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During both of Leo's last outings, there were moments when an intense flash would have made everyone's lives easier, so he decided to spend his study time mastering the famous werelight. He spent an inordinate amount of time in view of the entrances, hoping to get a glimpse of Varvara, but she must have been as busy as Grant and Nightingale.
He managed to spend some time on Saturday at the family Brownstone. His mother, Joyce, was in early stages of dementia, so he was relieved when she recognized him and managed to get his name, Leofric, correct. His sister, Hilda, who lives with them, isn't always so lucky.
When Folly duties didn't interfere, Leo and his father, Winston, had a weekly ritual. His sister would run interference with his mother while he had a drink in the den with his father, watched a few episodes of something sci-fi (Picard this week), and they pretended, for the evening, that Joyce's gradually receding personhood was still a thing of the past. His father waxed eloquent about James Burke and Connections, and about how that Yank that nattered on about star-stuff had a point, followed by a rousing cursing of John Nathan-Turner. Then the standard, "So when are you going to meet a nice man..." followed by the standard "Oh, you know this copper job..."
But tonight was different. As Leo cleaned up and turned off the telly, his father lingered in the old leather chair for a moment.
"Leofric..." Winston managed. His eyes glistened. "We're losing her..." Leo froze. This was the first time Winston had brought up the subject with Leo.
Leo immediately wanted to make a joke about not getting rid of Mom that easily. He wanted to change the subject. Remark hopefully about the wide range of dementia therapies available these days. But all he could do was turn toward his father.
“I know, Dad.” Suddenly, he was a scared kid again rather than a fireball casting wizard. “I know…”
That night, Leo and his father’s hug was longer than normal. As Leo headed for the door, he started to say “If you need me to…”
“Hilda has been amazing through all this. And these visits…these visits mean the world to me. They are going to mean even more as your mother gets worse. Son, I don’t know what your real job is, but I think it’s a little more than just regular coppering. Please… Be careful…I can’t…”
Leo hugged his Dad firmly. “Roger, roger…” he whispered.
Usually Leo took the Tube back to the Folly. Tonight, he decided, was a good night for a walk.