It was purely the brisket's fault for being so delicious!
"Even if it's the best barbecue in the city, you can't gorge yourself on it. Couldn't you just take a small bite to satisfy the craving?"
Claire didn't care much for greasy meats, but even she was starting to wonder just how incredible this brisket actually was.
"Walden, your body simply cannot handle greasy food and alcohol anymore."
"You need to find a new hobby to distract yourself when you have free time."
"Like what?" Walden grumbled. He knew how to play chess.
But he was notoriously terrible at it, and none of the other retired generals at the institute would agree to play with him anymore.
As for his children and grandchildren, not a single one of them had a moment of free time.
"How about something like fishing? Do you enjoy fishing?"
Walden looked skeptical. "Back in my day, the only thing I liked fishing for was enemy spies."
Though not exactly a refined tactician, Walden had possessed a sharp mind during the war, mastering the art of laying traps and luring his foes into devastating ambushes.
"You could go fishing by the lake and bring a portable grill with you. Once you catch a fresh fish, you can prep it right there and grill it over an open flame."
"Doesn't that sound infinitely more entertaining?"
Claire offered the suggestion with an encouraging smile.
"And what if I don't catch a single fish?"
"Then you just stroll over to the next guy's bucket and demand one of his, right?"
Brilliant idea!
Walden realized fishing wasn't so bad after all. If he caught something and grilled it on the spot, he would absolutely make all the other old men jealous.
"The second I'm discharged tomorrow, I'm organizing a fishing trip."
Claire quickly warned him, "But that means you have to stop the binge eating,
otherwise you won't be healthy enough to hold a rod."
"You have to maintain your health above all else."
Walden eagerly swore to comply.
As Claire and Dane walked out of the hospital, Dane found himself quietly awestruck by her diplomatic skills.
She had effortlessly coaxed the stubborn patriarch into a good mood while providing a genuinely constructive solution.
It was a feat neither Dane nor Van could ever pull off.
Mostly because both men were the silent, stoic types.
"When you checked his pulse earlier, did you sense any other underlying issues?"
Claire had driven herself to the hospital, and Dane was now slipping into her passenger seat.
He didn't care in the slightest.
Riding in anyone's car was exactly the same to him.
"His ailments come from all directions. His private doctors are well aware of them,
so he doesn't need to hear it from me."
"Repeating those same old warnings won't make him take them any more seriously."
Dane had just started to breathe a
sigh of relief when Claire suddenly continued, "But over time, ignoring them will
tead to catastrophic
problems."
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"I pushed him toward fishing because I desperately want him to improve his cognitive focus."
"Playing cards would work too, if he actually enjoys it."
Dane's expression darkened. What exact problem required such specific mental exercises?
"Walden is suffering from
deep-rooted cognitive decline
brought on by advanced age and
internal emotional stress holistic
medicine terms, he is on the fast
track to dementia."
Dane instantly grasped the severity of it. "Alzheimer's? How is that possible?"
"His physical health isn't great, but his memory has always been sharp. He hasn't shown any signs of confusion."
"That's exactly why I said it's still
manageable. He claimed he only sneaked the brisket at midnight, but his pulse indicates he's been bingeing much more than that."
"He likely gorged himself during the day too and simply forgot."
Claire felt a profound sense of regret. A legendary hero like Walden shouldn't be trapped in a decaying mind.
If he forgot his own glorious past, he would be reduced to nothing more than a helpless child.
Before leaving, Claire had discreetly spoken to Walden's security detail, who confirmed that the elder had been increasingly forgetful lately.
He also had a habit of repeating the same stories in a single afternoon.
It was the unavoidable cruelty of aging.
Even with her immense skills, Claire could only prescribe holistic remedies to slow the regression.
She just hoped Walden's private medical team had already caught on to the symptoms.