I drove home, and Aunt Ann sat silent in the passenger seat. It was clear that she wasn't really all of the way "back," as Andi had put it. Her eyes were unfocused and my attempts at conversation were met with monosyllables.
It felt like one of those times, though, that an attempt to "fix" things would be counterproductive. She needed the quiet, so I didn't even turn on the radio.
Back at the house, she didn't move when I parked in the garage. So I went around the truck, opened the door, and helped her out.
The Pony Milk was, pretty obviously, not fully neutralized. Her nose was still running and I could see her swallowing more or less constantly as her overstimulated salivary glands stayed busy. There was a sheen of sweat on her face too. And although her eyes did meet mine, there was a, well, a dullness there that, on some weird level, I liked.
Okay, I won't deny it. I liked the docility she had shown all day, so completely different from her normal "large and in charge" persona.
I walked her through the kitchen to the bedroom, my hand on her arm, guiding, yes, but not
just
guiding her. Supporting her as I might guide a frail, 90-year-old woman.
In the bedroom, she turned, the first truly self-directed movement I had seen since she took that first drink of Pony Milk early this morning. She took my hands in hers and I saw tears overflow her eyes joining the clear mucus where her nose still ran.
"David," she said, obviously concentrating hard to stay focused, her forehead lined with a frown, her eyes flicking back and forth as she switched from one of my eyes to the other, "if you find me disgusting and want to leave, I understand. I just hope you understand, this is something I
need
."
And there it was again. I "sprang erect."
I laid my palms lightly on her cheeks, enjoying the slight sweat dampness there and the sweat wetness in her hair where my fingers were in it.
"I am," I said, choosing my words carefully and wanting to be as clear as I possibly could. Something told me this was a turning point in our lives and I wondered how many times she had this conversation before. I hoped I was her first time.
"I am," I said, "the precise, mathematical, opposite of disgusted."
Her reaction almost did me in. She relaxed so completely that her mouth opened slightly and drool joined the mucus hanging from her chin.