like an ache. He hated driving her.

The last time they took Talon's car, his mother tried jumping out on the highway, after freaking out about a yellow taxi rushing up next to them. Something so simple caused such a large outburst, and it left Talon terrified. How could he avoid everything in the outside world to protect his mother?

It was shocking to Talon how much a simple change in Sherry's routine could throw her over the edge. At this point, though, he just hoped she remembered him when he got home. He didn't have time to explain to her who he was and how he knew her, how he got into her house, and why there were pictures of him on the wall all over the place.

When Talon reached his driveway, he took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what situation he was walking into, but he hoped the caretaker, Mindy, had everything taken care of. He put his key in the front door, taking one last breath before stepping into the house.

"Mother, I'm home." He said, but not too loudly, to not startle anyone. Mindy came rushing around the corner, her face contorted in worry.

"What's wrong Mindy?" Talon knew the look on her face and he wasn't thrilled.

"She's trapped herself in the living room and refuses to leave until I find some little creature that's trying to get her. I have no clue what she's talking about, but I'm so sorry I didn't have her fully ready to leave as soon as you got home."

Talon shook his head. There was no reason for Mindy to stress herself.

"I've got this covered now. Thank you so much for staying late. I'll make sure the added hours are on your next paycheck." Talon set his things down on the floor. His body was tense, and not from the stress of working all day. Today had actually been a pretty good day for him, but something about his mother's episodes really drained him almost immediately.

"Mother, I'm home now. Where is the little creature hiding?" Talon felt like an idiot asking a grown woman a question like that. He turned the corner to the living room, running his fingers along the wall as added support. He never knew what he was going to see. Once he was around the corner, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. His mother sat nicely in her chair, watching the tv. It was as if nothing had been bothering her a few moments ago. Talon was confused, but only for a moment.

"Oh, Talon, sweetie." She smiled, her graying curls wound tightly on top of her head. She wore a nicer top and was already in jeans and ready to head to her doctor's appointment. Her hair always confused Talon. As soon as she got sick, it changed, like the illness was draining the life from her hair, but her face and the rest of her body stayed the same. Throw a wig on her and you would never know she was over fifty.

"Momma, are you ready to go?" He questioned, hoping that if she remembered him, she would remember that it was an appointment day.

"Yes, sweetheart." She smiled, warming his insides up just slightly. He wasn't sure how many more of those smiles he was going to get, so, Talon tried to savor every ‌one of them.

"What critter were you chasing?" Talon couldn't help but wonder what this delusion was about.

"Oh, that? It's gone now. Some blonde creature wouldn't stop telling me I needed to be ready. But I didn't know what for." Talon understood. The blonde creature was Mindy.

Talon couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his mother being convinced that sweet little Mindy was this creature that was out to get her. A part of it all seemed like a funny movie to him, but seconds after that thought left his mind, he felt horrible again. It wasn't funny. His mother was really sick, and this was just another sign that she wasn't getting better. It was one of those things he would have to mention to her doctor at their appointment today.

"Are we going to the pokey man?" Sherry muttered, taking a seat in the car. She latched the seatbelt, holding her bag on her lap. Talon double-checked his own items, making sure he had her ID and other important documentation. He looked at the bag on his mother's lap, knowing that it was empty sent a pang of sadness through his chest. Letting out a sigh, he mentally thought about his to-do list and reminded himself that he needed to get her medical card copied so he could add one to every bag she would carry.

If she ever got lost, he wanted someone to be able to help get her home. God forbid she ever got lost.

Talon pulled out of the driveway, carefully watching for cars. He hated backing out of their driveway, tossing another thought onto his to-do list. It would be easier to see if he had trimmed the bushes. He pulled forward slightly, trying to get the car at a better angle. After a few more adjustments, they were on the road and heading towards the hospital.

"Why aren't we taking the bus today?" Sherry asked, watching out the window. She looked at everything with a kind of endearment that made it seem like there wasn't anything wrong in her life. Maybe she didn't realize there was any more. Maybe she was finally free from the knowledge of knowing she was sick?

"I got home from work late, momma." Talon tried to keep his voice level. He wasn't sure what would set her off, so he did his best to not give her a reason to.

"How was work today?" Sherry asked, barely looking at her son. Talon wondered if she knew who she was talking to. He looked at her while he was parked at a red light, watching to see if he could see any spark behind her eyes. But that shiny glimmer that gave her eyes life was long gone.

"It was good. I met a really pretty girl today. She comes to the coffee shop quite often, every day actually, but today I finally got her name." Talon smiled, his hands clenched on the steering wheel. He slowly accelerated as soon as the light turned green. He was happy they lived close to the hospital because every minute in the car felt like an hour. Every single moment felt like it could be the one where Sherry would snap and jump out of the car.

"Oh, a pretty girl. Do you think she is going to be the one?" Sherry fiddled with her bag, holding it close to her chest as if it was going to protect her. Talon noticed these movements, watching for any sign she was panicking.

He could finally breathe a sigh of relief once he pulled into the hospital parking lot. After parking the car, he got out, leaving the doors locked so his mother couldn't dive out before he got to her door. He unlocked the doors, running round to open the passenger door.

"No momma, I don't know if she is the one yet. I just got her name today." Talon explained, helping his mother out of the car and up to the front steps of the hospital.

"Oh Talon, you know the moment you meet someone if they are going to be the one or not. It's just a feeling, and that's how you know." Sherry looked around, the breeze blowing tufts of her gray hair out of her face. She took a deep breath as they walked through the front doors.

Talon wasn't ready to listen to the doctor tell them about how they needed to be prepared for the worst. Moments like this, where his mother was able to talk to him, gave him hope. She had used his name. She remembered him and knew things from her past. In this moment, she was his mother, and that was all he needed.

"Maybe you are right. She does feel different from all the other girls. But I might have scared her away already." Talon added, taking a seat near the front desk. His mother sat next to him, her arm still wrapped around his. They were here just in time, and the doctor should call them at any moment now.

"If she is the right one, then there is no way you scared her away. Have faith, my boy." Sherry squeezed his arm, sending warmth through his whole body again. Even though Talon was happy at that moment, he wanted to cry. He wanted all the stress to go away. He wanted these moments to last forever, but he knew they couldn't.

"We will have to see. Maybe one day you will get to meet her. But first I need to see if she would even be interested in going on a date with me." Talon teased, leaning into his mother. She looked at him, ruffling his hair.

"Look at you, my handsome boy. Of course, she will want to go on a date with you." Sherry paused for a moment, her face contorting in a way Talon knew all too well. His time was up. "What are we doing here?" She questioned, looking around the room.

"Momma, we are at the doctor's for your checkup." Talon lowers his voice, hoping people around him weren't paying attention.

"My checkup for what?" Sherry questions.

"Mrs. Sherry Bailey?" A tall nurse entered the waiting room with a clipboard in his hand. Talon stood from his seat, ushering his mother to follow him. Sherry shook her head, not eager to head into the room where she would get poked and prodded. They always asked so many questions, questions that she rarely knew the answer to. This made her feel more sick than she thought she actually was.

"It'll be okay, momma, we will get through this together." Sherry heard Talon, but she didn't recognize this man in front of her. Talon could see the panic forming on her face. He could tell she was losing grip and possibly didn't recognize him anymore.

"I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden, along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometimes." Talon started singing, under his breath, low enough that he wouldn't disturb others in the room, but loud enough his mother would be able to hear the words. She bobbed her head to the sound of his voice, closing her eyes as she felt the words wrap around her.

While Talon continued singing, he lifted her from the chair, strolling along with her. Before she could panic in the waiting room, he and the nurse were able to get her to her exam room.

"Nice work. I guess you've dealt with this before?" The nurse muttered, whispering to not disturb Sherry. Talon cocked his head to the side, confused at the comment.

"It only seems like every single day of my life. So yeah, I guess you could say I've dealt with this before?" Talon responded. Going back to singing the song, he started over, not really able to remember the words after the chorus.

Sherry hummed along to the tune with him. Weaving as she takes a seat in her private room.

"Momma, do you remember me?" Talon asked, hoping to not startle her. Sherry opened her eyes, searching the face of her son, looking for any detail that reminded her of who he was. After what felt like an eternity, she shook her head.

"No, I have no clue who you are."