take the car and give Hank a lift.
A week after the funeral, Manley was in the doctor’s office for his yearly medical. Only a few people in town had a yearly medical, but Manley always requested one. He wanted to be in control of his life, and to do that, he had to be in control of his body. He was one of the few people whom Doctor Atkinson had met in town to hold this belief. Manley thought of his body as a machine that had to be maintained, properly fed, rested, worked, and cared for. He also thought that his mind ought to be kept active and challenged to keep growing. Dr. Atkinson prepared for this medical. The questions Manley would ask would probe into the current research and views, not only of North American medical practices, but also of others, such as the veterinarian school in Guelph.
Manley had read the death notice posted on the corner hydro pole at the four corners of town. The date: Born April 2, 1945 jumped out at Manley as he recognized the numbers and remembered his younger brother had a son born out of wedlock on that same day, same year.
Young blood runs hot and Manley’s brother, Richard, in one of his rare uncontrolled moments had stepped over the line and a pregnancy was the result. Richard usually had a dating standard that above the waist was fair game, but not to touch or go below the belt. One night during a hot July spell, one slip in the back of a 1952 Ford.
Manley looked directly at Dr. Atkinson and asked the question that he had been waiting fourteen years to answer. “Was Jake, Richard and Shirley’s son?” Doctors do not take a lying course in medical school, but they all must master this art early in their careers. Some patients cannot take bad news and others need to be misled. There is no need to cause patients more danger or more pain.
Dr. Atkinson paused, looked down, and then went into the routine he had practised for years. He looked Manley straight in the eye and said, “I have been waiting for years for you to put things together and ask this question. Manley, you are one of my best friends and I have to tell you, Jake was not your brothers’ son.” When the examination was over, Manley dressed and got ready to leave the prep room.
On leaving, he turned to Dr. Atkinson and said, “When you looked me in the eye, your pupils told the story. You are a true friend.” He quietly closed the door behind himself, walked to the parking lot, and drove home.
Dr. Atkinson had given Manley a diagnosis for his condition. Manley was showing early signs of dementia, known later as a disease, like Alzheimer’s. Manley had forgotten that his memory was fading. His hunting error in judgment was due to the onset of his illness. Manley was one of the lucky ones, as his disease progressed slowly, and he had a number of ways to compensate for memory loss. The one thing he did do, was to tell everyone what he was suffering of and then he asked for their support and understanding. As the elected reeve of Norwood he got both.
Epilogue
Dr. Atkinson explained to Manley that the mind plays tricks as it slowly disintegrates. You lose trust in people whom you have known all your life. You forget details. Your mind makes up stories. You are not sure if it was a dream or did it really happen.
Manley was showing early signs of dementia and, if he was lucky, it would progress slowly.
Just before Manley left the doctor’s office, he asked Dr. Atkinson why he had not been at the funeral.
Dr. Atkinson said, “What funeral?”
Dr. Atkinson then asked Manley if he was going on the hunt this year. Dr. Atkinson, with all the practice he had, held his smile as he observed the face of an old man wash across Manley’s complexion. Fear started leaking out of his eyes.
Manley was confused and he knew he had to go straight home and ask his wife, Cora, a lot of important questions.
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