A Pair of Aces

After her second stroke at 73, Angelina lost all feeling from the neck down. Her only daughter Julie, busy with work and her own family, could no longer care for her mom so she put her in a senior's home where her mother could receive proper care around the clock. For the most part, Angelina grew accustomed to her new home and didn't mind the revolving door of nurses and other caregivers attending to her every need. She had accepted her fate and knew that her days here on earth were numbered. Her family and friends visited her practically every day and her father and younger brother played cards in her room all day long.

Angelina could talk, but it was too tiring and her words came out slurred. The nurses did their best to understand her, but they always ended up doing something she didn't ask for or giving her something she didn't want. Her father and brother, on the other hand, always understood her, but advised her to talk less and to sleep more and then went back to playing their card games. When she woke up, they'd wave at her and immediately go back to playing their card games. She'd ask them why they didn't go home and they'd ignore her. They wouldn't eat, they didn't sleep and they never stopped playing those darn cards! Angelina didn't understand why they were always with her and eventually, she stopped talking to them. She'd glance over at them every now and then and fall heavier into sleep.

One night, she felt so rested that she could get up on her own. She looked over at her father and brother and they pulled out a chair for her. She walked over to them and decided to join them for a game of cards.

"It's about time," said her brother.

"To learn the rules of this game," added her father.

And, just then, she remembered that they were dead.