Why was an elderly woman on my porch this time of night?

The doorbell rang just as I was about to go to bed. Strange?! I peered out the window. What was an elderly woman doing on my porch at that time of night? She seemed upset. Her hair and clothes were dishevelled. I opened the door.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The woman stepped right into the foyer as if she knew where she was going. Then she stopped and looked around, a confused expression on her face. "Where’s Al?" she said. "I want you to call Al." "Who’s Al?" I asked her.

She stared at me and didn’t answer, so I repeated the question. "My son-in-law," the woman said. "Al’s my son-in-law. I want you to call him." Her voice wavered. She sounded like she was on the verge of panic.

I tried to get her to sit down, but she only became more agitated. I brought her a glass of water. That didn’t help, either. She just repeated the same thing over and over again. "Call Al. I want you to call Al." "What’s Al’s last name?" I asked. She looked at me blankly.

Suddenly she said, "Sanders. Al Sanders." "Al Sanders? I know that name!" I said. "I work with an Al Sanders." I ran to my desk where I kept the company directory. I pulled it out, looked up Al’s number and dialled.

"It’s Becky from work," I said when he picked up. "I know this sounds crazy, but there’s a woman at my house who says that she’s your mother-in-law and..." "Thank God!" Al exclaimed. "You’re an answer to prayer, Becky. I’ll be right over.

Please tell her I’m on my way." Al’s mother-in-law was as happy to see him as he was to see her. Al explained that she had Alzheimer’s and had wandered away from her nursing home. This wasn’t the first time, either.

"She’s never gone this far, though," he said. "The nursing home is almost three miles away from here. She had to cross the main boulevard. But it’s a miracle that out of all these houses she came to yours. Who else would have had my number? It’s unlisted."