“Grampa, Grandma! Want to help me put the Martian Space Pirates in prison?”
Suzy and I are sitting on the porch of our apartment on a small island in Justin’s dream, when Bonnie’s Revenge returns from adventure. Joy leans over the railing and shouts at us.
Joy, Charlie, Justin, and Master Mind had gone off on an adventure to find and imprison the Martian Space Pirates. Apparently, they’d been successful.
Suzy looks at me, then up at Joy. “Why, of course, we’d love to!”
She gets up from her chair.
I shake my head. “I’m tired. I’m feeling my age today.”
“Don’t be crazy. You have at least thirty years ahead of you, if not forty.”
I look down. “Not with my Alzheimer’s.”
Her smile turns into a frown. Then she says something I never thought about. “Oh. I thought with us being Justin’s dreams, you don’t have that.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
“Come on,” she touches my shoulder warmly. “Let’s go see our granddaughter put some Martian Space Pirates in prison. It’s what grandparents do.”
I sigh and get up.
Justin lowers the ramp and we go up. Six mean-looking pirates stare at us, their hands shackled. Charlie is beaming. Master Mind stands to the side calmly.
“Grampa! Grandma!” Joy jumps up and down. “This was Charlie’s first time catching villains! He did all the work! Do you want to hear?!”
Suzy says, “Joy, Charlie, tell me all about it. Grampa has something he wants to ask your dad.”
As Joy tells Suzy everything that happened, I go to Justin. He sees the worried look on my face.
“What’s the matter, Dad?”
“Justin… Did you… Did you… Did you create me with Alzheimer’s or without?”
Justin pales. “Shit,” he whispers. “I don’t know.” He looks down, thinking. “I remember just thinking about you and creating you. I don’t know.” He thinks a bit more. “The you I remembered all my life didn’t have Alzheimer’s. If you hadn’t told me just a few hours before that you were diagnosed with it, I would never have thought it. But now…” he’s really worried. “I don’t know, Dad.”
I nod. “It is what it is. Here’s another question for you.”
“Hmmm?”
“Do Suzy and I get old in your dream?”
Justin’s eyes widen and his mouth goes slack. “I, jeez, I have no idea.”
I’m guessing we’re both thinking the same thing. If I have Alzheimer’s but I don’t grow old, it doesn’t matter. If I don’t grow old, at some point Justin will be older than me in the dream. If I do grow old, Justin will have to see his parents die twice.
“I mean, the villains we imprison don’t get old,” Justin says. “But they’re creatures, they’re not human. I really don’t know.”
I nod. It is what it is. I guess we’ll find out.
“Grampa!” Joy jumps at me. “Do you want to hear how Charlie caught the Martian Space Pirates?!”
“Do I!” I smile at her with enthusiasm I don’t feel right now.
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt