made sure she had a stool to prop up her sore ankle. She had brought two ice pack wraps, one to use now and one to have in the break room freezer. Once Maggie was set up, Teag gave me a nod and I slipped out to fulfill my promise to Sorren by visiting Palmetto Meadows.
First, I swung by the house to pick up Baxter. He met me at the door hopping around like a crazed fluff-bunny, since he is always up for a car trip. Even though it was broad daylight, I was cautious. I parked as close as I could to the door to the Alzheimer’s unit, and scanned the parking lot before I got out of the car. My athame was up the sleeve of my sweater, and Bo’s collar was around my other wrist. To my relief, no strange shadows or restless ghosts menaced me as I headed into the nursing home.
“Hi Cassidy! Hi Baxter!” Judy was at the nurses’ station when I arrived.
I grinned. “Hey there. I just wanted to stop by and make sure everyone was okay. I saw the news yesterday. Thought people might like a little Baxter time to relax.”
“That would be fantastic,” Judy replied. She sobered. “Can you believe someone would do something like that? Fortunately, nothing actually happened. But still.”
Baxter tugged on his leash to come around the side of the nurses’ station, and Judy bent down to pet him and ruffle his ears. “Yep. I think a dose of Baxter is just what the doctor ordered today,” she said, smiling at him fondly. “Go on into the activity room. It looked like most of our folks were up and about the last time I checked.”
We got a pretty energetic ovation when the residents spotted us, although I knew they were really clapping for Baxter. And despite my ulterior motives of checking up on Mrs. Butler and Mr. Thompson, it made me really happy to see all those faces light up. Baxter toddled into the room like a superstar, knowing he was the center of attention. I could feel the tension in the room ease as we made our rounds.
“Is it that time already?” Mrs. Talheimer reached down to pet Baxter. “Oh, my. I don’t have my pretzels with me!”
“That’s all right,” I replied. “We’re not here on our regular day. And the vet says Baxter put on a few ounces. It won’t hurt him to miss a few treats.”
Mrs. Talheimer gave me a conspiratorial smile. “A couple of pretzels won’t make a difference,” she said. “And it does make him wag, doesn’t it?”
Baxter looked up at me, the poster-dog for innocence, as if he didn’t know treats were part of the routine. We moved on. Even though Mrs. Peterson was playing cards with Miss Henderson, they waved us closer so they could fuss over him. I glanced at their cards. I’m not sure whether they were playing any game in particular or both even playing the same game, but they were having a good time. Judy had told me that sometimes they remembered the rules, and sometimes they didn’t. Usually, it takes us about an hour to circle the room, but today took longer. It was worth it to watch the residents relax as they petted Baxter and let him nuzzle against their hands.
The great thing about bringing a therapy dog onto an Alzheimer’s unit is that even if people have forgotten who they are, lost the memories of their own children, and misplaced their personal history, they remember that they like dogs. And dogs don’t care if you remember their names or not, as long as you love them.
“Ho there, Tilly!” I heard Mr. Thompson’s voice behind me.
Baxter waggled and headed his direction. Wheelchairs are a danger to little dogs like Maltese, so I lifted him up so Mr. Thompson could pet him. “Good girl, Tilly,” he said.
“He likes you,” I said as Baxter let the man stroke his fur with his large, gnarled hand.
“Humph,” Mr. Thompson replied.
This time, I made sure my hand touched his. Again, I felt the electric charge, and he looked up at me, “You have power,” he hissed.
I took a chance. “So do you,” I replied quietly.
His eyes widened. “Don’t say that! They’ll hear you!”
“Who?”
He glanced around and leaned in. “The Judge. He was here, you know. But he didn’t get us.”
“Is that why you use the salt? For a warding?”
Suspicion glinted in his eyes. “How did you know about that?”