Something Shady at Sunshine Haven by Kris Bock

Author:Kris Bock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Mendelson started toward us.

I put a hand on Tommy’s wheelchair and leaned down. “I’ll tell you all about it sometime, if I can. But for now, please pretend we’ve only been chatting about times long past.”

Mendelson joined us, his hands on his hips. “Miss Tessler, I see you’re here again. I hope you aren’t bothering the residents with your questions.”

“I prefer Ms. Tessler, and I was having a lovely chat with a very interesting man.”

My new friend beamed at Mendelson. “Not many people want to listen to my war stories, but this young lady has been humoring me.”

I nodded. “It’s wonderful to see how excited everyone is about the dogs.”

He gave a harrumph. “Waste of money.”

“You pay the handlers to bring in the dogs?”

“Well, they’re volunteers, but there are expenses. In any case, look at this, this disorder.” He gestured around the room as if people were shooting paintballs and Silly String instead of petting dogs.

“I see people having a good time. Don’t you want that?”

“We want people to be satisfied quietly and calmly.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh, be annoyed, or feel sorry for the guy, forced to deal with actual human beings in all their complexity and messiness. Maybe he should get a job restocking the shelves at a container store instead. But why did he come in on the weekends if he didn’t enjoy it? Did it bother him more to be at home, knowing the chaos here?

If I’d been feeling generous, I might have tried to placate Mendelson. But where was the fun in that? I could confront him about the pain medication, but I’d have more ammo after I talked to Heather. Besides, I didn’t want to get Zinnia in trouble, or make my new friend Tommy more suspicious.

I spotted Mrs. Gregorian and her family. I’d probably learned all I could from them about Mrs. Gregorian’s illness and recovery, but Zinnia had named Mrs. Gregorian as one of the overmedicated patients. The girl thought that episode had been at least six weeks earlier, so not related to the illness, but it opened up a new line of questioning.

And another thing: Mom had gotten worried about money shortly after seeing Mrs. Gregorian. Could that have been the neighbor she meant, the one who claimed she’d been asked for more money? Could “Mr. Brown—no, Mr. Rogers” actually be Mendelson? He’d been wearing a brown button-up sweater, so maybe that triggered Mom’s memory but sent it in the wrong direction.

I turned to Tommy. “It was lovely talking to you. I hope we’ll meet again when I’m here visiting my mother. I need to speak to some other new friends now.”

Mendelson scowled and shuffled his feet.

I grinned. “Have a great day.”

I felt his gaze on me as I turned to cross the room.

Between the residents, visiting family members, dogs, and their handlers, the spacious room was a swirl of activity. I waited for a woman using a walker to cross in front of me. My leg ached, so I shifted more of my weight onto my good leg and the cane.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.