by Vera Hollins
“How long have you been working here?” Melissa asked me.
“More than two months.”
“Wow. You don’t get bored?”
I raised my eyebrow. “Why would I get bored?”
“Don’t get me wrong, but I can’t stand being in one place for more than a month. I get bored easily.”
“Why did you choose to come to this place?”
“It was this or flipping burgers at Burger King, and I’m a vegetarian, so you tell me.”
“I always wanted to try being a vegetarian.”
“It’s not something you ‘try,’ duh. Either you’re a vegetarian or not. This is not only about meat, as people think. Like, I’m not going to eat meat so it means I’m a vegetarian. No. It’s much more than that.”
“Do you like meat?”
“Do you think I don’t?”
I never actually thought about whether vegetarians liked meat or not. It was a rather strange thing to talk about when we’d just met. “I guess so,” I said and blushed.
“Hey, you don’t have to be all shy around me. I like meat, but I haven’t eaten it even once since I became a vegetarian.”
Now that was a strong will. “Okay.”
She was plain-spoken, and I wasn’t sure I liked this because I wasn’t like that. I didn’t loosen my tongue when I met people for the first time. We reached the new resident’s room and she was still talking.
“What’s his name again?”
“Jonathan Lane. Seventy-eight years old.”
“Righty. Jonathan. I have a classmate whose name is Jonathan Lockwood. We call him J Lo.” She let out a hearty chuckle.
“Okay.”
“He’s a funny guy.”
She looked like she was recalling something, but I didn’t want her to start chattering about that boy now. “Let’s see what this Jonathan is like, all right?” I interjected before she could say anything.
“Sure.” She knocked on the door and, without any hesitation, entered his room.
“Melissa, wait!” She didn’t even wait for his permission. No, she immediately strode into his room. I wanted to slap my forehead in frustration.
I entered Mr. Lane’s room with hesitation, instantly unsettled by its miniscule size. Other rooms had wide windows and balcony doors, but this room had only one small window, and it didn’t provide enough light. His bed and dresser on which a CRT TV was perched were set opposite each other, and there wasn’t much space left between them. There were no usual decorations like flowers or pictures; the bare space was dismal.
This wasn’t a room. This was a matchbox.
Mr. Lane sat in his wheelchair, staring absently out the window, his scrunched position speaking volumes about his current frame of mind. His gray hair matched the color of his thick mustache that was the prominent on his wrinkled face. His blue eyes were sad, but the moment he registered we’d barged into his room, hurt ebbed into anger.
“Who are you?”
I forgot to tell Melissa beforehand that Mr. Lane was difficult to handle. I had no idea if she had any experience working with elderly people and could recognize their responses, but she seemed unperturbed by his reaction to us.
“Hello, Mr. Lane! I’m Melissa Brooks. It’s nice to meet you!” She offered him a handshake, but he just glanced at her extended hand, not moving a muscle. He sized her up and frowned deeply when he noticed the clothes she was wearing. I could almost hear his disapproval: “These kids will wear anything these days.”
“I can’t say the same,” he retorted. “Do you know any rules of common decency? I don’t want to see anyone right now.”
Melissa obviously didn’t get her cue from him. She didn’t seem fazed in the least. “We came here to welcome you into the Raymond retirement home.” And she kept talking. “We hope you’ll have a pleasant stay here!”
For crying out loud! This was not a hotel!
“So far it isn’t pleasant at all,” he grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, and continued to glare at her. He clearly wanted to be alone, and I wished I could run away. I hated being where I wasn’t welcome.
I stepped beside Melissa with an apologetic look. “We’re very sorry, Mr. Lane. Please, forgive Melissa. She is new here.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her shooting daggers at me, but I continued before she decided to argue, “We’ll leave your room and let you have your rest. We’ll see you tomorrow. Is that all right with you?”
He directed his gaze at me, raising his eyebrows. “And what might your name be?”
“Oh! I’m sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Sarah Decker. I work as a part-timer here.” I outstretched my hand, hoping he wouldn’t reject my offer for a handshake too. At first, he only studied me, but several moments later, he accepted my handshake, firmly grasping my hand.
“I’m Jonathan Lane, but you already know that.”
“Yes, Mr. Lane.”
“Call me Jonathan. I feel older when people call me Mr. Lane.”
Melissa cast a glance at me which said “He’s weird,” but I ignored her. “All right, Jonathan. We’re terribly sorry if we bothered you by coming here. As Melissa said, we just wanted to greet you.”
I caught sight of a chess box on the table beside him. It seemed like it was custom-made, with beautiful floral carvings on the sides and the inscription and the tiny initials beside the handle.
“My wife gave it to me for our fiftieth anniversary,” he said, noticing me observe it.
“Wow,” Melissa said in a tone of awe. “Fifty years? That’s true love, if you ask me. Today, some marriages don’t last even five months!”
Jonathan was expressionless as he looked at her before he returned his gaze to me. “My wife knew how much I loved chess. She died last year.”
“Shit!” Melissa blurted out and clasped her hands over her mouth. “Oops! Pardon my language.”
I frowned at her. Seriously, what was her problem?
“I’m so sorry, Jonathan.” What was the right thing to say to a person who had lost the one they loved? There wasn’t anything appropriate I could say, so I remained silent.
“I miss her. Nothing was the same after I lost her. My daughter is too busy taking care of her family, so here I am—conveniently put into a box.”
“No, Jonathan, don’t say that. I’m sure your daughter wanted only the best for you.”
“You find justifications for my daughter, yet you don’t know her at all. Don’t do that.”
I blushed because he reprimanded me, and I wished I didn’t try to make things better when I was clueless about his situation.
“I’m sorry.”
“And stop saying sorry already! You said it hundred times since you entered this room.”
“Oh... Yes. I’m sorry for doing that... Oh.”
Melissa erupted into laughter, and Jonathan sliced her with his disapproving gaze. “Sorry!” she exclaimed, raising her hands in the air, and then burst into laughter again when she realized she’d apologized too.
“Do you play chess?” Jonathan asked me.
“Yes.”
“Let’s play it together tomorrow. Would you like that?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good. Now leave me alone. I don’t want to talk anymore.”
Melissa and I glanced at each other before we told him goodbye and left his room.
“He’s sooo grumpy,” Melissa commented in the hallway.
“He’s lonely and he doesn’t want to be here. You would be the same.”
She sighed. “Too bad, but I don’t know much about troubled seniors. Only about troubled brothers. I have one at home, and he’s giving me headaches every day.” Her grin was dazzling.
“Okay. Cool.”
She couldn’t stay quiet for too long. We went down the hallway, and she was already talking about some prank her brother pulled on her yesterday. Did this girl ever run out of steam?
Chapter 10
THE NEXT MORNING, I woke
up at six and went for my early morning run, relief spreading through me when I noticed my mother’s car in our driveway. She was always out somewhere on Friday nights, so she rarely spent Saturday mornings at home.
Maybe she’d finally decided to slow down and spend some more time at home? I could only hope.
I surveyed the Blacks’ driveway and found only Mrs. Black’s car. The absence of Hayden’s bike and car comforted me, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether he spent last night home or not.
As I sped down the sidewalk, I tried to convince myself that wasn’t my business. As long as he was far away from me and couldn’t hurt me, it didn’t matter where he was. He could jump off a bridge if he wanted to, I didn’t care.
Running gave me the positivity boost I needed, which was further enhanced with a hot shower that soothed my sore muscles. My mom was still sleeping when I dressed myself, so I decided to leave her a message that I was off to work.
When I found the job, I thought she would be proud of me. I hoped she would congratulate me and praise me for being responsible and diligent. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“That’s good, Sarah. Now I don’t have to worry about money as much as before, right? You can help me with bills,” she said then, which led us to a huge fight.
I told her she wasn’t fair since I never asked her for anything and my college saving fund was extremely poor. I wanted to work to save for college, not for bills or food.
I didn’t actually mind paying for food and bills. The problem was that if I paid for them, I knew she would spend her money on alcohol, and that wasn’t fair at all. In the end, I managed to convince her to let me save for college.
Saturday mornings in the Raymond retirement home were usually noisy and filled with activity. Most of the residents liked to gather in the sitting room to talk, play games, and listen to music or the radio. Since this was the visiting time, the place could become pretty crowded with all their relatives mingling around.
Jonathan wheeled himself into the room. Some of the residents turned their heads to look at him, but he didn’t even acknowledge them, remaining aloof. He was like an isolated island in the sea, and I could only imagine how hard it was for him to come here and make an effort to interact with these unfamiliar people.
It could be convenient or wise to send seniors to a retirement home in some situations, but they were literally forced to live with strangers for the rest of their lives.
“He doesn’t seem kind,” a lady sitting next to me whispered. “I heard he shouted at the staff last night. Tsk. What is his problem?”
“I better go and greet him.” I rushed to Jonathan before he decided he hated all these people and gave up on ever communicating with them. “Hello.”
He just looked up and stared with lowered eyebrows. Please, don’t do something to humiliate me.
“What took you so long?” he grunted. “I was waiting for you to come and play chess with me. Now I have to come here, among all these fossils. I would rather go back to sleep.”
He was unsociable almost beyond repair. “I’m so sorry. I try to spend time with everyone as much as possible during Saturday mornings and—”
“You are apologizing again ? Why are you apologizing when you didn’t do anything wrong? That is your job, and there is nothing you should apologize about. Don’t listen to this bad-tempered man.”
“Hello, Mr. J!” Melissa hopped from behind me and waved at Jonathan. Mr . J? She was so merry in the morning, how come?
His frown went deeper. “I never let you call me that.”
“Oh but it’s cool! It makes you feel younger, right?”
“Not at all.”
“Oh come on! Now, why don’t you and Sarah play chess here? I’d like to see it. I’ve never played chess in my life.”
He raised his eyebrow. “I can clearly see that. Do you do anything constructive for your brain, or do you just put those rags you call clothes on yourself and splash your face with heavy makeup?”
Melissa didn’t seem offended in the least. In fact, she looked like she found his disapproval funny. “Well, Abraham Maslow said ‘What a man can be, he must be,’ and I fully intend to follow his advice.” She winked at him.
“Why don’t you bring the chess box from my room?” he asked her.
“Right on it, sir!” She saluted him and dashed away. I stared open-mouthed at her, not sure if she was on drugs or if that was her usual behavior.
“She is an unusual girl,” Jonathan said.
My eyes were still on her. Where was her energy coming from? “Very.”
“So, where are we going to play?”
“There is a nice spot on the patio. It’s one of my favorites here.”
“Lead the way.”
WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE of our second game, and Jonathan had the advantage again. He beat me easily the first time. He was a great chess player, so compared to him, I was a total beginner.
“I could never understand the fascination with chess,” Melissa mused loudly. “I mean, I get it. It’s about strategy, thinking, and smart brains, but it’s so long!”
“That is exactly the problem with the society today,” Jonathan grunted. “Everyone rushes somewhere, not having time for anything. The only thing they do is look at those small screens and waste their time on the Internet.”
“But spending time on the Internet can also be educational!”
“Oh really? Then do tell me, what it is that you do on the Internet that is educational?”
Melissa started her story about the great books she’d read last month, and I must say I was a bit impressed since she’d read works of some impactful and respected authors that not many people our age were interested in.
Completely focused on her story, I didn’t pay attention to the game, and Jonathan made a checkmate.
“You’re very good!” I exclaimed in admiration.
“You’re also good, but you need practice. With more practice, you can become a great player.”
“I doubt anyone can become a better player than you, grandpa,” a deep male voice said. “You always beat me, no matter how much I practice.”
I glanced behind me, and someone’s stomach came into my view. I raised my chin to look at him, a twinge assaulting my chest when our gazes met.
Oh boy.
I was staring into a pair of light brown eyes that looked directly at me. They twinkled with humor, accompanied with a flirty smile. His rectangle-shaped face was model-like, and I was impressed by how prominent and firm his jaw and chin were. His curly hair was a few shades darker than his bronze skin, reaching below his ears.
I whipped my gaze back to the table, my face burning from shame. Why did I have to be embarrassed every time I saw some nice looking guy? I couldn’t even look them in the eyes without blushing!
“That’s because you are thinking too much about things you young people like obsessing about,” Jonathan answered him. “If you used your intelligence on more important things, you would’ve become a better man.”
“Ouch, grandpa. Don’t embarrass me in front of the girls!”
Melissa giggled. “You and embarrassment never go together, Mateo.”
I gaped at Melissa. “Do you know each other?”
“Yep. He’s my classmate at Rawenwood High.”
“Yeah.” He stopped in front of me, and I had no other choice but to return his gaze. “I’m Mateo Diaz.”
I nodded and shook hands with him reluctantly, not failing to notice how strong his hand felt. He didn’t break our connection immediately, holding my hand longer than needed, and this made me even more jittery.
I always overthought my actions or his reactions whenever I was next to some guy, and I hated it. I was too tense, taking extra care not to make some mistake and embarrass myself. I was inexperienced with boys, and I didn’t know if they found me attractive, annoying, boring, or whatever, expecting the worst each time.
I felt his eyes on me as I pretended there wa
s something extremely interesting on the chess board, and it made me think two things.
He must think there was something wrong with me.
He was probably plotting to humiliate me.
“You didn’t tell me your name,” he told me, and dang , my cheeks were like two tomatoes again!
“Sarah.”
His megawatt smile almost blinded me. “It’s nice to meet you, Sarah.”
I looked at Jonathan who studied me carefully with his chin leaned against his hand. “I think you should play chess with Mateo.”
“W-What?”
“What do you think, boy? Will you play a game of chess with this young lady?”
Mateo winked at me. “Gladly. I’ve never played chess with a girl.”
“I doubt you play anything else with a girl beside those games among the sheets, Mateo. No offense, Mr. J.” Melissa wiggled her eyebrows at Mateo, and I wanted to evaporate into thin air or become a fly and buzz away. Mateo snorted, and Jonathan erupted in laughter. I could only stare at them, dumbstruck.
“I agree with you, Melissa. I heard my grandson is a real lady-killer. I hope you were not one of his conquests.”
She raised her hands in defense. “Of course not! Mateo is not my type at all!”
Mateo placed his hand over his heart. “You’re making my heart bleed, Melissa. This is a huge blow to my ego.”
“Your ego is oversized, so you’ll be fine.”
His laughter rang out. “Right. So, how about that game, Sarah?” he asked me, and since there was no way for me to get out of this, I had to accept it.
“Okay. Let’s see what you got.”
I WAS ON PINS AND NEEDLES , but playing chess with Mateo was fun nevertheless. He didn’t make fun of me, acting friendly all the time, and I enjoyed talking with him. He reminded me so much of Kayden. He was also positive, funny, and didn’t call me names because I was blushing or being socially awkward. He even laughed at some of my quips. It was too good to be true.
Afterward, Melissa told me Mateo’s story, which was pretty typical considering his attitude and confidence. He was one of the popular guys in their school, and he was the captain of their football team. He rarely dated because he preferred casual hook-ups to serious relationships.