Cynthia has contacted her brother and sister, and together with their spouses they are all meeting at a convenient pub. As the scene opens, they all have drinks in front of them, sitting around a table.

Cynthia: I just don’t know what to do. Dad is senile, I know he is. He must have started with Alzheimer’s or whatever it is where they forget who they are and act totally out of character.

Renee: Calm down, Cynthia. I know you are upset about Dad having a lady in his life already, but he does have a point you know. He doesn’t have much longer to live, probably, and he wants to enjoy what time he has left. I can’t see any real harm in that.

John: I think it is funny, actually. Who would have thought Dad still had some lead in his pencil.

Cynthia: Don’t be crude John. And I didn’t say that he was sleeping with this woman. But she certainly is very comfortable in our house - and he was calling her love. She was buying him groceries, and cooking for him, and they were going off to meetings together. He might marry her you know!

James: (taking a drink) Really, Cynthia. You do seem to be taking a lot for granted. It’s one thing to enjoy somebody’s company and quite another to marry.

Cynthia: (annoyed) None of you were there. None of you saw the way he looked at her - the way he talked to her in a sort of silly baby talk. He is besotted with her. She has already influenced him in regard to my picture - the one mother promised me. He has taken it to some group leader of an antiques group to find out how valuable it is. What we are talking about here is our inheritance going to her - or his other friends. Who knows, maybe he has several lady friends and they are all making meals for him and getting cosy.

Stuart: All very well, Cynthia, for you to be upset. But I don’t really see what we can do about it. Are you going to try to get him declared non compos mentis or something like that?

Cynthia: Well, I don’t see why we shouldn’t see if we can get power of attorney. I got a leaflet from the solicitor the other day. It says that everybody should provide for the eventuality that they will lose mental capacity as they get older. And if he appoints us as his Enduring Power of Attorney  then we can stop him throwing away the house, and the antiques and all the things that we have a right to inherit.

John: I can’t see him willingly giving us control of his affairs.

Cynthia: Well, we wouldn’t put it like that of course. We would suggest that if he has a stroke or something and can no longer make decisions, it would be to his best interest for us to be able to decide things for him. It says on this sheet (she waves it in front of them) that if he hasn’t signed an EPA, and something does go wrong, it isn’t just a simple matter of us then taking over. It says that if that happened we would have to apply to the court of protection which would be expensive, time consuming and long winded.

Renee: Well, I agree that I would hate to see him get rid of all our assets, or marry again and leave everything to his new wife. But I also think that he is far from senile, and if we want to keep him on side, we shouldn’t do anything that would make him hostile to us. He could marry again and not give everything to the new wife. But I do think we are jumping to conclusions here. Let’s give it a few months and see how things pan out, and then if he seems to be behaving more erratic than usual, we can discuss this again.

Cynthia: I think we must keep an eye on him. One or the other of us should make it a point of ringing him up at least once a week, and going to see him as often as possible.

John: (getting up as if he feels it is time to leave) Well, I can’t see me chasing around after him. I have my own life to lead.

Stuart: If only he had agreed to come to live with us straight after the funeral, this wouldn’t have happened. We could have sold the house and contents straight away, and all had our share.

James: He didn’t agree to that then, and he has shown that he can cope on his own, which none of us thought he would. Granted, he might have some help from his lady friends, but never the less, he is coping

Cynthia: Whose side are you on anyway?

James: I think we just need to keep an eye on the situation, and see how it pans out. Now, are we all agreed that we will meet again in a few months to see how things have gone on?

(The others all nod.)

Renee: Well, I will do my part by going to visit him next weekend. But I suppose I will have to ring him to let him know I am coming, considering the sort of reception you got last time, Cynthia.

Cynthia: Well, let’s hope he is more pleasant to you. But Renee, have a good look around the house while you are there, and see if anything else is missing. And see if you can find out just how involved he is with this woman Eileen.

Renee: Okay, I will play the spy, but I, for one, think that our dad will see us right in the end. We are his children after all, and blood is thicker than water.

Curtain comes down.