It's 11am. Still early. He's studying the medicine his doctor prescribed, and which we've just picked up from the pharmacy.
"Can you believe the price of this medication?" he asks. Of course I can. I just paid for it. "Now when am I supposed to take it?"
"The doctor said you have to take it in the morning when you first wake up," I tell him, "with lots of water. Or you can take it right before you go to bed. But you have to take it on an empty stomach."
We walk into the kitchen, and seat ourselves at the table. My wife comes up to say hello.
"How did it go with the doctor?" she asks. "You guys hungry?"
I look over at my wife. It's been a long day, and it's not even noon. She can see it in my eyes.
"I'm not hungry, sweetie," I tell her.
"Well, I am!" my father pipes up. "What did you make?"
She starts to serve him, and my father and I continue our conversation.
"So I take it in the morning when I get up." he tells me.
"That's right, or before you go to bed. The important thing is that you don't eat anything before you take it."
"But I can take it in the morning?"
"Yes," I repeat, "as soon as you get up, but before you eat anything."
"I can't eat anything?"
"That's right."
He looks at the food in front of him.
"But I'm hungry."
"You can eat now, dad, but just not before taking your medicine."
He starts to dig in on the feast my wife just served him. She's a good cook. And my father's a good eater. They make a good team. But she knows the direction this conversation is taking. She gives me a little wave as she leaves. I give her a little smile.
A very little one.
Chomp, chomp!
"Are you sure that's what the doctor said?" my father says between bites. "I've always heard that you have to eat before you take your medication."
"That's true, but with this medicine you have to take it on an empty stomach."
"I don't know about these pills. I don't think they'll do me any good."
"They might."
"And you're telling me I can take it in the morning or at night?"
"That's right. Take it as soon as you get up, or right before you go to bed, it just has to be on an empty stomach."
"But I'm hungry in the morning. Does this mean I can't eat all day?"
He takes another big bite of food.
"No, it means that you take it as soon as you get up. You can have breakfast after that. Or you can take it at night before you go to bed. It just has to be on an empty stomach."
"But I always have ice cream before I go to bed."
I'm too tired to answer.
"Well, I guess your wife can serve me less," he says.
Chomp, chomp!
And then continues.
"She always serves me too much."
He thinks about it, and then he thinks about it a little more.
"Why can't I just take it now?" he says. "What difference does it make?"
"Because the doctor told you to. And it has to be on an empty stomach."
"Doctors," he sniffs, and rubs his nose in disgust. "They don't know everything."
"Just do it, dad."
"Okay, okay. So you're saying that I take the medication as soon as I wake up."
"You've got it. As soon as you get up, take your medicine. You can have your breakfast after that."
"But sometimes I go for a walk with my dog before I have breakfast."
"That's fine, dad. Just take your medicine when you wake up, go on your walk, and when you get back you can eat."
"I don't know about those characters. I tell you, sometimes doctors don't know what they're doing."
Chomp, chomp, chomp!
"So I guess I'll take this medication right after I wake up and before I eat. After I brush my teeth and take my shower."
"That's right."
"Hmmm..." he says, checking out the full bottle. The pills are small, and the directions are right there on the label. "...ahh... well."
He's continued eating throughout this whole conversation, but he's finally done. He then gets up, grabs his medicine, and tells me on his way out:
"I guess I'll go take my medication now."
Raising My Father
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