“Can you go make us some coffee?” Shane asked Jenny, and I felt a small hand touch my shoulder before Jenny passed us and went into the kitchen. “It’s okay,” Shane assured me. “Don’t feel bad, you can cry.”

“I just wish I knew what to do,” I sobbed. I was trying to calm myself down, but the harder I tried, the harder I cried.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of things,” Shane told me. “Charlie and Kallie and Helena and I will look into things for you.”

“But it’s not your problem,” I protested. “You shouldn’t have to deal with it all.”

“There are a lot of us, Dane,” she replied. “That’s the point. We can all do a little bit so it’s not so hard on you.”

“But you shouldn’t have to do that. I’m not senile yet; I should be able to handle this. She’s my wife.”

“Yeah, she’s your wife who just had a debilitating stroke and is probably going to need almost constant care for the rest of her life.” I knew what she was saying was true, of course. I’d known it since I’d known she had a chance of survival. Still, it stung, and I’m pretty sure Shane felt me tense up. “I’m really sorry, Dana. I wish it didn’t have to be like that. If I could change it, you know I would. But this is a big thing and nobody expects you to handle it on your own. That doest have anything to do with your age or your ability, it’s just the nature of what happened.”

I nodded against her shoulder, and she sighed. “Let’s go sit down,” she said gently. There was no real reason for me to argue, and I was suddenly even more exhausted than I’d been before, so I didn’t resist when she helped me walk up the three stairs to the kitchen and then down the short hallway to the living room. She helped me get settled on the couch and sat next to me with her arm around my shoulders, and I’d never felt so old in all my life.

“We’ll get it worked out,” she assured me quietly as Jenny carried in a tray with three coffee mugs and sugar and milk. She set it on the coffee table in front of us and took a seat in the arm chair next to Shane, who reached out to pat her knee with her free hand. For some reason, the gesture made me laugh, although I knew Shane hadn’t even really thought about it before she did it.