Remember by Karen Kingsbury

things worse. Then an image came to mind of Landon lying in the hospital bed, telling her he was moving to New York City. She wouldn’t see him again-not for a year at least, and maybe not forever. But that didn’t change the way she loved him.
    “No, Irvel.” The image of Landon faded, and Ashley used gentle hands to take hold of lrvel’s shoulders. “As long as you love him, he’s never really gone.”
    “I love Hank.” lrvel’s words were slow, deliberate, the emotion in her eyes so raw it almost hurt to look at. “You don’t know how much I love him.”
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    “Well, then…” Ashley’s voice was thick, and she felt the sting of tears. “…
    he isn’t gone, is he?”
    “No.” Irvel straightened a bit and shook her head. A smile steeped in gratitude forged its way up her sagging cheeks. “He isn’t gone at all. He’s fishing …
    just like always.”
    They heard a sharp sound. “Irvel?” Belinda’s voice echoed off the plasterboard walls, and the fragile old woman jumped.
    Ashley winked at Irvel and yelled ahead in a pleasant voice, “She’s coming.” It would be pointless to argue with Belinda now. It would only make Irvel and her friends more upset.
    Irvel brought her head close to Ashley’s, her voice a whisper. “You’re very kind, dear. I truly hope we can have tea sometime.” Irvel took a few more steps and stopped. She raised a single finger and pointed at Ashley. “You know something? You have the most beautiful hair… .”
    Ashley spent the rest of the day with various other tasks. She oversaw lunch and helped the women to their chairs for an afternoon nap. She checked on Laura Jo and Edith, but they were both sleeping. On Belinda’s desk in the office, next to Edith’s file, Ashley noticed a bottle of medication. Sedatives-obviously Belinda’s way of getting Edith to stop screaming.
    Several times she looked in on Bert. Lu was right. When he wasn’t eating or napping, he was circling-round and round and round the bed, rubbing out the wrinkles in the comforter with meticulous care.
    “Bert?” Ashley came to him and touched his arm. “Bert, my name is Ashley. I’m new.”
    Bert said nothing. He neither stopped nor looked up. Instead, he maneuvered himself awkwardly past Ashley, his hands moving in constant circles all the while.
    “Okay then, Bert. I’ll be in the next room if you need anything.”
    On her way out, Ashley noticed a framed black-and-white photo on Bert’s dresser.
    It was a picture of a handsome, strapping man and a striking young woman, side by side on horseback.
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    Ashley glanced over her shoulder at Bert, still making his way around the bed.
    “I’m here for you, Bert. Call if you need me.”
    Late that afternoon, Irvel’s niece came by. Lu had explained about the regular visitors, and Irvel’s niece was one of them. She came every Monday afternoon and read the Bible out loud to her aunt. When she was finished, they would recite the Twenty-third Psalm together and then sing Irvel’s favorite hymn.
    Ashley peeked in and watched the scene from the hallway. The two women were arm in arm, singing in a way that was far from perfect but much more beautiful.
    “Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness… .”
    The song built and then came to a close. Irvel was polite and enjoyed the company, but clearly she didn’t recognize her niece. She remembered almost nothing about her life except a few choice things: her name, her Hank, her favorite hymn.
    And every single word of the Twenty-third Psalm.
    When her niece left, Irvel hugged her and smiled. “I’m Irvel, dear. So nice to meet you. We should have tea sometime. Peppermint tea.”
    “I love you, Aunt Irvel,” the woman told her. “Jesus loves you too.”
    “Yes, dear.” Irvel’s eyes twinkled as if she were twenty years old again. “The Lord is my shepherd. Isn’t that wonderful?”
    On the way home from work, Ashley couldn’t stop thinking about the old woman and