Myfatherhadbeehelplessafterastroke。I’dnursedhimbacktohealth，butIwasbeginwe’dtakenastepback>
Am’spassing，ItookatrayintothegardenforDad。Helikedtositohesunshine。
“Teaandbiscuits，Dad。”Isaidcheerfully。
&urnedaway，startled，butnotbeforeI’dseeearonhischeek。
“Whatalovelyday。”Iburbled，givinghimtimetoself。
“YesJill，”hesaidatlast，“It’sbeautiful。”
“Trytoeatsomething，Dad。”
Hesighedahesky。
“Thewillbehomefromsiled。“Thenyou’llhaveafightonyourhandsifyouwantabiscuit。”
HechuckledsoftlyandIhadtoswallowthelumpwhichhadriseninmythroat。
“Iloveyou，Dad。”Irestedmyhandonhisshoulder。“Please，don’tgiveup。”
“Idon’tknowwhatyoumean。”Heshrugged。
“Yes，youdo。You’vefoughteveryinchoftheinning，too，butlately，it’sasifyou’vejustgivenup。”
Heheavedasighandpickedupabisibblingatitbefatme。
Dad’sdeepuzzledthedoctor，too。
“I’msorry。There’snothingphysigwithyourfather，apartfromwhat’sleftoverfromthestroke。Aally，well，Ireallydon’tthihingtoworryaboutthere。”
&ht。Dad’sbloodtestscamebackdfurthertestsshowedn。Heshouldhavebeengtogetbetter—buthe>
Itriedallkiotempthisfailie。Ieverpersuadedhimtoeforadriveiassoohome，he’dsinkbatoapathyandI’dthink，I’mlosinghimagain。
WhatmadeitsomuchhardertobearwasthefactthatIrememberedhimsowellasayoungman。He’dbeensofullyandlife，gmeonhisshoulders，gmearoundtheparkandgmeupinhisarms。
&offforawalkandalways，always，I’drunoutofthehousebehindhim。He’dhadsuchazestforlifethatitbrokemyhearttoseehimnow，sittingoutinthegarden，ablaoverhisknees，gaziospace。
Whecametolivewithusafterthestroke，he’dbeenbed-ridden。IsmiledasIrememberedhowMeghadfinallygothimup。
DearMeg。She’dbroughtinastithegardenaraightupstairswithit！
Ifollowedher，wwhatohsheto。ShedepositedthestiDad’sbed，thensteppedbaghertaillikemad。
Dadliftedhisheadfromthepillow。
“What’sthis？”
Shebarkedeversosoftlyaickwithhernose。
“Forme？”Dadchuckled，reagforit，butMegwastooquiatchedthestickback。
Itturoagame。EverytimeDadtriedtotouchherstick，shewhippeditaway。Atlast，shedroppeditohistime，Meglethimpickitup。
“Jill！”Dadshouted。“Jill！”
&ohimhewaslaughing。“Wouldyouhelpmedowairs？”heasked。“I’dliketositoutinthegarden。Ithrowthestieg。”
“Ofcourse，Dad。”I’dbeenthrilledandfromthatmomenton，he’dprogressedinleapsandbounds。
Meghadbeeome，aplaymatetothe，butshe’dbeensomuchmoretoDad。She’dbeenwithhimallthetime，keepinghimpanyforthehourshehadtospendalone。Nowonderhe’ddeed。Hehadtimetositandbroodandthink，andsadnesshadsettledallaroundhim。
Thefollowingday，IsettledDadinthegardeheplayichfuleye。
“Iwon’tbelong，”Ipromised。“You’llbeallright，Dad？Ifyouwantanythiitforyou。”
“Thanks，love。”Dadsmiled。“Don’tworry。I’llkeepahings。”