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“I know I put them there...” Mary’s face was clouded with confusion. She patted her fingers on the empty shelf space where the keys should have been, as if she could not believe the evidence of her own eyes.
“Well, clearly you did not or else they would still be there, wouldn’t they?” her husband Jack said, sarcasm dripping from his tight words. He shook his head in exasperation.
“Oh, dear,” Mary said. A distressed expression tugged at the corners of her mouth as she searched her brain for a clue. But a big fat blank was all she could come up with. She averted her eyes, knowing Jack’s were glittering dangerously. They were already late for their appointment and once again she had misplaced his car keys.
She had been trying to do some last minute dusting before they left; she must have moved them, but where? Her heart sank as she realised she had absolutely no idea what she’d done with them. And that was the problem lately – she was becoming increasingly forgetful and Jack was becoming increasingly annoyed with her as a result.
“I’m - I’m sorry,” she said, putting a hand to her forehead.
“Sorry! You’re sorry!” He exploded. “You’re always sorry but when will you be sorry enough to leave things well alone? You just can’t remember a damned thing, can you?” He picked up a pile of magazines and slammed them down with a vicious thud, making Mary wince. The sound reverberated in her head but this time his anger sparked something in Mary. After all, it was her appointment they were late for. She should be the one who was upset... He was becoming more and more frustrated with her and Mary hardly knew what to do right anymore, he was forever shouting the odds. She loved him dearly but forced retirement and poor health had changed him into a right bad tempered old grump.
She drew herself up to her full five foot two height and faced him squarely.
“Now, just hang on a minute. I said I was sorry...” Her shaky voice belied her firm stance but she was doing her best to find the damn keys and, damn it, she was sick of being bullied by him.
“Stupid bloody woman,” Jack muttered as he paced up and down the hallway.
Mary’s normally sanguine expression hardened and she pressed her lips together in a thin bloodless line.
“For God’s sake, Jack. You’re not in the army now and I’m not one of your squaddies - so stop barking at me.”
He stopped still and looked at her.
“And, anyway,” she continued, ”you could help me look for them, instead of just standing there, yelling.” She continued delving amongst the bric-a-brac on the shelves.
She sighed. It was true – she could barely remember what she’d done five minutes ago. Her memory was definitely getting worse. The doctor had warned her it would be a slow process but Mary had closed her mind to the nightmare that awaited her and Jack. But it was now affecting their lives and their relationship and she knew she would have to face it and tell him... But later...
“Complete waste of bloody time!” Jack growled as he glanced at his watch. “And it’s too late now. We won’t get there in time now so there’s no point in bothering...” He pulled his overcoat off his shoulders, yanked his arms out and then threw the coat down onto the chair. A tinkling noise abruptly froze them both.
As one, they turned and stared down at the floor under the chair. The keys lay where they’d fallen out of Jack’s pocket.
Jack was silent but Mary beamed.
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