KC took Leah out shopping, so I went over to hang out with Granddad for a while.

"Hey Granddad, how you feeling?"

"I'd be a lot better if I wasn't in here!"

"Well, you sound pretty good!"

"I'd sound better if I wasn't in here!"

Later: "How's dinner?"

"It'd taste better if I wasn't eating it here!"

And so on. He really did sound good, all things considered, though, as my aunt says, he's got an oxygen tube and that helps. The worst bit was when he dropped off to sleep (like he does, heh) and it turns out he's got apnea. Or something. He's on all kinds of things that turn on and off automatically, and until I got used to the machines, I freaked. Then his heartrate started to drop, and the machines would beep, and at that point I was standing in the hallways frantically flagging down anyone who came by, but it was not a big deal. What would've helped was a family member warning me ahead of time what was going on, exactly, but in my family that is simply Not Done. In fact, being told three days ahead of time that he was going into the hospital is something of a rarity. Of course, in this case there was a twist; he didn't know about it beforehand, though he figured it out. My sister said it was like watching a drowning man going down for the third time. "WAIT! Stay here and keep me company!"

"I have to go out to the bog, Granddad."

"How are the kids?"

"They're good, but Miguel's waiting for me!"

"WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?"

"Granddad, I really have to go check the pumps."

That led to conversations where he referenced things like "The Betrayal."

"I haven't talked to any of the Abbotts, how are they all doing?"

"I saw young Lee this morning. Before THE BETRAYAL."

Oh my.

"How long are they keeping you here?"

"They'd better spring me before the weekend, I have stuff to do! I am not done my Christmas shopping yet!"

According to my aunt, he finished last week. I think she'd better make sure whatever he got for her has been shipped, because if he gets sprung the first thing he's gonna do is cancel that order. (The reasons behind their decision are apparently legion; my mother and I disagree enormously with how they did it but my sister insists that is because we are not there to witness it every day.)

In some ways, I feel a bit better about him now. I spent a good two hours with him, chasing down nurses to make sure he got food, as initially someone had brought him the wrong dinner, and just sitting there reading a magazine when he nodded off, because I was not going to get up and leave him to wake up alone. His...friend (Companion? What do you call your grandfather's girlfriend?) showed up around 7:30 and the three of us chit-chatted for a while, and then I headed back home, figuring he was in good hands.

I'll be back tonight. I hope he's just as feisty when I get there. At this point I am thinking discussing the Eagles is probably a bad thing; if he put on the game at all yesterday it's likely to keep him in there till after the new year!