prospective home.
Ron pressed the buzzer. Waited. It was a longer wait than anticipated. He pressed again. “Hello?” he enquired of the intercom.
“Busy Bees Meadows, how may I help you?” came and old woman’s voice, slightly odd in tone.
“Uh, yes. We’re here to see Geraldine James?”
The tone increased in pitch, excited. “Oh, come in. Come in.”
The door unlocked with a soft click. The smell hit them with a fist.
“Jesus.” Jenny whispered, one hand to her nose. “What is that?”
A frail woman in a lavender dress greeted them and Jenny promptly gathered her manners and dropped her arms to her side.
Jenny had dressed up—dusk pink, tight-fitting skinny pants beneath a white blouse. Kip looked as cute as ever in a pink dress by Jenny’s side and Ron wore pressed black pants and a baby blue button-up shirt.
“Hi! My name is Marilynn, and you are?”
“I’m her grandson. Ron.”
“May I see your ID please?”
“Sure. Here it is.” Ron shook his license from his wallet and handed it over.
“Thanks! Follow me. This way.”
The old woman hobbled down a beige-tiled hall. The stench became stronger; Jenny once more covered her nose with her sleeve.
“It’s so good to see new visitors. Gerry hasn’t had any in quite a while ... well, Mrs. Coggington does come to see her weekly, but, you see, Mrs. Coggington has been laid up with arthritis these past few weeks. She had a hip reconstruction you see, and well … I did pay Mrs. Coggington a visit myself and took her some of those chocolates she likes. I know she likes them, because she brings them in for Gerry, although Gerry can’t eat them. This way now.”
“Thanks.” Ron was at a loss for words.
“Gerry just had surgery. She might not be able to speak yet,” Marilynn warned.
“Surgery?” Ron asked.
“Yes. They removed all her teeth.”
“You removed her teeth?”
“Yes, uh…” Marilynn paused before a door with the number 946 on it. “The last of her teeth had to be removed from decay,” she whispered.
Jenny and Ron’s eyes widened.
“Yes. You see, Gerry won’t let anyone brush her teeth anymore. We tried everything! She wouldn’t even let her favorite nurse, Sue, do it. Of course, she got an infection—deep down in the root. The dentist suggested all her teeth be removed, because soon they’d all be in decay.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ron whispered back, loudly. “She has no teeth at all. How does she eat?”
“I’m sorry.” Marilynn stared down at the linoleum floor. “I thought you would have known, being family.”
“Excuse us a minute.” Ron took Jenny by the arm and led her and Kip away, around the corner.
“What the hell?” He shook his head.
Jenny shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a place like this. Maybe they do this?” She put two fingers to her temple and rubbed. A slight headache was forming, along with a whiff of nausea. “Do we have to go back in there? What is that awful smell? It’s like something fucking died in here.”
“Shhhh, don’t say that. People may hear you.”
A nurse in magenta scrubs adorned with some ugly floral print passed them. Kip waved at her happily. She ignored the child; they all watched each other.
“Ron, seriously, I don’t think I can take this.”
“But it’s my Nana. We have to go in there! She may pass at any moment. I mean, Jesus—her teeth. She’s already lost her mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you.” Ron bit his bottom lip.
“What? Come on?”
He shook his head. “She has Alzheimer’s.”
“Oh! ... oh.” In all their years together, Ron had never mentioned that. “Really?”
“Yes. It’s the family secret. I was hoping we’d go in and she might be lucid or something, but with this tooth thing, hell. I don’t know why my mother never told me about this. She knew we were coming here.”
“You said it’s the family secret; your mother is obviously ashamed or something.”
“What the...? Well, let’s go in.”
Jenny stopped him. “No. You go first. I’ll wait out here and come in soon. Is that all right?”
“That doesn’t sound like a question.”
It wasn’t so bad sitting outside the room waiting; Kip kept her company. The child swayed back and forth and fidgeted, sat up, got down, tapped on this, looked at that. Watching her, Jenny felt glad she was out here with the young, not in the room with the old and decrepit. Something about nursing homes gave her the creeps in general. She did not want Kip to see any of it.
The door opened and Ron stuck his