Ruby's Ring

By Carol Marlene Smith

Ruby has Dementia and her daughter is overwhelmed. Alice has a son, Jeremy, who is being influenced by his grandmother’s antics. Alice’s husband doesn’t know what to expect when he gets home anymore. Jeremy is full of questions but keeps most of them to himself. Strange things happen in the house all the time, but the strangest thing occurs when Alice hears about a magical ring, or at least that’s what Ruby calls it.
The family is at a complete loss of how to handle their lives anymore. Filled with guilt, worry, and exhaustion, Alice searches for answers on how best to care for her mother. She learns as she goes along, but Ruby does not make it an easy journey. Is the ring the answer? Or is it just a fabrication of Ruby’s mind?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carol Marlene Smith
• Release date: Sep 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215404621

Carol Marlene Smith

Carol Marlene Smith was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia on a hot August day. From an early age, writing, drawing and singing were her favourite things to do. Carol was a loner who liked to imagine her friends rather than make real ones.Today Carol spends her time writing novels and short stories and painting animals. Some of her novels are Heart of Winter, Angel's Blessing, and Heart of the Story, all set in Nova Scotia. Carol enjoys writing poetry, romance, mystery/suspense and mainstream.Carol lives in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title Page

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Epilogue

RUBY’ RING

A Dementia Story

CAROL MARLENE SMITH

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting this author’s work.

No part of this book maybe be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.

Copyright © 2023 Carol Marlene Smith

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and

incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are

used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, locals or

events is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

In memory of my mother and all those who

have suffered and dealt with dementia over

the years. And for those who continue to love

and care for the ones who cannot care for

themselves anymore.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thanks to Broderick Mossman for the cover artwork. Also, thanks to Jill, my editor, for all the long hours she put in reviving this manuscript, after it had been mangled by me.

DEMENTIA

Also known as major neurocognitive disorder. Not all

people will suffer with dementia. Dementia can affect all

genders, people of all ages, and there are no ethnic correlations.

Dementia can occur in different forms and types.

Common forms of dementia may include frontotemporal

dementia, Lew body disease, and vascular dementia with the most common being Alzheimer’s disease.

BOOKS BY CAROL MARLENE SMITH

Angel’s Blessing

Angel’s Retreat

1964: Chasing A Dream

Facing Reality

Missing Link

After Glow

Raging Nightmare

Court of Two Sisters

Who Wants to Murder a Millionaire?

Heart of Winter

Death and Deceit

Who’s Colleen Sutton?

The Vampire and the Lady

A Bunch of Short Stories

The Positive Power of Writing

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Snore Score

Good Choices, Bad Choices

I’m Not Different, I’m Just Me

POETRY

Painted Words and Music of Fire

By the Entrance to the Harbor

The Evolution of Me

Old Hippie Poems

Inner Warrior

Rimes of an Ancient Rhymer

Poems for Ukraine

Train of Thought

A NOTE FROM AUTHOR

Ruby suffers from dementia. So, the daily life and struggles of her family, as well as herself, will be the body of this book.

I’ve taken a new approach with this book where Ruby’s feelings and observations (during the later years of confusion) are written in present tense.

None of us know what a dementia patient thinks about or how they feel. Frightened, I’m sure, but also resentful and revengeful at times.

Like a lot of dementia sufferers, Ruby, at times, does not recognize the family that loves her. This is hurtful to family members, especially the number one caregiver, who in this story is her only daughter, Alice.

THE EMPTY ROOM

Standing in the center

Of the empty room

Wondering where

Did it all go?

There were dreams

And hopes and schemes

Just like anyone

Would have imagined

Now, it is barren, desolate

And the walls echo

With memories so golden

You can almost see them dance

This room, this home, this mind

Once was mine

But the memories evade me

I try but get only frustration

I turn and leave the empty room

I no longer belong there

Or here

I am a wasteland, a mind of mush

Some days though things are vivid

Like spurts of water from a fountain

Then they die and leave me livid

Wondering again why

I close the door and think no more. I sit

And fold my hands, my mind’s a barren land. I

No longer control this empty room that sits

Upon my shoulders. I have left too soon

IF I FALL APART

(A Song)

I feel the magic all around me

I hear the music in the air

I let the moment just surround me

But I’m not getting anywhere

I’m holding on to my agenda

Trying hard to just stay strong

Inside my head the world is spinning

It’s hard to tell what’s right or wrong

If I fall apart, if I slip away

Don’t take it all to heart

I did much better than yesterday

And if I slip again, if I trip well then

Pick me up if you can, if I fall apart

I know that you have done your best

You’ve done much better than the rest

And I’m just trying to survive

Making sense out of being alive

And if I fall apart, if I drift away

Don’t take it all to heart

I did much better than yesterday

And if I slip again, if I trip well then

Pick me up if you can, if I fall apart

CHAPTER ONE

The Family

SEE ME

When I am sad

See me

When I cry and you look away

Turn back and see me

When I am quiet and you wonder why

See me

There is a reason for me to be

See me

See me, when I am happy

I do have such days

See me when I talk

Don’t just tolerate

See me, when I am invisible

When you could walk right

Through me

See me

Put your arms around me

And look at me, not through me

I am here, I am present

I am. See me

(Alice)

They found it, you know, in a box wrapped in sheets and sheets of toilet paper. It looked like a snowball of tissue. The boy had found it and he began to unwrap it. She was surprised but not completely. Her mother was prone to doing things like that. She would pack up all her stuff, as if she was going on a trip. She was always talking about going home, as if she were in some foreign land visiting — just visiting. They were mostly all strangers to her now, except for the rare coherent times when the cobwebs would part, perhaps by a gentle breeze blowing through her mixed-up brain. Those were special moments — the kind to be held onto.

(Alice’s Mother Ruby)

Ruby goes back in time, back to her girlish days when life is sweet and her body is firm and strong and beautiful. Back to the days before fear, before walking in this strange land amongst strangers sometimes disguised as family members. They think they can fool her, but she is on guard — always on guard. Who knows what they’d try to do to her next?

(Jeremy)

Jeremy walked into the room and found his grandmother standing before him stark naked. For a boy of twelve, that was quite a frightening sight.

Mom, he yelled. Grandma has no clothes on, and she’s putting toothpaste all over her body. Then he left the room.

By the time Jeremy’s mother, Alice, reached the living room, her mother was sitting on the floor rocking back and forth, rubbing the toothpaste into her skin. Mother! What in the world are you doing now?

Her mother didn’t bother to acknowledge her, she was too busy sticking her finger into the toothpaste tube and examining the goop at the end of her fingertips.

Alice grabbed a throw from the back of the sofa and laid it across her mother’s back. She attempted to pull it around her mother to cover her, but instead her mother grew agitated and threw it off her back.

Exasperated now, Alice attempted to pick her mother up off the floor. The toothpaste was slippery and hindered her from getting a good grip on her mother’s body. So, she wrapped the throw around her mother’s back again and scooped her up off the floor. Her mother didn’t weigh much now. She picked at everything and complained about everything. But then there were the good days. Few and far between but each day or each hour was totally savoured and appreciated by Alice.

Mother, come on, don’t drag your feet, you’re being ornery. Now you’re going to need another bath.

I just had a bath.

Well, you’re getting another one. And toothpaste is for cleaning your teeth not your body.

Mom. Jeremy looked horrified.

Alice turned around, holding her mother under the arm pits. What?

What’s wrong with Grandma?

I haven’t time to talk now. Grandma needs a bath. Alice lugged her mother to the bathroom.

Jeremy stood in the living room holding his iPad. He had been playing Minecraft. But after listening to his grandmother scream, the game didn’t seem too important anymore. She did that every time she had to get in the tub. He’d heard it many times and he could no longer stand to hear the commotion. He dropped the iPad on the coffee table and bolted out the back door. He climbed to his spot in the old apple tree. Sitting on the big limb with his legs dangling over the edge, he squeezed his eyes shut and stuck his fingers in his ears.

(Ruby)

What is this…hell or something? I feel cold and hot at the same time. Someone kept scrubbing my skin and talking to me in a constant drone. I have no idea in hell what she was talking about.

I was just trying to wash up. Then he saw me. His big eyes were all over me and I felt ashamed standing there naked as I was. Then she came in and grabbed me, going on again in that same drone with her long, angry face. She always seems to wear that face lately. Who the hell are these people and why am I being punished like this?

If I lie here really still maybe they will all go away and leave me in peace. I don’t know why I am being punished by these people in this prison I am in. I am all tucked in bed as if I were a baby. She did that! That long-faced woman. And the boy stares at me as if I’m from outer space or something. Oh, if only, my dear Ernie were here. He’d protect me. He told me so on our wedding day. He said he’d never let anything bad happen to me. HE LIED!

He’s like all the rest of them now. And I don’t even know where he is. Last time I saw him, he was in the garden. I was looking at the flowers and taking a walk and there he was standing there right in front of me. And did he say hello? NO!

He just stood there and stared at me as if he were a statue in the garden. I smiled at him. I was so glad to see him. I asked him if he came to rescue me and he just stood there staring. Then he smiled at me as if to say, enjoy your punishment. Then, just like that, he was gone. And she was calling to me. She’s always looking for me. I never have a minute’s peace around this prison. And punishment? I don’t even know what I did wrong, but seems he’s in on it. My Ernest. Forsaking me.

Forsaking all others…that’s what we said on our wedding day. Oh, Ernie, come back and help me, forsake them and come to me. I’m cold now. She scrubbed my skin as if I were an old potato. HELP! Someone, help me, please!

(Alice)

She peeled the potatoes and scraped the carrots and checked on the roast in the oven. But her heart was heavy. She had no appetite for food anymore or anything else much. Sitting on a chair now, her hands folded across the table, she stared into space. What am I gonna do? She’s getting out of hand. I’m coming to the end of my rope and I thought I could handle this. Big strong, determined me. Huh, who am I kidding?

Mom? What’s wrong with Grandma?

Alice whipped her head around and saw Jeremy standing in the kitchen doorway. He looked lost and confused. He was twelve now. Maybe it was time to level with him. A kid that age should understand at least somewhat, shouldn’t they? Maybe she should wait until Ken got home and they could talk to him together. But no. Why should she? Ken wasn’t much help to her. Oh, he talked the good talk about being here for her but just what did that mean anyway when she was in the middle of a mess with her mother and he was nowhere to be found? And by the looks of Jeremy, he needed answers now.

She forced a smile at him. Come sit.

Jeremy inched his way into the kitchen and slid into a chair across from her. His big brown eyes searching hers for an explanation.

Alice sighed and began. Grandma’s sick. She’s sick in the brain. I know she’s not the grandma she used to be, but that’s not really her fault.

But what does sick in the brain mean?

Well… Alice searched her brain for the right words. We believe she has a disease. Dad thinks it’s dementia. I know these big words mean nothing to you, but her memory is slipping away. That’s why she’s afraid sometimes. And why she cries a lot. And, sometimes she doesn’t recognize us.

How does this happen?

A long sigh later, Alice felt bewildered. It just happens to some people when they get older. It’s complicated.

Will she get better?

Alice took her son’s hand and he didn’t pull back. His light brown hair falling in his eyes, he looked bewildered. No, Jeremy. Sadly, she won’t.

Jeremy looked stunned. I knew something was really wrong with her but I didn’t know what. Can I help? I love Grandma but she looks at me sometimes like she hates me.

I’m sorry you had to see her like that today. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and in her right mind she’d never do anything like that.

She was putting toothpaste on her body.

Yes. She thought it was soap, I guess. Jeremy…your grandma.... Alice stopped talking as Ken appeared in the kitchen doorway.

What’s going on? You guys look so serious.

Alice ignored Ken and turned back to Jeremy. She looked him in the eye from across the table. We’ll talk more later, hon. I need to talk to your dad now.

Okay, Jeremy got up quickly, seemingly relieved to be leaving the kitchen. He pushed by his father without saying hello and Ken jumped back out of the way.

Startled, Ken questioned, What’s wrong with him? Did he get in trouble at school again?

NO!

Did someone beat him up?

NO.

Then what —

My God, Ken, there was an…incident and he asked me about Mother.

Ken’s shoulders drooped. What did you say? You didn’t tell him anything, did you?

Of course, I did! Do you think he’s deaf and blind? He knows something terrible is wrong.

Yeah, but —

Yeah, but nothing. I had to tell him. He deserves to know.

He’s too yo —

Don’t say it! He’s not too young. And don’t you dare say I should have talked it over with you. When are you ever around for me to talk anything over with you?

Alice, don’t start.

The smoke detector blared. Oh my God, the vegetables! Alice grabbed the handle of the potato pot then winced and drew her hand back shoving her fingers into her mouth. Ken grabbed a potholder and pulled both pots off the heat. He took the cover off the potatoes and peered in.

They’re not so bad.

Alice’s eyes filled with tears and she ran from the kitchen. The bedroom door slammed. Ken tended to supper or what was left of it.

In her room, Alice breathed deeply trying to get herself under control. It seemed that lately every time Ken was around, she got upset. And when he wasn’t around, she was also upset. There was no peace in this household.

In the bathroom she rummaged through the cabinet and found an ointment for her fingers which were now starting to throb. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That’s what I am. Now supper’s ruined but I really don’t give one damn. I’m not hungry anyway and Mother eats like a bird. Ken and Jeremy will just have to find something on their own.

(Jeremy)

Back at his Minecraft game, Jeremy built a house, but his mind wasn’t on the game. Finally, he shut it down and opened Google, typing in, memory loss. There he found the words Dementia and Alzheimer’s. He read a bit then stopped.

So, that was Grandma’s problem. He wasn’t sure it was better to know or not to know. At least when he didn’t know, he had hopes that one day she might return to the nice grandma that she used to be. As a little guy he and his grandmother had so much fun together. That was when she was still driving her car. His mother drove it these days. Sometimes there was an argument when she took Grandma out and Grandma insisted, she drive. His mother had a terrible time and would have come back in the house he was sure, except his grandmother had a doctor’s appointment or something like that.

He heard his mom and dad fighting again in the kitchen. At least they were really loud and shouting. They did that a lot lately. Probably ever since Grandma came to live with them. At first, he had been too young to realize that his grandmother was changing. But it was plain to see now that things were weird around their house.

There was a rap on the door and he got up to open it. His dad stood there with a little grin on his face. Dinner’s ready, son.

I’m not hungry.

Now, don’t give me that. You’re a growing boy, you need to eat.

Jeremy did not want to argue so he followed his dad into the kitchen only to see his mom’s and grandma’s chairs empty.

(Alice)

Alice heard her mother calling out. It was a half call, half whine. She called her daughter’s name and hope rose in Alice’s heart. She jumped off the bed and opened her bedroom door. Coming, Mom.

Alice hurried down the hallway to the next bedroom where the door was ajar. She pushed it open and saw her mother sitting on the bed.

I’m hungry, Alice.

Alice smiled. Well, I’m glad to hear that. Did you have a nice rest? Did you have a nap?

Her mother never replied to the questions, she just repeated, I’m hungry, Alice.

Alice got her mother prepared for the dinner table. She brushed her hair and gave her a pretty robe to put on over her nighty. Let’s go get you something to eat, now.

At the kitchen, Alice looked in to see two heads looking down at their plates. There was no conversation taking place. Mother’s hungry as a bear, Alice said, trying to keep some good humour in her voice.

After both Alice and her mother were seated, Ken got up and dished out food to both of them.

How are you feeling, Grandma? Jeremy asked.

I’m feeling fine. How are you feeling?

Jeremy’s face got red. I’m okay, Grandma. He grinned.

Alice looked at her plate and Ken said, The carrots were kinda ruined so I opened a can of peas. I made gravy.

Alice smiled at him. It’s fine.

Halfway through the meal, Ruby stopped eating and looked up and around the kitchen. Is something wrong, Mom? Alice asked.

Where’s Ernie? He should be here by now.

Jeremy dropped his fork and stared at his grandmother. His grandfather had been dead before he was even born. What was she talking about?

Alice looked across at Ken, searching for words.

Ken cleared his throat. I made vanilla pudding for dessert, Ruby. You know you love vanilla pudding. Would you like ice cream on top?

Yes, please, Ruby replied with a smile, as she handed her almost finished meal to Ken.

Alice returned to her meal as did Jeremy, as if nothing had happened. The moment had passed and the dinner was almost over. Hopefully, Alice thought there would be no more incidents and they could get through the meal peacefully.

CHAPTER TWO

Girl meets Boy

The Past

Alice was only fourteen when she crushed hard on Anthony Trek. He rode a Harley Davidson, without a helmet most times, and had a tattoo saying Hell on Earth on his left upper shoulder.

And that was exactly what Ruby thought he was hell on earth. Life had never been the same since the Treks moved in next door. Before that an elderly man had lived there alone for ten years after his lovely wife, Sarah had died from falling down their stairs. It was said that she had a dizzy spell and had forgotten to take her blood pressure medication.

Her husband, George had told the story to Ruby a number of times when he would wander over and talk while Ruby was in her flower garden.

It was always me who had to take care of the pills, he had said wistfully. And I told her that morning, I said, ‘Sarah, don’t forget the brown one.’ I thought she had taken it and I never found it. It must have fallen on the floor and probably got vacuumed up. I remember vacuuming that very morning.

Ruby was tired of the story, but she respected that George was lonely and that maybe just a little bit, he blamed himself for Sarah’s death. Things happen, George, she had said to him. We don’t know why but I guess it was Sarah’s turn to go.

George looked sad and stared at the trowel in Ruby’s hand. Soon will be my turn, I suppose.

Ruby laughed at that. George, you are one of the healthiest old geezers I’ve ever seen. Now go on home and make yourself some breakfast. I’m about to do that myself. And it’s time to get Alice up for school. Drop by this afternoon and we’ll have tea.

As much as she grimaced when George would wander over, knowing she was going to hear the long, sad tale again about Sarah’s fall and passing, and how it was probably his fault for not watching that she took her pill. She was saddened the morning she saw an ambulance pull into the driveway next door. She peeked out the living room window watching as two medics carried George out on a stretcher and slid him in the back of the van. Her heart was heavy when she noticed they didn’t seem to be in a big hurry. And that meant just what she thought it had. George was already dead. It was his turn. A neighbour across the road had dropped over to give George a bottle of homemade peach jam and she had seen him lying on the mat in the hallway and called 911.

The house was vacant for one whole year, almost to the day of George’s demise. George’s son, Albert, who lived out of province, had returned home to supervise the renovations that once again made the house suitable for marketing.

Then the Treks moved in.

(Alice)

When she heard that big bike start up, she ran to the window of her bedroom, which was on the side of the house by the Trek’s driveway. There he was in all his glory. All six feet of him. His longish blond hair was slicked back, and he even had sideburns. Like in the olden days, she thought.

He was a dream and she’d die if she didn’t get to ride on that bike. She imagined sitting on the back, her arms strapped around his chest, hanging on, hugging, sort of. What would that feel like?

Alice had never had a boyfriend before. There was Dan in grade three who used to make eyes at her. He sat across from her in English class and again in History, and it seemed that every time she looked up, he was staring at her and smiling. One time, he winked. Alice thought that made him look foolish. Like out of some old 50s movie that her mother liked to watch.

Now, Dan was the nerdish type. He was still in some of her classes at school, but he hardly ever looked at anyone anymore. He seemed to be engrossed in his books. Alice watched until Anthony roared out of the driveway and turned left down the street. She sighed and called her best girlfriend. They would moan and groan about boys and Alice was always talking about Anthony this and Anthony that. Her girlfriend had two crushes and couldn’t decide which one to talk about the most.

It all went on pretty much that way until school let out. Alice’s girlfriend was going away for the summer to visit relatives, and when she returned, she’d barely be home until her family headed out again on their annual three-week vacation. Alice felt left behind. There were no vacations in her family, not that kind anyway. Her father who worked for the post office had vacation time but he usually spent it home just puttering around or taking handyman jobs to earn a little extra money.

It was almost July before something exciting happened to Alice. Well, it was exciting to her at the beginning. Alice had been mooning around the house saying her summer was a wipe out and her mother was trying to cheer her up.

What say we go over to the mall and get some decorations for the holiday? Ruby was all smiles.

Alice gave her a look. What for? I don’t feel like celebrating. It’s just another dumb day.

Ruby looked stunned. Alice, it’s Canada Day. It’s when―

I don’t need a history lesson, Mom

Don’t be rude! We can have fireworks and cake and those whistle things that you blow out.

Alice laughed. "Like you used to get me when I had a birthday party? Mom, that’s