This Old Home

CHAPTER 2 COLLISSION

The wireless radio attached to Gretchen's uniform dinged and a voice said,"Gretchen, can you come to the front office? We have a new resident with their family that needs to be shown to their room." It had been 2 weeks since Gretchen dropped off the box of letters written by Mrs. Gertrude. Life had continued at it’s normal pace, with the only difference being the new resident who had taken over Mrs. Gertrude’s room.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit. Let me help Mr. Crawford to his room," Gretchen answered. She smiled down at Mr. Crawford who looked up at her with a blank stare. He, unfortunately, was a stroke victim who lost his ability to speak, but he patted her hand as if to tell her it would be alright.She wheeled him off to his room and locked the wheel chair infront of the window, where he enjoyed sitting. "I'll be back shortly Mr. Crawford to take you back outside to look for the cats again. Don't try and roll off without me again." She walked out of the room and headed to the front, knowing that he was already looking outside at the cats lying out in the sun again. As Gretchen was walking around the corner she could hear children laughter and someone of an elderly voice speaking.

"I really think that this is more of an inconvenience than anything. I told you already, Mark, to stop worrying so much that I would be alright on my own!"

"Hi, I'm Gretchen. It's so nice to meet you all. Who is my lucky new resident to join our crew of misfits," Gretchen smiled as she walked into the front office. Rebecca, the head of the nursing home, smiled and shook her head. "Gretchen, meet Mrs. Willard. She will be our new resident and she will be in your ward. Have her move into room 1870 please."

Mrs. Willard laughed and slapped whom Gretchen would assume was her son. "Did you hear that? I'm moving into a room that's the same number as your address! Now I know I'm not going senile, it was fate that brought me here." The young man stood up and turned around from being crouched down and speaking to a couple of little girls. Gretchen felt that this man looked familiar, just a little more haggard and like he had lost weight.

"Do I know you? Wait, you're the woman that brought that box of letters. How is Mrs. Gertrude doing? I wanted to thank her for the letters. They were really nice to read. Oh, my name is Mark, by the way. This is my aunt, Lisa Willard. She has issues with her memory. They said that she is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's," Lisa slapped him on the arm.

"Mark, stop talking. Can't you see the young lady's face is flushed? Hun, don't mind him. He's forgotten how to talk to women. Anyways, I have not lost my mind yet, I am completely fine. So, whenever you're ready, if you can take me to my room now, I would love to get settled in. Mark, go grab my stuff. Lilly and Aiden, come with Aunty Frizz and let us go see my new room! Oh, this is going to be an adventure," Lilly and Aiden both came over and each grabbed one of Lisa's hands. Gretchen waited patiently with a small smile on her face. She loved seeing the caring attitude that young people had towards the elderly.

"So, if you'll follow me, I'll take you on a tour of the nursing home. I know these two young ones have been here before, but I'm not sure if they remember where everything is." Lilly jumped forward and pointed toward the dining hall with a stern look on her face.

"I 'member. Food is over 'dere! We had food with mama and memaw a'fore Santa came!" Lilly continued to point out different rooms of the nursing home as they walked down the hallways towards Lisa's new room. She looked to be about 4 years old. Aiden stayed quiet, holding onto Lisa's hand as they continued to walk. Gretchen took note of his shaggy brown hair that was slightly covering his face, while he looked to be about 6 or 7 years old. She couldn't quite tell, but she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by asking.

"Here! We here, Auni Frizz! Look, won, eigh, seben, zerooooo!" Lilly laughed as she pointed out each number. Gretchen and Lisa couldn't help but laugh at the excitement emanating from the little girl. Gretchen walked forward and opened the door for all three to go in. She smiled as she looked down the hall and saw Mark coming with the luggage cart.

"I forgot how big this place actually is on the inside. Where do you need me to put everything? She also has her groceries and necessities in the bottom two boxes. I'm not sure if you guys have a certain laundry detergent or anything you use. She-"

"Mark, good lord boy! Do you ever stop blabbering? Just bring the stuff in here and leave the poor girl alone! Thank you so much Gretchen. I truly appreciate you showing us to my room. I will get everything together and leave the bottom two boxes on the cart so we can discuss what I need to do with them. Lilly and Aiden, what do we say to Miss. Gretchen?" Lilly happily squealed and jumped on Gretchen's leg screaming thank you, while Aiden nodded and whispered his gratitude. Gretchen laughed and turned to Mark, "If you need any help just let me know. I will be down that hall to the left in the living room with another resident." Mark nodded and said thanks as he went into the room, leaving the door close behind him.

Throughout the remainder of the day Gretchen got things together with the other staff for the meeting dinner. It was an event that they held whenever new residents came to the home. A small treat of zuchini bread or vanilla pudding was what they usually had.

Gretchen smiled as all of the residents came to the dining hall. Seeing their faces light up as they talked about times gone by and meeting new people was always enjoyable for the staff. Sometimes they even get to see old love rekindled. The dinner went by without a hitch, everyone enjoying their food, but especially their special snacks. She learned over time and from discussions with some of the residences that sweets become better as you grow older with the changing of your tastebuds. She hoped that one day she would be able to enjoy sweets. As of now, she hasn't been able to find any that she really enjoys.

21:30 came quicker than Gretchen had realized. She had worked overtime tonight to ensure that Lisa had settled in alright and helped with the new staff that had started a week prior. She yawned as she walked out to her car, starting her phone up. *ding* *ding* *ding* her phone continued to ding as it started up. She rolled her eyes as most of them were from her annoying ex-boyfriend, basically demanding to know where she was and why she wasn't answering. She texted him back one simple line,"You need to get a life and leave me alone." She laughed as she pressed send, thinking of how proud Mrs. Gertrude would be so proud of her for finally breaking up with him. Slowly driving out of the parking lot, Gretchen headed home, the image of Mark popping into her head.