Teresa stands by her mother’s bedside. One hand clutches the parallel handle of her tote bag; the other is buried up to the elbow in faux leather. She knows the family album is in there somewhere. After all, she placed it in the bag earlier that morning with some other stuff.
She spreads the opening wider, and her eyes cast a cursory glance over the contents. A monthly subway pass for seniors, a leather wallet with a faded picture of her parents, an appointment card to see a podiatrist; a pink cosmetic bag from the 90’s circa filled with nail clippers, a pocket packet of Kleenex, sterile eye drops, a jar of petroleum jelly, pink face rouge and a plastic comb with large teeth; a plastic container with false teeth, a hardboiled egg with two slices of brown bread, a plastic knife, a plastic fork, two packets of strawberry jam and peanut butter housed in a plastic baggie, a milk chocolate candy bar in a paper wrapper, a small container of plain yogurt, several sugar packets, a spoon, a package of Scottish mints, a pair of white wool socks with wide tops, non-prescription reading glasses, an illustrated book of fairy tales, a mini Walkman with headphones, a stuffed teddy bear with a missing eye and a framed picture of a mother who no longer remembers her name.
Teresa finally sees it. She pauses, removes the album and hugs it to her chest. A tear trickles down her face. She leans down and gently kisses her mother’s cheek.
She spreads the opening wider, and her eyes cast a cursory glance over the contents. A monthly subway pass for seniors, a leather wallet with a faded picture of her parents, an appointment card to see a podiatrist; a pink cosmetic bag from the 90’s circa filled with nail clippers, a pocket packet of Kleenex, sterile eye drops, a jar of petroleum jelly, pink face rouge and a plastic comb with large teeth; a plastic container with false teeth, a hardboiled egg with two slices of brown bread, a plastic knife, a plastic fork, two packets of strawberry jam and peanut butter housed in a plastic baggie, a milk chocolate candy bar in a paper wrapper, a small container of plain yogurt, several sugar packets, a spoon, a package of Scottish mints, a pair of white wool socks with wide tops, non-prescription reading glasses, an illustrated book of fairy tales, a mini Walkman with headphones, a stuffed teddy bear with a missing eye and a framed picture of a mother who no longer remembers her name.
Teresa finally sees it. She pauses, removes the album and hugs it to her chest. A tear trickles down her face. She leans down and gently kisses her mother’s cheek.
