by Syndi Powell
She led them through the building, showing them the craft room with cupboards stocked with supplies, the gymnasium and pool, and a room of one of the residents. Zach walked into the patient’s room and gaped at the personal items that made the space seem less like a hospital and more like an actual home. He turned to Mary. “Is this a room in the memory care wing?”
Mary shook her head. “The residents on this floor are more independent, but I’d be happy to show you that.”
Farther along the hall, Mary pointed out the greenhouse where residents would be soon planting flowers, fruits and vegetables. “We encourage everyone who wants to be involved. Then we use what we grow here at the facility.”
She used the name badge hanging from her neck to let them into the next wing. “Our memory care residents require more security for their safety, so we have them in a wing that is constantly monitored.” A patient’s door was open and Mary knocked. The older woman sitting in a rocking chair working with a crochet hook and yarn smiled. “Good morning, Margaret. How is that baby blanket coming?”
The older woman tittered and held up the bright pink item. It looked like the beginning of a square. “Eleven granny squares down and only fourteen more to go.”
“That’s great. Do you mind if our guests take a look at your room?”
The older woman quit crocheting and swept an arm grandly. “Help yourself.”
Nonna entered first, and Zach went next, surveying the personal touches, but also noticing the medical equipment, including the hospital bed. But still, the room felt cozier than he had expected.
Margaret held up the crocheted square to him. “Do you see any mistakes?”
He wouldn’t know one if he did see one. “Nope.”
“Ha! That’s because there aren’t any. I’m the expert. Not like Phyllis, who thinks she knows better than I do.” The tip of her tongue tucked in the corner of her mouth, she returned to her blanket.
Mary had them check out two more resident rooms before she showed them to the dining room. “Lunch will be starting in a few minutes if you’d like to stay and eat with some of the residents.”
Zach shook his head, but Nonna paused. “I’d like to talk to some of them, if we could. You don’t mind, do you?”
“You go ahead. I’ll head back to the office and discuss details with the director.”
He waited until Nonna took a seat at one of the tables with a number of the residents before leaving. As he strode down the hall, he used the time to remove his personal feelings and focus instead on the business at hand. The facility looked bright and clean. The staff seemed confident, though he hadn’t seen any giving care to determine if they were competent. The residents appeared to be happy and relaxed. He’d already called around and gotten recommendations from others who had placed their parents or relatives in homes. Sunny Meadows came highly praised.
He knocked on the administrator’s door and popped his head inside. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I’m ready to talk through those logistics.”
Holly stood and indicated a chair with her hand. “Absolutely, Mr. Harrison. I’m here to deal with any questions or concerns you might have.”
For the next half hour, he quizzed her, and she patiently answered everything and a few more questions he hadn’t thought to ask. They discussed payment options that would work for his budget and timetables for placement. She gave him a list of doctors who were on staff and more who consulted on a regular basis. She handed him testimonials of patients and families. His unease at the beginning of the day subsided until he felt an inevitability. This was a place he could see his mother living in. One that might help her to thrive rather than deteriorate the way she was at home. She’d be surrounded by people even when he had to work late. She’d have access to immediate medical care.
And he’d be able to sleep at night knowing that she would be safe and sound.
“I’d like to discuss this with my grandmother, but I’m impressed by what I’ve seen.”
“I know you’re worried about your mother. We will do our best to make her feel comfortable here. We could have a room available by the end of the week, if you need it.”
Three days? It felt too soon. Too early to be talking about moving her in, right? He stood and shook her hand, then he found Nonna, still in the dining room, laughing at something one of the residents shared. She seemed to fit right in with them, and he hoped his mother would, too.
* * *
APRIL HELPED MRS. HARRISON put her head over the kitchen sink as she rinsed the shampoo with the handheld nozzle. “You’re going to feel so much better with clean hair.”
The soap away, April wrapped a towel around the older woman’s wet head and helped her straighten up. Once Mrs. Harrison was settled in a dining room chair, April combed her hair, working at any snarls. “How does that feel, Mrs. Harrison?”
Kate’s eyes closed as the comb moved through her hair. “Wonderful, dear. But you should call me Kate, that’s my name. Zach tries with my hair, but he isn’t nearly as good as you are.” She reached up and touched a strand. “You really should be a hairdresser. You have magic hands.”
“I hope my patients think the same thing.”
Her hair cleaned and detangled, Kate motioned for April to take a seat next to her. “Now, tell me about you and my son.” She wagged a finger at her when April started to protest. “I’ve seen how you look at each other. I may not remember a lot of things, but I know what it’s like to look at the man I love.”
“Were you and Robert happy?”
“We are, even though he’s not around as much as I’d like. I keep waiting for him to walk through that door with roses and a smile that’s meant only for me.” She glanced at the front door and sighed. “I can’t remember the last time I saw him.”
“You loved him very much.”
Kate nodded. “And don’t think I didn’t notice how you sidestepped my question about Zach. Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t had much time to figure that out.”
“Because of me.”
“Because of our careers. And friends. And all the busyness of life that gets in the way of getting to know someone.”
“There is a lot of noise in this world, but if it matters to you both, then you’ll find a quiet space to find each other.”
April smiled and patted Kate’s hand. “You’re one smart cookie, Mrs. Harrison. Kate.”
“Do we have cookies?” She pointed toward the kitchen, her eyes bright and her face fading into a childlike pose. “I love the ones with the frosting in the middle. My madre goes to the bakery to buy the Italian ones, but they’re not the same.”
April stood and walked to the kitchen. When she returned with the cookies, April realized Kate had retreated into an earlier memory as she softly hummed a nursery rhyme. She took the cookies that April handed her and nibbled at them.
A pang hit April in her chest. For a few moments, it had been nice to see the Kate who could have been had her disease not taken her away. She choked back the tears and marveled that Zach had lived with this for so long. She leaned over and kissed the top of Kate’s head.
The back door opened, and Zach entered. He shook off the rain from his jacket and hung it on a hook before joining them in the dining room. “Am I in time for cookies?”
Kate held up her half-eaten crescent. “They’re just like the ones Madre brings home from the store.”
“Because that’s where they still come from.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “And April washed your hair, too.”
“Your father will be pleased to see me looking so nice when he gets home from work.”
Zach nodded and motioned with his head for April to join him in the kitchen. He poured two glasses of milk and offered her one. She waved it away. “How did the tours go?”
“We really liked the se
cond one, Sunny Meadows. Although the last one was great, it’s got a waiting list that means she wouldn’t be able to get in until next year if we’re lucky. And she doesn’t have the luxury of time.”
He took his mother one of the glasses of milk and came back to have a sip of his own, leaving a faint mustache. April smirked and handed him a napkin. He thanked her and glanced out toward his mom. “How was she?”
“We had a great conversation for a little while, then she was gone.”
“That sounds about right. I can’t predict how long those moments will last, or if they’ll show up at all.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Move her to Sunny Meadows. I think she’ll be happy there.”
“And you?”
He shrugged and finished his milk, putting his empty glass in the sink. “My feelings don’t count in all of this. What matters is what’s best for her. That used to be me, but she needs more than that now.”
April reached for his hand. “I’d be happy to help you with the move if I can.”
He cleared his throat and looked over at her. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without you.” He gave her a quick hug, then left the kitchen to join his mother at the dining room table. “Mom, I’ve got some good news.”
* * *
THE MOVE TOOK place the following Saturday morning. He’d talked about Sunny Meadows with his mom every day so that she wouldn’t be surprised by all the activity. Still, when the morning arrived, he had to remind her three times that she was leaving. “Why? I promise I’ll be good.”
“They can take better care of you than I can.”
“But I want to stay with you. Are you moving with me?”
“No, just you. You’ll have your own room.”
“I have my own room here.”
“The nurses and doctors will be able to look after you.”
“But you look after me.”
He fought for patience. Every argument he had, she would have one to counter. “Mom, we’ve talked about this. I can’t keep you safe and healthy, but they can. I’ll be there to visit you as much as I can.”
She pouted and shook her head. “No. I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are. April is coming over very soon. You remember April? She’s going to give us a hand to get you into your new room.” He hoped that the novelty of April would ease her worries and nerves. He could see the signs of another fit starting to form behind the stubborn expression on her face. “She’s so excited about this new place.”
“Is she moving there, too?”
“No, Mom, just you.”
“I don’t want to go, and you can’t make me.”
That’s where she was wrong. He could and would make her move into the facility. This day was hard enough, but the pushback that he received from her compounded his guilt, but confirmed he was doing the right thing. “Did you pack your book? You don’t want to forget it here.” He heard a knock on the back door. “That’s probably April. Find your book while I let her in, okay?”
She searched her room, and he left to go answer the door. He found April standing in the drizzling rain. “I put my bike in your garage. I hope you don’t mind.”
“You’re really getting around on that thing.”
“It was on my second-chance list. I’m preparing for a bike tour of Detroit that’s coming up.” She stepped past him, and he could smell the rain and a scent of oranges that was all April. “Are you ready for today?”
He grinned as he closed the back door and followed April up the three stairs to the kitchen. She went directly to his mother’s room. “Hey, Kate. Big day today, huh? Are you excited?”
“Tell him he can’t make me do it. I want to stay here.” His mom tugged on April’s sleeve. “Tell him I can stay. I promise to be good and eat all my vegetables.”
April glanced back at him and put an arm around his mom. “But imagine all the new friends you’re going to have. They even have better cooks than Zach. And they have a room full of games and puzzles, and another with crafts. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“Maybe.” His mom put a hand over April’s.
“That’s it, Kate. Do you have everything? Did you remember your book?”
His mother clutched it to her chest. “Can we read it now?”
“How about we read it once we get to your new room?”
She gave a nod and let April put it in the suitcase that lay open on her bed. “Anything else you want to take? Do you have something that’s your favorite?”
“Zach said I can take my TV.”
Zach stepped forward. “I already packed it in the car for you.”
His mother took a quick survey of the room. “I think I have it all.”
“If you forget anything, I can bring it tomorrow when I visit,” he said and zipped up the suitcase, then hefted it off the bed. “Should we go?”
April helped his mom into a jacket with a hood. “It’s raining out, and we don’t want you to get wet.” She led his mom out first, and he followed with the suitcase.
April sat in the back seat of the car with his mother. “She’ll feel more comfortable that way,” she told him.
During the drive, April chatted about the weather and her hopes that the incessant rain would mean more flowers in time for Easter. Zach appreciated how she distracted not only his mother with her nonstop talk, but him, as well. He’d woken up with a headache, and arguing with his mother about the move hadn’t helped it any. Having April there gave him a buffer with his mother and his own emotions.
As they got closer to the nursing home, his headache migrated to his belly and seemed to squeeze him in the gut. He pulled into a parking spot and took a deep breath before getting out of the car and opening the door for his mom. She looked up at the building and wrinkled her nose. “It’s yellow.”
April linked her arm through hers. “It reminds me of my house. It’s bright and sunny and makes me happy.”
“It is pretty,” his mom agreed.
“There you go.”
April gave him a grin, took the handle of the rolling suitcase with her free hand, and helped his mom walk up to the entrance. Zach followed with the television set. They met Holly in the lobby. Zach had stopped by the day before to sign the paperwork and make the first payment for his mother’s new room. Holly had assured him that he was doing the responsible thing, but the farther they walked through the building, the more doubts assailed him. Was this really the best choice? Would she be happy there? How would her life, and his, change with this move?
Holly saw them through the doors to the secure wing and to a room near the end of the hall. The administrator opened the door where a sign welcomed his mom to her new home. His mother hesitated.
“Don’t you want to see it?” April asked as his mom hesitated for a moment.
His mother looked back at him, and the doubts he felt were reflected on her face. He wanted to say, “I agree. This is too much, too soon. Let’s go home and we’ll both be good.” But he didn’t. He swallowed his fear and guilt. “Look. They made you a sign for your new room. It has your name and rainbows, your favorite.”
He released a pent-up breath when his mother nodded and stepped forward. He followed her inside, placing the television set on a dresser that came with the room. He glanced at April. “I’ll go and get the other things.”
She put a hand on his arm. “It’s going to be okay.”
He put a hand over hers for a second or two before he nodded and left the room. Holly accompanied him to the lobby. “When you want to enter the memory care wing, remember to press the blue button on the door for the nurse to buzz you in.”
He got to his car and opened the trunk. He’d bought new sheets and a comforter set for the occasion. Probably should have washed them before bringing them over, he thought, but time had gotten away
from him, and now it was too late. He put his hand on the trunk to close it, but he paused and allowed himself to let the guilt and fear in for a moment. Pushing those thoughts away, he slammed the trunk shut, feeling as though he was also shutting the door on his guilt and worry. He had to keep a happy face on for his mother. Had to show her that everything was going to be all right even if he had his doubts.
When he returned to the room, April was unpacking the suitcase while his mother chatted with another resident. His mom looked up and smiled at him. “This is Margery, who lives three doors down. She loves Judge Judy almost as much as I do.”
“That’s good, Mom.” He opened the bag with the sheets and removed the plastic that covered them and started to make the bed.
“That’s my son, Zach. He’s always good to me.”
“My son, Ben, visits every Sunday afternoon, so you’ll have to meet him next time he comes.” Margery put a hand on the bright blue sheets. “What a pretty color.”
“It’s my favorite.”
“Mine, too!”
The two women continued to get to know each other as April and Zach put the room together. With her clothes arranged in the dresser and her bed made up in the new linens, the room started to take on his mother’s personality. He figured they could take her to lunch and go buy some plants that would brighten up the space even more. At this point, she could request an entire flower shop, and he’d agree and pull out his credit card.
After lunch and picking up some last-minute things, they walked his mother to her room. She’d asked at lunch if he could bring over the recliner so she could sit by the window and look out into the gardens. He’d assured her that he’d hire someone to transport it to the nursing home. She sat on the bed and picked up the book, holding it out to him. “One more chapter?”