Chapter Four
Chapter Three
I glance at the address on my phone to make sure I’m at the right place. This house is massive. Several cars are parked outside. I grab the card for Asher sitting on the passenger seat, inhale sharply, and step out of the car.
Getting to know people seemed like a great idea, but now that I’m here, I find myself oddly nervous. I could use friends in my life. My two closest ones are from nursing school, but as the years have gone by, we talk less and less. It doesn’t help that they live in the same city, and I don’t. If I plan to stay in Wheaton, at least for a while, it would be good to know people outside of the nursing home.
The door to their home is closed, but I can hear many voices inside. I knock once, then walk in. There are at least ten kids, ranging from babies to about five years old, all playing and making a lot of noise.
“Birdie!” Camilla rushes to me with Asher on her hip and gives me a quick side hug. “I’m so happy you came. As expected, it’s total chaos. Please, help yourself to food, and we have tons of beer and wine in the fridge.”
“Happy Birthday, Asher.” I smile and hand Camilla the card. Asher kicks his feet, looking like he’s about to explode with excitement.
“He’s been a pill today,” Camilla says, glancing at Asher. “Please, make yourself at home.”
My worst nightmare is realized. The one person I know here, Camilla, is preoccupied with the party and taking care of an overstimulated toddler. I wander to the kitchen island, where several other adults are standing around talking. A striking woman with long auburn hair approaches me.
“You must be Birdie,” she says, greeting me with a warm smile. “I’m Carrie. I’ve seen you from afar at the nursing home, but you’ve always been busy. I’m married to Dax, and I’m an old friend of Sis and Sunny’s.”
“That’s why you look familiar,” I say, shaking her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“My husband, Dax, is that guy over there in the corner,” she says, pointing to a man talking to Liam. “He’s Jake’s brother.”
“Ah, okay,” I say.
“You’re going to realize a lot of us in this small town are related.” Carrie laughs, and when Dax meets her eyes, she waves him over. Liam glances at me and then walks over to talk to Jake, who is handing a bowl of fruit to Signe.
“Dax,” Carrie says, “this is Birdie. She’s new to town and works at the nursing home.”
“You’re the famous Birdie,” Dax says, extending his arms and giving me a hug. “Sunny has gone on about how fabulous you are. We’re all so happy for the positive addition to the nursing home.”
“Does Sunny know everyone?” I say, laughing.
Dax smiles. “Actually, yes. My grandparents were best friends with Sunny and Sis. We grew up with the Bergland family. Liam was my best summer friend growing up. Have you met him?”
“Yes,” I say, glancing in Liam’s direction. “A few days ago.”
“Those two boys there”—Dax points to two dark-haired kids playing with trucks on the floor—“are our twins, Charlie and James. And that big girl over there is our pre-teen, Kylie.”
One of the boys hits the other on the head, and both Carrie and Dax rush in their direction.
“I’ll catch up with you soon,” Carrie says, looking at me over her shoulder. “It was so great to meet you.”
I stand by myself, wishing I could disappear. I put some food on my plate so it at least looks like I’m doing something instead of awkwardly watching everyone else converse.
“Aren’t kid birthday parties the worst?” someone says, leaning in next to me. I turn to face him, and he puts out his hand. “Malik.”
“Birdie,” I say. “I barely know anyone here, if that isn’t already clear.”
“This town is small.” He laughs. “It’s obvious you’re an outsider. Do you want a quick rundown?”
I shrug. “Yeah, sure.”
“Okay.” He points to Camilla and Jake. “You know them. But did you know their families were best friends growing up? Camilla and her brother Robby grew up all over the world. Camilla came back for a summer a few years ago, got reacquainted with Jake, and never left.”
“Wow.” I nod, popping an M&M in my mouth. “Good to know.”
“I mean, he’s gorgeous, right? I get it.” Malik points.
“Dax is Jake’s younger brother,” he continues. “He grew up with Carrie, who is my best friend and coincidentally used to work part-time with Sunny and Sis before they moved to a nursing home. She owns a fabulous bed-and-breakfast down the lake. She meant to live in it but met Dax, and oops, moved in with him. The place is very popular.”
“And they have Kylie and the twins?”
Malik nods. “His first wife died when Kylie was young, and Carrie is her bonus mom.”
“That there is Liam,” Malik says. “He’s the oldest of the Bergland grandkids of Sunny and Sis. I haven’t gotten to know him well, but he’s staying at the cottage, which is another property not far from here, and he doesn’t seem thrilled about it.”
“This is all fascinating,” I say.
The door opens, and Sunny and Sis walk in with two people. Malik points.
“And that’s Robby and his wife Jenna. Robby is Camilla’s brother, and Jenna is Jake and Dax’s baby sister. Now you’ve been introduced to our very incestuous town.”
I laugh. I like Malik.
“Well,” I say, “I feel like I should have been writing this all down. I’ll never keep it straight.”
“I’ve got you, Birdie.” Malik grabs my hand and walks me over to Sunny and Sis.
The rest of the party goes by quickly, and when I check the time, it’s well after four, even though a lot of people are still here. Once Sunny and Sis arrive, I don’t have to talk to anyone else, as the three of us keep each other company. My biggest takeaway from the party is that both the Bergland and Abram families have very good genes.
I get to my car, and when I try to start it, it’s completely dead. No purring. Nothing. I try again, and there’s an odd clicking noise, but it doesn’t turn over. It’s the first car I’ve ever had, and I got it shortly after getting my license. It’s a beater and should have been tossed aside years ago, but I couldn’t afford a better one, especially on my current salary.
“Perfect,” I murmur under my breath and rest my head on the steering wheel.
I glance up, and Liam is standing in front of my car, each hand carrying a bag full of garbage. He throws them in the can and walks to the driver’s side door. I get out.
“My car won’t start.”
“I can see that.” He puts his hands on his hips. “Do you have jumper cables?”
“No,” I say.
Liam raises an eyebrow. “You drive a car from the early two thousands and don’t have jumper cables?”
He pops open the trunk of the car next to mine. He positions it so our engines are facing each other. He connects the cables to both batteries and tells me to start my engine.
Still, there’s nothing. So I try again.
Liam turns off his car, and I get out again.
“It’s not even turning over,” Liam says. “There’s no way your car is going to start. Probably ever.”
“Okay.” I nervously bite my pinky nail.
Liam rolls his eyes but nods toward his car. “Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”
His car is spotless on the inside and has that new car smell. He pulls out of the driveway, and we travel down the gravel road until we hit the highway. I glance in his direction, and his jaw is clenched, his hands squeezing the steering wheel.
“So,” I say, attempting to break the awkward silence, “I heard you left New York to come here?”
He nods but doesn’t say anything.
“Were you tired of the city life? Looking for something a little slower paced?”
Liam looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “No. I love it there. I am here very temporarily and counting the days until I can go back.”
“You’re not moving here? I thought Sunny—”
“No,” Liam says, interrupting me. “I’m here until I can find a job there. I’m passing through.”
We fall back into silence for several minutes. I stare out the window, looking at the farmland we pass, the corn starting to sprout up from the black dirt.
“What did you do before moving here?” Liam turns to face me. He looks uncomfortable trying to have a conversation.
“I was a travel nurse,” I say. “Most recently in Denver.”
Liam narrows his eyes. “The money must have been a lot better than what you’re doing now. Why the change?”
I shake my head. “My mom is my only family, and I missed her. I hated being so far away.”
Liam nods, his jaw still clenched. “Where do you live?”
“The big purple house by the cemetery.”
Liam’s eyes widen. “Sorry, what? You live in the Hurst haunted house?”
He takes a left turn at the end of Main Street.
“The what?” I say, fully turning to him.
“Everyone knows the Hurst haunted house. It’s famous here. Anyone who ever lived there has experienced paranormal activity. It’s well documented.”
He pulls into my driveway, and my mom’s car isn’t here.
“Dead people don’t scare me.” I shrug.
“You aren’t freaking out that you’re about to go into a dark and haunted house?”
“Living people are much scarier and more unpredictable,” I say.
“You’re odd.”
Liam removes his hands from the steering wheel. He hits the unlock button on his car.
“If you die tonight, I’ll tell everyone I warned you.”
“If I die tonight, someone at the party probably saw me leave with you, and you’ll be the first suspect.”
Liam unbuckles his seatbelt, leans across my body, and pushes my door open.
“Lovely,” Liam says, unbuckling my seatbelt.
Our gazes meet as he hovers near me. His are a beautiful shade of deep blue, something I haven’t noticed before. I brush that thought out of my head.
“Well, thanks for the ride, I guess.” I dramatically step out of his car and slam the door.
“You may want to invest in a car made in this century, Birdie. Just saying.”
He rolls his window back up and drives away.
Family care planning days go one of two ways. All of my faith in humanity is restored, or it’s completely destroyed. Sometimes, all those things can happen on the same day.
Once a month, I sit down with all of my patients and their families, and we discuss what’s going well and what areas we could improve. First up for the day is Abigail, and it goes exactly like the other ones. We send the meeting notice to her power of attorney that we have on file, but no one ever calls in. It breaks my heart every time.
Abigail’s mind is still very sharp, but she’s wheelchair-bound, in liver failure, and receiving daily dialysis. She acts like it doesn’t bother her when no one shows up or calls in, but she doesn’t say anything about it. She and I discuss her plan, and I move on to my next patient, Marilyn.
Marilyn is also very sharp but has terminal brain cancer and has opted to stop treatment. She’s not well enough to be moved home, so she’s asked to die at the nursing home. Each month, her son, Tommy, and daughter, Tina, show up to the meeting, as well as her husband, George. They also visit her at the nursing home almost daily.
“I can’t see out of my left eye,” Marilyn says. “That change has been recent. But besides that, things have been going well.”
Marilyn’s son takes her hand and looks at me. “How much time do we have left with Mom?”
“It’s hard to tell,” I say. “But your mom is starting to lose some function, including her eyesight, and has been consuming less food recently, too.”
“I’ll go willingly when the good Lord wants to take me.” She pats her son’s hand. “And it won’t do anyone any good sitting here crying about it.”
It’s going to be a sad day when Marilyn leaves us. She’s the cheerleader here and goes into the residents’ rooms when they’re feeling sad and urges them to be social. The people who fare the worst are those that stay in their rooms and resist any human interaction.
Thirty minutes later, I move on to Sunny and Sis’s monthly meeting with their family. Their sons, Rob and Larry, always dial in. Rob is sweet and thoughtful. He thinks carefully before asking a question. Larry is usually short and questions why we can’t do more for his parents. When I walk into their room, Liam is sitting in one of their blue chairs.
“Good morning, Sis.” I squeeze her hand as she lies on her side. “Hey there, Sunny.”
“Let’s get Larry and Rob on the phone,” Sunny says.
I glance at Liam. “And you consent to having Liam here today?”
Liam narrows his eyes at me and glares, and Sunny nods.
“He thought since he’ll be here for a bit, that he’d like to hear what’s going on with our care,” Sunny says.
Rob and Larry prefer to video call, so I get them set up on my laptop so we can all see each other.
“Good morning, Rob. Larry. Thanks for joining today. I thought I would give a few updates, and then I’d love to hear any questions or concerns you may have.”
I go through their current schedules. Sis is pulled into memory care activities every morning, seven days a week, for two hours. Sunny is going through daily workouts to keep his body strong. They are eating and sleeping well.
“Everything sounds great,” Rob says. “Thanks for taking such good care of our parents.”
Liam folds his hands together. “I actually have a couple of observations.”
“Okay,” I say, grabbing my notebook.
“Grandma Sis needs more than two hours of memory care a day. It’s not enough currently. And sorry, Grandpa, but you seem bored. You need more stimulation.”
I hold the pen up to my mouth. “Let me address your first point. Unfortunately, the Wheaton nursing home only has the capacity for two hours of memory care a day. We’d love to be able to offer more, but we don’t have the funding or resources. Although that’s something we’d very much like to change.”
Liam tilts his head. “And about Grandpa?”
“Well.” I turn to Sunny. “You don’t need to be here. You, of course, know that. But we’re also really happy you’re here. Because you have such low needs, all I can recommend is that you continue partaking in the activities provided and try to get out more.”
“Liam,” I say, turning my attention toward him. “Now that you’re here, you could help greatly with this. Pick up your grandpa when your grandma is in memory care.”
He opens his mouth to say something but then snaps it shut.
“She’s right,” Larry says. “You don’t have anything else going on there, Liam. Spend time with your grandparents and quit being so lazy.”
Liam glances at the computer, and it occurs to me for the first time that Larry is his dad. A look passes between them. There’s tension, and when Larry talks, Liam leans back in his chair and wilts.
“But, Liam,” I continue, “you’ve been such a great presence since getting to town. I appreciate you raising this, because I too want to make sure your grandpa has enough to do. I’m always happy to sit down with you and brainstorm ideas.”
He jerks his head in my direction, and his face softens.
After a morning of meetings, I get on with the rest of my day. I administer medications, monitor my patients, and schedule follow-ups with our traveling physician. All the residents under my care are either ailing physically or mentally. I often wonder what would be worse. Although I’d prefer to never have to end up in a nursing home, if I was going to lose something, I think I’d want it to be my mind. The people here who still have theirs struggle the most because they understand their physical limitations.
“Hey there, Birdie,” my mom says, coming up behind me. “How’d the family meetings go?”
“The same as last month.” I lower my voice. “Abigail’s family didn’t show up again. It makes me want to—”
“You don’t know what’s going on there,” my mom interrupts. “Our residents lived full lives before ending up here. I have no doubt there was an opportunity for things to go wrong.”
“I know.” I release a breath. “But my heart breaks for her.”
My mom reaches for my hand.
“Are you heading out soon?” I say.
“Oh, Birdie girl,” my mom says. “I have hours left. I’m sorry.”
“No big deal. I’ll walk home.”
My mom lets out a sigh. “We need to figure out your car situation. Your life can’t be limited to this town.”
“I’m working on it.”
I close out my work for the day and hit the code to exit the building. The sun warms me the moment I’m outside. I close my eyes and breathe it in. Joe isn’t wrong. The nursing home does have an odor to it that could be improved. It’s always magnificent stepping outside and breathing in the summer air.
A voice interrupts my peace. Liam is sitting on the stone bench, in a heated conversation. I glance at my phone and walk past him, trying to mind my own business.
“Really, Dad? That’s all you have to say?” Liam says into the phone.
He looks up just as I’m passing, and we lock eyes. I quickly glance down and keep walking.