Heheavedasighandpickedupabiscuit， nibblingatitbeforegrinningatme.
Dad'sdeclinepuzzledthedoctor， too.
"I''snothingphysicallywrongwithyourfather， apartfromwhat'， well， Ireallydon'tthinkthere'sanythingtoworryaboutthere."
'sbloodtestscamebackclear， —buthewasn't.
， butassoonaswegothome， he'dsinkbackintoapathyandI'dthink， I'mlosinghimagain.
'dbeensofullofenergyandlife， carryingmeonhisshoulders， chasingmearoundtheparkandcatchingmeupinhisarms.
He'ssetoffforawalkandalways， always， I''dhadsuchazestforlifethatitbrokemyhearttoseehimnow， sittingoutinthegarden， ablanketoverhisknees， gazingmiserablyintospace.
Whenhefirstcametolivewithusafterthestroke， he'.
'dbroughtinastickfromthegardenandtrottedstraightupstairswithit？
Ifollowedher， 'sbed， thensteppedback， wagginghertaillikemad.
Dadliftedhisheadfromthepillow.
"What'sthis？"
Shebarkedeversosoftlyandnudgedthestickwithhernose.
"Forme？" Dadchuckled， reachingforit， butMegwastooquickandsnatchedthestickback.
， ， ， Meglethimpickitup.
"Jill？" Dadshouted."Jill？"
WhenIgottohimhewaslaughing."Wouldyouhelpmedownthestairs？" heasked."I'."
"Ofcourse， Dad." I'dbeenthrilledandfromthatmomenton， he'dprogressedinleapsandbounds.
Meghadbeenafriendtome， aplaymatetothechildren， butshe''dbeenwithhimallthetime， '， andsadnesshadsettledallaroundhim.
Thefollowingday， IsettledDadinthegardenandleftthechildrenplayingunderhiswatchfuleye.
"Iwon'tbelong，" Ipromised."You'llbeallright， Dad？ Ifyouwantanything， Matthewcangetitforyou."
"Thanks， love." Dadsmiled."Don'tworry.I'llkeepaneyeonthings."
