Even the quietest of sanctuaries, stripped of buzzing alarm clocks or ringing telephones, can only go so far in allowing a person to sleep past their normal work hours. With her cell phone on vibrate and the clock securely silenced, Carol prepared for the hibernation that she’d been looking forward to all week.
What couldn’t be regulated so easily, she’d find out early on Friday morning, were the kidneys of her miniature pinscher, Molly. Mixed with her frustration, she felt a little bit guilty, knowing the dog had probably held out as long as she could before reaching a crisis moment and nudging her awake.
After letting Molly’s nature take its course, Carol began heating up some coffee while checking her cell phone. She noticed she’d missed a call from her sister, Deborah, and cued the voice mail.
“Hey, Carol, this is Deb. I guess you’re at work. I wanted to talk to you about mom. I think she’s had about enough of us as she can stand. She wanted me to call you, but I didn’t know if you were ready to take her on. Johnny’s at his wits end, but we can hold out as long as you need. Just let us know. We love you.”
Carol wasn’t completely caught off guard with the message – she knew the storm had been simmering, but Deborah had been so gracious to hold it off for a while during her own rough patch. Six months earlier, Carol’s newest boyfriend David had called off their relationship, sending her into a bit of an emotional tailspin. She dove into work and rid herself of any semblance of a social life, outside of Sunday mornings at church when her schedule allowed.
Depending on how needy her mother was, she could either stay with her at her tiny apartment or live at the home. She hoped for the latter, especially since her job consumed most of her time. She’d see her mother more than her dog and her mom would probably enjoy the activities and meeting other people. Now if she could bring Molly, Carol could entirely phase out a life outside of the facility.
She remained mostly positive about the possibility, the only negative being that it forced her to remember why Mom’s arrival had been postponed in the first place. Six months later, it could be that she’d breathe some new life into Carol’s life. As the oldest of four children, Carol had been the closest with her mom, until she moved in with Deb and Johnny after nearly passing out on a solo trip to the grocery store.
“I don’t know why yall making such a fuss over this,” she remembered hearing her mother say during the following Thanksgiving dinner after the incident. As a fiercely independent woman, the event had humbled her more than she let on, a transformation Carol had seen many times with the residents. Still, Deb was a trooper, stepping up to help out, even though Carol was the one most prepared for caretaking.
After a few minutes, Carol called her sister. They discussed the particulars of the move. During the conversation, she found out that hosting Mom had also heightened tensions in Deborah’s home. She felt bad about that, but chalked it up to another circumstance beyond her control. She told Deborah she’d work on making the necessary arrangements at the home while Deborah and Johnny decided on a good day to rendezvous.
More planning was taking place at Whispering Willow, even on Carol’s day off. Neville noticed strangers pausing beside his door as they walked down the hall, even catching a glimpse of one person walking out. He pretended to stare at the communal television, but kept the corner of his eye trained for a glimpse of the new roommate.
“I was married twice,” he heard Bill say and turned to see him sitting near. Distracted by the goings-on down the hall, he’d left himself wide open for Bill’s tractor beam of narratives. With the pain in his leg presently at full force, he decided to stay seated and listen. Bill’s nonstop stories were annoying but still there was something, dare he even think it, noble about them. He relaxed himself and listened.
“My first wife, I met after I graduated high school. Her parents were so strict, I had to have her home by 11. We were married forty-five years. She was a good woman.”
“I assume she’s passed, then,” Neville responded.
“Yeah, Killed by a drunk driver. Coming home from the shopping mall, of all places.”
“What happened to the driver?” Neville’s eyes narrowed. This was a test. He figured he knew what kind of man Bill was, but he wanted to be sure.
“He spent a few months in jail, got out on good behavior,” Bill said.
“And after that?” Come on, Bill, Neville thought. Give me a good ending to this story. Show me what you got. What kind of man are you?
“I’m not really sure. I knew he moved out of town. Dorothy was very well liked in the community and I guess he moved to get away from it all.”
“Didn’t you want to hurt him? Didn’t you want him to know your pain?”
“Yeah. But I guess that’s what the court was for, you know. I didn’t want to do something and end up behind bars while he walked out free.”
You failed, Bill.
“The law failed you, my friend,” Neville said. Seeing Bill’s expressions change during the conversation made the entire exercise worthwhile. The misery, the bitterness that Neville relished had been passed on, if only for a moment. Bill had intended to share his sweetest moments and Neville seized the opportunity to infer that he failed her memory. He wasn’t done.
“So did your second wife die, too?”
“No, she left me. She felt like she could never measure up. I lived alone for a while, then with my son and then ended up here.”
Bill noticed Neville stare down the hall toward his room.
“So I hear your new roommate will be here soon,” Bill said.
Neville gave a strained fake smile while rolling his eyes.
“Be careful he doesn’t steal your stuff,” Bill warned.
Neville hadn’t even considered that possibility. With Burt near catatonic during the second half of his stay, he never thought about sharing the room and access to his stuff with an able-bodied – or nosy – roommate. If he pilfered, he’d do so at his own risk. He wouldn’t find it all anyway – some of his best stuff was tucked away inside the air vent.
Neville nodded to Bill and stood up. A tall, white haired man walked into his room and he intended to find out what was going on. The man was dressed in a nice black shirt with grey slacks and had the appearance of authority. Neville assumed he’d be bringing in his new roommate.
“Who are you?” he questioned as he neared the door.
“Hi there, sir,” the man responded. “I’m the man who’s going to make sure this runs smoothly. I’m the inspector and I’m looking through all of the rooms. You keep a pretty clean place in here. Do you make your bed every day?”
Neville was beyond irritated. Who was this person and why did he have to arrive to harass elderly residents on Carol’s day off?
“Ms. Leonard has never mentioned an inspector,” he protested.
“Oh, I think she’s been fired. I’ll be running this place now. What’s your name?” The man struggled between loud curse words to pick up Neville’s actual name. Neville’s mouth was uncontrolled while his blood pressure began spiking so high he could feel the migraine coming on. What to do? What to do?
“Neville, I’m going to have to ask you to drop and give me twenty!” the man demanded.
He paused for a moment, considering the last remark, while a familiar-faced brunette intern walked in.
“Mr. Ramsey, can I speak with you?” she asked.
Outside of the room, she patted Neville’s arm while she dropped the bomb that might have been from the frying pan to the fire.
“Mr. Ramsey, this is your new roommate, Duncan. As you can tell, he suffers from dementia. He thinks he’s in charge. I know you’re really good at ignoring people, so can you learn to ignore him? He won’t always be like this, but I imagine he’s this way because of his new surroundings.”
Neville turned to look back inside the room. The man ran his fingers on the wall beside the bathroom, poring over the texture and perhaps examining its dirt. Out of worst-case scenarios, this was most likely a 9.
“If he proves to be more than you can bear, we can see about finding a private room when…”
“Somebody dies,” he finished.
Susan ignored that comment. She had the least tolerance for Neville out of the entire staff, most likely due to his speculation about her life outside of the home. For all she cared, he could remain in the miserable room, but she knew she’d have to hear about it, so she tried to smooth things over as best as possible.
As she walked down the hall, she remarked, “I don’t believe he’s a snorer, though, so you can cross that concern off your list.”
Funny girl.
Neville re-entered the room. Duncan greeted him again, explaining the rules of the house. Neville walked past him to his sitting chair and picked up a book. It was a charade to keep his new roommate from engaging in conversation again. He couldn’t read. Instead, he plotted. This would require a more sophisticated plan.
After a short nap, he woke to an empty room and decided to go for dinner He walked down the hall and saw Duncan in the distance, hands on his hips, standing over an agonizing Bill on the floor, struggling to finish a pushup.
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