The door slammed, echoing down the long hall. Abby jumped, dropping the clothes basket that was balanced on her hip.

"I hate you!" Mary shouted from the other side of the bedroom door. "Stay out of my room!" She was angry again, using words that would make a sailor blush.

Abby bent to pick up the clothes, trying to stay positive... At least they were already dirty.

She put the clothes back into the basket and stood, coming face to face with her wedding photo, the smiling faces reminding her of much happier days. She and Jeff stood in the middle with Abby's parents standing beside her, and Jeff's folks next to him. Their parents were so happy, and so very proud. It seemed like a hundred years ago...

To the right of that photo was Abby's dad, looking so handsome in his dress blues, the day he retired from the Air Force. He passed away ten years to the day, of that photo being taken. Abby still felt so guilty, heartbroken that she hadn't been able to tell him goodbye... or that she loved him, one last time. She couldn't get to the hospital in time... A heart attack came from nowhere and claimed her father's life; he was only sixty three. She took the picture down, and ran her fingertip over her dad's smiling face.

"What am I going to do, Daddy?" Silently, standing in the hallway, Abby fell apart, tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know how to take care of her anymore... she's always yelling at me, telling me she hates me, some days she doesn't even recognize me." Abby whispered through her sobs.

"I can't put my own mother in a home... she's always been there for me. I can't just abandon her!" Abby slid down the wall, and sat on the floor. Some days were harder than others, and this was one of those harder days.

Her marriage was strained, and the kids rarely came around anymore. Mary could never be left alone because she could hurt herself. Abby had walked into the kitchen this morning, just in time to keep her mother from setting the curtains on fire. Abby had to pry the matches out of her mother's fingers, with Mary screaming at her the entire time that she was cold, and needed to make a fire.

The night before, Mary had gotten up in the middle of the night and tried to get out the front door. She said she had to go pick her daughter up from school.

Abby looked down into her dad's face. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, Daddy. I tried so hard to get to the hospital in time..." Sobs racked her body as she thought about that horrible day. She couldn't go through losing another parent and not be there.

"Daddy, Jeff says I need to put mom in a home; a place where she can get the care she needs. I'm doing the best I can, but sometimes I don't know what to do to help her. I need you, Daddy; I need you to tell me what to do!" Abby covered her face with her hands and cried, feeling more alone than she had ever felt.

The sound of her mother's door opening had Abby drying her face on her sleeve and quickly getting to her feet. She carefully put the picture back on the wall. The frail woman, standing in her bedroom doorway, brought tears to Abby's eyes, but she fought back the urge to cry, and went back down the hall to her mother's room.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Abby tried to sound as normal as she could. "Can I get you something?"

Mary stood there for several seconds, staring at Abby as though she was looking right through her.

"Mom, it's me, Abby. Come on, let's go into the kitchen and I'll fix you some lunch."

"Yes, dear, that would be lovely..." Abby reached for her mother's hand but Mary took a step back.

"Oh, wait ... I feel like I'm supposed to tell you something." Mary looked confused.

"It's okay, Mom, maybe you'll remember during lunch..." Abby smiled.

"Oh yes! I remember! Abigail, your father and I have talked, and we've decided it's time for me to move into Glenwood Park." Mary spoke so clearly, Abby was caught off guard.

"Mom, Glenwood Park is a nursing home... you always said you didn't ever want to go..." Abby stopped midsentence. "Mom, Daddy's... gone."

"Yes, dear, but he comes to visit me sometimes. Abigail, you have done your best, and I love you for that, but I belong at Glenwood Park. I never wanted to be a burden to you." Mary smiled.

"You aren't a bur..."

"It's too hard on you... I know you never forgave yourself for not being there, when your dad passed, but he understood. He knows how much you love him, just like I know how much you love me. If my time comes, and you aren't there, it's okay." Mary took Abby's hands in her own. "I love you, Abigail."

"I love you, too, Mom." Abby choked on her tears. She hugged her mom, never wanting to let go. Abby cherished those few moments she had with her mom; she knew all too well that the times that Mary could speak and think clearly were going to slip away. As they made their way down the hallway, Abby smiled at her dad's picture. Thank you, Daddy.