Jean was just one of the many high school students who crowded the cemetery that day. Jean had been in the same grade as Jake all through elementary school and was in Jake’s home form in grade nine. English class, first thing in the morning, all year long. One September, Jean did not feel well, and by the middle of October was in Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto losing her hair to a cancer treatment.
Jean always watched Jake from afar. Shy, with only sisters, how do you act around boys especially the ones you like?
Jean returned to school in late November with no hair. The only wig her parents could afford looked like a wig. She dreaded going back but she knew she must. Getting on a cold school bus on Monday morning, she carefully pulled down a toque to hide that wig.
Sitting in her designated bus seat just behind Jake, she rode that lonely trip to school. After getting off the bus, walking down the hall, opening up her locker, and taking off her winter coat, Jean slipped into the girls’ washroom to remove her toque and comb her artificial hair.
The bell rang and everyone was seated. Jean felt all eyes were on her. Then the laughing started and she could not bear it, until she looked up and there was Jake with his head completely shaved. The teacher, who was naturally bald, did not miss a beat and said, “Welcome back, Jean. Jake looks like my younger brother.” The laughter continued. After a week, most of the students in the class had shaved their heads. It took Jean a bit longer to take off her wig. She felt accepted.
The only person, who was not at the gravesite, was the town’s Doctor. Shirley a young, first-time-to-be mother was in the last stages of labour at Civic Hospital in Peterborough. Dr. Atkinson had to be there. Manley and Dr. Atkinson were the best of friends and they would reconnect later. Dr. Atkinson had been the town’s only town doctor when Jake came into the world. Jake did not need a tap on the bum. He came out crying. One thing that the town did not know was that Jake was the son of a young teenage girl. He was born out of wedlock.
He was born in the same early morning hours as Rose. Jake would be the first son, of this young teenager from a well-established farm family in Westwood. This young mother had no means to raise a child. Her parents were typical parents, embarrassed that their daughter was pregnant, but not able to afford to send her to private school or just away. Instead she had been sent to live with her aunt on a farm near Millbrook to hide the pregnancy.
Most small-town family doctors looked after everyone in their communities. The teenage girl was told quietly by Doctor Atkinson that the baby was going to be looked after and a family had been found. Rose’s parents had been given the option of taking home two babies, instead of one, and they agreed with the doctor’s plan. Paternal twins do not always look alike especially when they are female and male. Only the doctor, Shirley, her parents, and the operating nurse knew the true story. The records were sealed away.
The official part of the funeral was over. The people in earshot were invited back to the basement of the United Church to visit with family and friends and enjoy a light lunch. Close friends, family and people from out-of-town congregated in the church basement and enjoyed egg, tuna, salmon, and ground meat sandwiches. Platters of cheese and vegetables were placed on the serving table and coffee and tea were served by the ladies hosting the luncheon. A reasonable fee was charged to the family for this luncheon.
Annie, an elderly town lady, attended every luncheon. All funerals, weddings, anniversaries, and birthday receptions had a place for Annie. In some cases Annie knew only the serving staff but they would make her feel comfortable. She was part of the town and this was her outing for the week, a lunch or a dinner that she did not have to prepare and eat alone in her small home. Annie did not know Jake, but she knew his parents and many of his relatives were familiar faces and they would pass the time of day with her. Annie was an integral part of the fabric of Norwood.
Everyone who knew Jake now had a hole to fill. Cleaning out the school locker, cleaning out his bedroom, collecting all the small possessions that were a part of Jake was hard to do. You can’t say goodbye; you only hope to understand. Jake is not here and we are left. Are we the lucky ones and will this happen to us again? The answer is yes. If you live long enough, you get to see it all. If you live long enough, you lose all your older relatives, your neighbours, your friends, and, maybe if luck is with you, your memory.
The dirt was shovelled back into the hole. The sod was placed and tramped on top and the job was done. One of Jake’s school buddies stayed behind. He could not leave his buddy alone. Only when darkness fell did he leave and walk home slowly. Hank was with Jake to the end.
Jean saw Hank walking past their house towards the highway, where he would hitch a ride. She found her dad and asked him if he could take the car and give Hank a lift.
A week after the funeral, Manley was in the doctor’s office for his yearly medical. Only a few people in town had a yearly medical, but Manley always requested one. He wanted to be in control of his life, and to do that, he had to be in control of his body. He was one of the few people whom Doctor Atkinson had met in town to hold this belief. Manley thought of his body as a machine that had to be maintained, properly fed, rested, worked, and cared for. He also thought that his mind ought to be kept active and challenged to keep growing. Dr. Atkinson prepared for this medical. The questions Manley would ask would probe into the current research and views, not only of North American medical practices, but also of others, such as the veterinarian school in Guelph.
Manley had read the death notice posted on the corner hydro pole at the four corners of town. The date: Born April 2, 1945 jumped out at Manley as he recognized the numbers and remembered his younger brother had a son born out of wedlock on that same day, same year.
Young blood runs hot and Manley’s brother, Richard, in one of his rare uncontrolled moments had stepped over the line and a pregnancy was the result. Richard usually had a dating standard that above the waist was fair game, but not to touch or go below the belt. One night during a hot July spell, one slip in the back of a 1952 Ford.
Manley looked directly at Dr. Atkinson and asked the question that he had been waiting fourteen years to answer. “Was Jake, Richard and Shirley’s son?” Doctors do not take a lying course in medical school, but they all must master this art early in their careers. Some patients cannot take bad news and others need to be misled. There is no need to cause patients more danger or more pain.
Dr. Atkinson paused, looked down, and then went into the routine he had practised for years. He looked Manley straight in the eye and said, “I have been waiting for years for you to put things together and ask this question. Manley, you are one of my best friends and I have to tell you, Jake was not your brothers’ son.” When the examination was over, Manley dressed and got ready to leave the prep room.
On leaving, he turned to Dr. Atkinson and said, “When you looked me in the eye, your pupils told the story. You are a true friend.” He quietly closed the door behind himself, walked to the parking lot, and drove home.
Dr. Atkinson had given Manley a diagnosis for his condition. Manley was showing early signs of dementia, known later as a disease, like Alzheimer’s. Manley had forgotten that his memory was fading. His hunting error in judgment was due to the onset of his illness. Manley was one of the lucky ones, as his disease progressed slowly, and he had a number of ways to compensate for memory loss. The one thing he did do, was to tell everyone what he was suffering of and then he asked for their support and understanding. As the elected reeve of Norwood he got both.
Epilogue
Dr. Atkinson explained to Manley that the mind plays tricks as it slowly disintegrates. You lose trust in people whom you have known all your life. You forget details. Your mind makes up stories. You are not sure if it was a dream or did it really happen.
Manley was showing early signs of dementia and, if he was lucky, it would progress slowly.
Just before Manley left the doctor’s office, he asked Dr. Atkinson why he had not been at the funeral.
Dr. Atkinson said, “What funeral?”
Dr.