When she returned home from her dinner with Suzan and Davis, Ellen went upstairs to check on Charles.He had grown so weak that lifting his head off the bed became a monumental struggle, a head that possessed only thin wisps of white hair now.His face, neck and hands had wrinkled considerably, his fingers gnarled and bent.Yesterday his eyes had still been a clear, warm blue, now they appeared gray and cold.

As soon as he spied her, Charles tried to speak but his thin pale lips ...