Wisteria Island

by Rachel Hanna

  She nodded and smiled as she watched him walk away, sure that he was probably going to have himself a good cry in that bubble bath. She did that often. There was just something about being alone in a big tub of hot water that gave her the permission to let all of her emotions out.

  "I see they didn't show up again," Bennett said, gritting his teeth.

  "Yeah, and he was pretty upset. Morty is such an amazing guy. I don't understand why his family disowned him like that."

  "People just don't want to bother. They're busy with their own lives, and they figure old people don't have any value anymore. I've learned so much from these people over the years. They are all individuals. They were all young once, and those personalities are still firmly inside those bodies."

  "We all age. Nobody is going to get out of this life unscathed, unless they die young. I just don't understand abandoning your family."

  She looked around at all the people talking and hugging and laughing and noticed a woman she hadn't seen before standing over near the dock, her arms crossed. She was wearing an expensive looking pale pink dress, and a set of pearls hung around her long, slender neck.

  "Who is that?"

  Bennett blew out of breath. "That is Dorothy Monroe."

  "Why does that name sound familiar?"

  He laughed. "Maybe because she's one of the most famous old Hollywood actresses of all time? Dorothy was in thirty-two movies back in her day. She's been living here for about eight months now, but she rarely comes out of her room. She has food delivered when she's hungry, and Morty usually drops her groceries off for her because he was such a big fan."

  "Why doesn't she come out of her room?"

  "Let's just say that Dorothy still thinks she’s famous and deserving of attention. She can have a bit of a prima donna personality, and it didn't sit well with some of the other residents when she first arrived."

  Danielle chuckled. "I can totally imagine that."

  "She's really a very nice lady, but a little abrasive at times. Kind of demanding. And it appears that she has been stood up by her family."

  "Should we go talk to her?"

  Bennett nodded. "I think that would be good. She’s obviously going to need medical care at some point, so it would be nice for her to meet you."

  They walked over to Dorothy, who was still standing there with her arms crossed, her eyes squinting as she stared at the boat. It was as if she was waiting for someone to come off of it and apologize for taking so long.

  "Hi, Dorothy. It's good to see you out and about. Were you expecting family?" Bennett asked.

  She slowly turned her head and looked at him as if he was asking the dumbest question ever uttered on earth. "Well, do you think I would be standing here staring at that stupid boat if I wasn't expecting someone?"

  Danielle was now feeling extremely anxious about introducing herself. The woman was obviously about as welcoming as a rabid porcupine.

  "I'm sorry they disappointed you."

  She sighed loudly, with dramatic flair. "I don't know why I’m surprised. They dumped me here like some old diseased cat that you put out behind a gas station because you don’t want it anymore.”

  Danielle could definitely tell that she was a creative type. "Hi, I'm Danielle Wright. I’m the island nurse."

  Dorothy rolled her eyes. "Pardon me if I don't get too attached."

  Again, Danielle couldn't really blame her. She wasn't sure if she was staying, so she had a point.

  "Is there anything I can do for you, Dorothy?" Bennett asked.

  "Yes. You can dispatch a letter to my family and let them know I will take no further visits or phone calls from them in the future. You can also inform them I'll be calling my attorney to take care of the disposal of the trust funds that I had set up for many of them. I think I'll donate that money to a pet rescue or some sort of homeless cause. Maybe those people would appreciate it."

  "Oh, now, I don't want you to make any rash decisions…"

  She pivoted her head back toward him, her eyes almost shooting flames. "I pay good money to live here on your island, and I just asked you to do something for me. I expect it to be done."

  "I'll ask Naomi to work on that tomorrow. I hope you'll be joining us at the ice cream social tonight?"

  "I'm not much for ice cream or social activities. Besides, I'm having dinner brought to my cottage later."

  "Well, if you change your mind…"

  "I won't." Without saying another word, she turned and started walking away from the crowd and back toward her house, the sound of her low block heels clicking against the paved street. Bennett turned around and looked at Danielle, laughing.

  "Wow. You weren't joking. She's as cold as ice."

  “Yeah, she's not the easiest to talk to. I have a feeling under all of that gruff exterior lies a woman who's been hurt a lot. It makes me sad."

  "You're probably right. The thing is, I'm supposed to be taking care of everybody on this island. I need to set an appointment to see her. Mental health is just as important as physical health.”

  Bennett lightly patted Danielle on the arm. "Well, good luck with that." He laughed as he walked away, wandering off to greet some of the arriving families.

  Danielle stood in the middle of the gymnasium, looking around at all the families reuniting. They couldn't have the ice cream social in the diner because the space wasn't large enough to accommodate all the visitors. So, they were inside the gymnasium that had a basketball court. What in the world a bunch of senior citizens needed with a big gymnasium was beyond her comprehension.

  “Are you not having ice cream?" Naomi asked as she walked up beside her.

  “Actually, I've already had both a chocolate cone and a vanilla one. I'm not going to want dinner later!" Danielle said, rubbing her stomach. She had been blessed with being petite her whole life, so when she overate it looked like she was several months pregnant.

  "This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love seeing all of our residents smiling with their families."

  "Yeah, it is nice. It makes me sad to see so many people without family here. Like Morty. Who doesn't want to be around him? He's so funny!"

  "I know. I would gladly adopt him myself," Naomi said, giggling.

  “I’m sorry, Naomi, but will you excuse me? I'd like to go over and meet Gladys' niece."

  "Sure. Have a good evening!"

  Danielle walked across the gym where she saw Gladys standing with a woman that Bennett had told her was her niece. She was happy to see that Gladys had someone who would come to visit her, given the fact that she was prone to saying a lot of interesting and unique things.

  "Hey, Gladys," Danielle said, smiling as she rubbed Gladys' arm.

  "Oh, hey, nurse lady."

  "Hi, I’m Stephanie, Gladys' niece."

  The woman looked like she was probably in her early fifties, very well-made and dressed like she was going to a business meeting. Gladys didn't look overly comfortable with her niece, standing back a few feet and focusing her gaze on her cup of ice cream.

  "Nice to meet you. I'm so glad you got to come and see your Aunt Gladys. We really enjoy having her around here."

  Stephanie looked at her carefully, squinting her eyes just a bit. "Really? It seems like Gladys might be a little… much?" She whispered it, but Gladys could definitely hear her.

  "Excuse me?"

  "Well, my aunt Gladys has been prone to saying lots of strange things over the last couple of years. It's one reason we chose Wisteria Island for her. We felt like maybe she couldn't take care of herself anymore."

  "Which isn't true at all! I take care of my dog," Gladys protested before looking down at her ice cream again.

  "Gladys has a very vivid imagination," Danielle said, smiling at Gladys and then looking back at Stephanie.

  "Well, she certainly isn't ready to be deciding on what to do with her financial accounts. I was just talking to her about signing over the management of that to me so that I can make sure e
verything is taken care of."

  Danielle had a terrible feeling about this.

  "I told you, I'm leaving my money to the Humane Society. I'm not signing anything!" Gladys said before walking off toward the table of ice cream toppings. Now Danielle felt really uncomfortable.

  "Sorry you had to hear that, but my aunt Gladys is not playing with a full deck. We've known about it for a couple of years now, and she's got quite a substantial sum of money sitting in bank accounts. She has stocks, mutual funds, etcetera. Someone needs to be taking care of all of that."

  "Well, maybe a financial advisor or someone that the court appoints?"

  Stephanie glared at her. "I'm her closest living relative. It seems very logical that I should be the one to step up and make sure that money is protected for future generations."

  "Gladys never had children, right?”

  Danielle realized she was stepping into a minefield that she shouldn’t have stepped into.

  "Well, I have children. I would think my aunt would want that money to go to them."

  "But your aunt is still alive. Who knows how many years she'll spend here on Wisteria Island. Certainly she will need money for that?"

  "Are you saying that my hallucinating, dementia ridden aunt should be able to control all of her money?" Stephanie said loudly. Hands on her hips, she waited for an answer.

  "Hey… What's going on over here?" Bennett asked as he walked up.

  "Your employee here seems to like to stick her nose into other people’s business. That's what's going on!"

  Stephanie stomped off to corral Gladys again as Danielle slowly turned around, not wanting to meet Bennett's eyes.

  "Danielle?"

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. It's just that when I know someone is trying to take advantage of an elderly person, I get kind of upset."

  “She's trying to take advantage of Gladys?"

  "I think so. She wants Gladys to sign over all of her financials to her. Gladys wants to leave her money to the Humane Society. I happen to think that she should be able to do with her money what she wants."

  "But it's not up to us. We have to stay out of that kind of thing."

  She pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. "We are here to protect these people. Isn't that what you're always preaching?"

  "Danielle, we can only do so much. We can take care of them medically, make sure they have a safe place to live, help them be vital right up until the very end. We can't interfere with their family relationships or mess with their financials.”

  "I know you're right," she said, relenting. "It's just that I really like Gladys, and I feel like something else is going on."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't know. Gladys isn't exhibiting the typical dementia symptoms. She's not hallucinating per se."

  "She sees things that aren't there."

  "Yes, but I still think there might be something else causing it. I think I'm going to set an appointment with Gladys and go over her medical history, her medications, that sort of thing. If I can stop all of this perceived dementia or craziness from happening, then she will be in her right mind and be able to take care of her own money."

  Bennett smiled. “If I didn't know better, you sure would sound like a woman who's planning to stay here long term."

  "Look, I know I'm staying here for right now. I always strive to do my best at every job. It's just part of my personality. If I can help any of these people have a better life, then I will. I'm not making any promises about how long I'll stay, Bennett."

  "Fair enough. Well, I better get back to making my rounds."

  As she watched him walk off, she thought more about Gladys' situation. If there was anything she could do to keep Stephanie from stealing Gladys' life savings, she was going to do it.

  Danielle’s feet were killing her. When would she ever learn not to wear her fancier shoes? Sure, they looked cute, but they were squeezing her feet something fierce.

  “Have you seen my niece?” Gladys asked in a whisper as she came up behind Danielle.

  “No, I haven’t seen her lately.”

  Gladys grinned. “Good! I’ve been trying to lose her all afternoon. See ya!”

  Before she could respond, Gladys was gone, apparently hiding from her niece. Danielle couldn’t help but laugh to herself at the absurdity of it all.

  “Hello.”

  Danielle turned to see Berta, one of her patients, standing in front of her. “Oh, hi, Berta. How are you?”

  “I’m all right, I suppose,” she said, staring at something across the gymnasium. Danielle turned to see if she could figure out what it was.

  “What are you looking at?”

  Berta’s face turned a delightful shade of red before she smiled. “Edwin.”

  Danielle had only met Edwin once so far. He was standing outside of the sandwich shop playing his fiddle, and Danielle had stopped to listen. He was actually quite good, if not a bit quirky. He wore a full wool suit with a fedora all the time, which had to get very hot.

  “Oh, you like Edwin, huh?”

  “Maybe,” she said sheepishly. This was the cutest thing Danielle had ever seen.

  “Do you have family here?”

  Berta shook her head. “No. My daughter was too busy to come this time. She’s a lawyer in Atlanta.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, it’s okay. I’ve learned how to be alone after all these years. I have my cat, Sassy, and I keep busy with my TV shows and cross stitch.”

  “But you’d like Edwin to notice you?”

  She smiled. “He’s the first man I’ve been interested in since my Louie died twenty-two years ago.”

  Sometimes, the stories of the people on Wisteria Island made Danielle so sad. On the surface, it was this unique little island full of vibrant older people twirling around at dances and zooming down the pathways on golf carts. When she dug deeper, there was a lot of hurt to be found. A lot of abandonment, lost dreams and wishes unfulfilled.

  “Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”

  She put her hand on her chest. “Oh, dear, no! A lady doesn’t make a pass at a man. I know these days are different, but it’s just how I believe things should be done.”

  Danielle smiled. “I see. Well, can you flirt with him a little?”

  She shrugged her tiny shoulders. “I wouldn’t have the first clue how to flirt with a man. I was only ever with my Louie, and we were married for thirty-six years.”

  “Have you spent any time with Edwin?”

  She nodded. “We play bingo next to each other every Tuesday and Thursday evening.”

  “And do you talk to him?”

  “Sometimes. We chat about baseball games since we both like that. And he tells me about his grandkids and great-grandkids.”

  “Good! That’s a wonderful starting point.”

  She chuckled. “I’m seventy-eight years old, Miss Wright. Any notions about Edwin becoming my… friend… are too out there to even consider. It’s just a childish crush.”

  As she watched Berta wander off, she thought about what she could do to help her get together with Edwin. Great, now she was a nurse and a matchmaker.

  Chapter 8

  Bennett stared at the files on his desk. How did the stacks get so high when he seemed to always be working? Being a one-man show running an island was a lot more work than one would think. Sure, he could hire more people, but he’d found that the more employees he had, the more stress he had.

  “Knock, knock.” He looked up to see Danielle standing there. She never showed up at his office unannounced, and he hoped this wasn’t the moment she decided to quit and go back to her old life.

  “Hey! I didn’t expect to see you this morning. I figured you might still be hungover from all the ice cream last night.”

  She laughed. “Man, that sugar kept me up way past my bedtime. Thank goodness for melatonin.”

  “Have a seat,” he said, pointing to the chair in front of his desk. She sat down. �
��What’s up?”

  “Well, I wanted to let you know I’m going to run by Glady’s cottage today and see if I can figure out anything that might cause her strange behavior. Is her niece staying with her?”

  “I think so.”

  “I’ll have to work around that somehow then.”

  “Danielle, don’t get too involved in family affairs…”

  She squinted her eyes at him, a sly smile on her face. “I’m a woman. We know how to manage things like this when we need to.”

  He chuckled under his breath. “A truer statement was never spoken.”

  “Anyway, that’s not why I came here.”

  “Then why did you come here?”

  “Well, I was chatting with Berta last night, and it seems she has a crush on Edwin. So, I thought you and I could come up with a plan to get them together.”

  He stared at her. “What?” All he could think about was the enormous amount of work he had on his desk, yet the island nurse wanted to play matchmaker.

  “Wouldn’t it be adorable?”

  “Danielle, we don’t offer dating services here on Wisteria Island. I can’t believe you’d even have time for something like this.”

  She sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Don’t you have a romantic bone in your body?”

  “Of course I do. But why complicate things by having residents date each other?”

  “Berta is still a vital woman, and I assume Edwin is a vital man…”

  Bennett held up his hand. “Fine. I’ll help you. Just stop saying stuff like that.”

  Danielle laughed. “Great! Dinner at my place tonight.”

  “What? We eat dinner with the residents, remember?”

  She leaned over his desk. “You’re the boss. Can’t you make an exception for one night?”

  He paused for a long moment. “Okay, fine. One dinner.”

  “Oh, you rebel,” she said sarcastically before walking toward the door. “Seven o’clock. Bring dessert.”

  Before he could say a word, she was gone, and he was left wondering what dinner with Danielle would be like. He would soon find out.