Natalie Nee
“You ready, Lowell?” I ask.
A sunray flits across the man’s weathered face sitting atop the bowed sofa cushion. The room he’s inhabiting is laced with windows and dust mites. It’s the brightest in the assisted living home. The other residents sit hunched over their steaming tea at one of two tables in the adjoining kitchen, playing gin rummy under the artificial light. I dry my hands on the already-damp dishtowel waiting for his response, now done with my caregiver duties until lunch. The laundry rolls and buttons click clack intermittently in the dryer behind me. The dishwasher hums its cycle to my right. The roar of fighter planes fills the air.
Lowell’s favorite show always follows tea time, most of its video footage in black and white. The pilots speak of war and duty and honor. Although Lowell’s words have become scarce, his nod is as crisp as a soldier standing at attention. I worry about what will happen to him when he’s moved to the nursing home next week. Will they make sure he catches his ten o’clock history channel special? Will they sneak him red licorice at three? Will they discreetly place pee pads on the couch and set out extra pants so he won’t have to be embarrassed to ask for a dry pair in the afternoon? I’ve been waiting to speak with his family, but I can’t remember the last time they were here, despite living less than five miles away.
But for now, he’s twenty and climbing into the cockpit of one of the fastest planes in the world. He points to the screen with a gnarled finger and I smile. I’m honored to be his copilot again today. He salutes me and starts his engine. His closes his eyes and his right hand finds the centre stick with ease. I turn up the volume and the overhead fan on high. I clear him for takeoff on what I hope isn’t his last flight.
Natalie Nee is a novelist, former ghostwriter, and latte enthusiast. Natalie’s short story, “Saudade”, was selected as one of Across the Margin’s Best Of stories published in 2023. Her work has also appeared in Roi Fainéant Press, Tiny Wren Lit, Poetry as Promised Literary Magazine, Half and One, 50 Word Stories, Epistemic Literary, Punk Noir Press, and HerStry Literary Magazine. She’s cooler on Twitter (@novelnatalie).
Featured photo by David Eluwole (Pexels)
