Meet the Howlters

Promise Me

YEAR: 2053

[Phil's POV]

Dil With It is calling...

"Hey, princess," I sighed.
"Hey," she mumbled.
"What's up?"
"Kids wanted to visit you and bear,"
"When?"
"This weekend,"
"That won't work, sweetie,"
"Oh, okay... How 'bout next weekend?"
"That won't work either,"
"Are you guys okay?" Delilah asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't talked to me, or emailed Winnie, in like a month. What's up? Are you guys fighting?"
"No, we're not fighting, Delilah,"
"Then why have you been avoiding us?"
"It's, ugh," I groaned. "It's complicated..."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you free later today?"
"I get off at six. Wanna have dinner at your house or something?"
"Yeah, sure... but, um... your father might be a bit out of it,"
"Why?"
"Once more, it's complicated," I sighed. "I'll see you at six," I said as I hung up. "Dan!" I called. "Do you want your coffee or tea?" No response. "Dan?" I raised a brow and walked into the living room, where I last left him. When I walked in, i found Dan sitting on the couch, crying. "Dan, honey, what's wrong?" I asked as I sat next to him.
"It-It happened again," he sobbed.
"What happened again?"
"I-I forgot who you were," he stuttered. He brought his knees to his chest, and started tugging on his hair as he cried.
"Shhh..." I cooed. "It's okay, baby," I whispered. "It's okay..." I wrapped my arms around him, and let him cry into my chest.
"It's not okay, Ph-Phil... If I can't remember you, then, I-I-"
"Hush, honey... It's okay... really..."
"I'm so scared, Phil..." he whimpered as tears dripped onto my shirt.
"I love you," I kissed the top of his head. "I want you to know that, before I lose you again. I will love you even when you're not yourself anymore. Okay?"
"I love you too," he sighed. "Phil..."
"Yeah?"
"If I ever get to be too much, please, please, bring me to a home to get help. Please, Phil, I-"
"I could never do that to you,"
"But, I would never want to be a burden on you..."
"You'll never be a burden on me,"
"B-But Phil, I read that, if you let me out of your sight for five minutes, I could do all this stuff to..." he trailed off.
"I love you," I said once more. "I'll talk to you when you come back..."

***

"Hey, sorry, work ran a bit late," Delilah said, walking into the house. "Hi bear," she smiled.
"How do you know my nickname?" Dan asked.
"Bear, we've been over this. You're my bear,"
"I'm Phil's bear,"
"Well, yes, but your also my bear,"
"Look, lady, I don't know who you are, but-"
"Dan, this is my daughter. You guys talked on the phone. Don't you remember her?"
"Look, I barley know you. Why on earth would I know your daughter?"
"Dad," Delilah whispered. "What's going on?"
"This is why we haven't been talking to you guys," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"Bear has Alzheimer's..." I choked out.
"He what?" she whispered. Her face fell, as tears started to form in her eyes. Her mouth fell open, and her face remained in its sad state for what seemed like forever. "H-He can't have Alzheimer's. He's too young," she said as she started to cry.
"That's what I thought," I mumbled. "But, I guess not..."
"How are you handling it?"
"I'm not," I shrugged.
"What do you mean?"
"Delilah, I haven't been able to function like a normal human being, in a month and a half." Tears started staining my cheeks, but, at this point, I don't even care. "I cry myself to sleep every night, and, in all honesty, it isn't even out of sadness... it's out of fear... It's the constant fear that, with every passing second, I'm losing my husband more and more. One minute he's here, and the next he isn't... Within the next few months, my husband, your father, is-is going to be gone... he won't be Dan, anymore. He won't be bear anymore. He'll just be a shell of a man I used to know..." I sobbed. "I just... I can't take it anymore..."
"Are you talking about me?" Dan asked.
"Are you lucid?"
"Yes," Dan whispered, obviously fighting off his tears.
"Then yes, we were talking about you," I said as I dried my eyes.
"I thought I told you not to cry," he said as he held my hand.
"You have no right to tell me not to cry,"
"Yes, I do. What's happening to me can't be stopped. I think it'd be best if we just accepted it, and move on. Okay? Can you do that for me?"
"I'll try," I said.
"Good," he sighed.
"I'm gonna go check on dinner. Delilah, please keep an eye on him,"
"Will do," she said.
"Thanks," I mumbled as I wandered into the kitchen.
"So, how have you been?" Dan asked.
"I've been fine, I guess," Delilah shrugged. "Hey bear..."
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did,"
"Shut up," she giggled as she nudged his arm.
"Go right ahead," Dan smiled.
"Um, okay... What's it like, constantly going back and forth?"
"You don't wanna know," he mumbled. "It's something that you never want to experience, first or second hand. It's just awful, and I wouldn't wish this upon anyone,"
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes, it is," he pursed his lips. "Delilah, honey, you know that your brain is shutting down. You know that you should know these simple things. But, for the life of you, you can't remember. I'll use you guys as an example. When I'm transitioning from my normal self into my sick self, I recognize your fathers face, but I just don't remember his name," he started to cry. "And it kills me... I don't want my final moments on this earth to be a nightmare. I want to know your fathers name. I want to know who you, and Winnie, are. I want to know your spouses, and you children. But, from the looks of it, that's not going to happen..."
"Bear," Delilah started.
"Yeah?"
"How long do you have?" Tears started prickling at her eyes again.
"Well, at the start of it all, I was estimated at about seven to ten months. But, um, the doctors say it's progressing at an extreme rate..."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I have about five months... The doctors said I'd be lucky if I break six, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen," he said, drying his eyes.
"I don't even know how to respond..." She started crying again. As she did so, she cupped her mouth, with her hands, and just let the tears trickle down her face. "I can't imagine life without you..."
"You had to know it bound to happen at one point or another,"
"Yes, but I didn't think that, that point would be now..."
"I know..." he sighed.
"Bear..."
"Yeah?" he mumbled.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
"Of course, honey,"
"I'm pregnant," she sniffed.
"I'm going to kill your husband," he laughed. "I'm happy for you sweetie,"
"Aren't you upset that you'll never get to meet it?"
"I don't wanna meet it," he said.
"What? Why not?"
"Because... I don't want to meet my grandchild for the first time, and ask, 'What the fuck is that?' Okay?"
"Okay..."
"Delilah,"
"Yeah?"
"Please promise me, that when my mind is gone, you stop coming to see me,"
"Why? I-I don't just want to abandon you for god knowns how long, and then just show up at the funeral! I don't want that!"
"Honey," he sighed. "I'm only saying this because, I don't want your last memories of me being, well... not myself... I don't want you to have to hear, 'Who are you? Why are you calling me bear? Where's my boyfriend, Phil?' constantly, until I die. Okay?"
"But bear-"
"I don't want your last memory of me to be depressing. Okay? I want it to be happy, and full of love... something you and your kids will remember forever... Okay?"
"Okay..."
"Thanks my girl," he smiled.
"Alright, dinners ready. Come on, guys," I said.
"Hey daddy," Delilah whispered.
"Yeah, princess?"
"Call Winston," she said.
"Why?"
"Please..."
"Yeah, sure," I said.
"I'll do it," Dan said.

Calling Winnie the Shit...

"Winnie the Shit. Really, bear?" Delilah chuckled.
"What? It's funny," he smiled.
"Hello?" Winston answered.
"Hey, kiddo,"
"Hey, bear. What's up?"
"Not much. How 'bout you?"
"Well, y'know... work," he said. "What's up? Why are you calling me at two in the afternoon?"
"Oh yeah, you're five hours behind,"
"Yes, I am,"
"Are you in the middle of anything important? If you are, I can call back," he said.
"No, I'm not doing anything, at the moment. So, I ask again, what's up?"
"Your father and I wanted to talk to you about something..."