Summer Love

The Retirement Home

Max stood in awe of the building in front of him. It almost looked like a typical house except it was much bigger, and it had a flat roof. Wooden fences surrounded the building, guarding a landscape of green grass, small plants, large trees and bountiful flowers. Structures such as wooden benches, stone sculptures, tile pavements and marble birdbaths also occupied the landscape. The scenery reminded Max of the local park except for one little feature. "Huh? I wonder where the people are," he thought to himself as his eyes trailed along the landscape over and over again.

As Max was absorbed in looking at the landscape, Sophie lightly tapped his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "So Max, how are you liking it?"

Max immediately snapped out of his trance. "Oh, yes, yes. I like it very much." He stammered, nodding quickly. "Let's proceed inside, shall we?" He asked, hoping to see the interior of the building.

"Alright, let's go!" Sophie chimed. She entered the building through the front door. Max followed suit, closing the door behind him. Once inside, he saw that Sophie was nowhere to be found. All he could see were the old folks of the retirement home. Despite his intrusion, everyone paid him no mind. They went on about their business as if he was not there at all. This still made him uneasy because it felt like everybody was staring at him. In reality, the old folks were actually engaging in their own activities, such as dining, playing board games, watching television and engaging in common banter.

However, the anxiety was quickly overpowered by his curiosity. He looked past the folks and instead focused on the interior. The inside of the retirement home appeared to be bigger than the exterior, and it was in better condition. The walls had the appearance of neatly stacked wood as opposed to the grayish red bricks outside. "That's either wallpaper or a really good paint job." Max thought to himself. He noted long brown beams which spanned across the room just below the open ceiling, sets of wooden tables and chairs which were arranged in random fashion, decorations like flags, flower pots and paintings which complemented the wide-open space.

In the midst of his people-watching, Sophie came running towards him. He was too distracted to notice her, and instead felt the abrupt sensation of a warm embrace. His whole face became flushed. "There you are, Max. Come on, we haven't got all day," Sophie said, releasing him.

He eased up, nodding in understanding. "So, this is the place, huh? By the way, where were you?" he asked, gesturing to a general area in the building.

"Yup, this is the place, and I was just checking the preparations for the charity work," she explained as she started to walk towards a nearby door.

Max followed after her, picking up the pace until he eventually reached her side. "So, where exactly are we going?"

"The charity center, or at least that's what I call it," Sophie answered with a nervous grin. Max shrugged his shoulders, but nodded regardless. He continued to look around, but he also made sure to be wary of his steps. The old people seemed oblivious to their surroundings. They were either too focused on their peers or perhaps their old age had made them ignorant. Following Sophie, he exited the main hall through an open doorway and found himself walking through a spacious hallway. It was not as big as the hall, but it was big enough for at least two people to comfortably walk side-by-side. The walls were a light blue, in contrast to the wooden walls of the main hall. Doors were lined up on each side, alternating in a zigzag pattern.

Max began to slow down his pace. He wanted to take more time to observe his surroundings. Gradually, he found himself falling behind Sophie. "I'm guessing these are all the folks' accommodation?" Max asked, trying to get her attention.

Sophie stopped in her tracks. She turned around to face him. "Ah, yes, yes. Well, most of them are rooms for the folks, but some are reserved for storage," she explained. She approached one of the many doors and beckoned him to come over, "Come on, let me show you."

He shrugged his shoulders, but complied with her request. Upon closer inspection, the door seemed to be white, but it was covered in a lot of dust and soot, having the appearance of grayish white instead. He noticed some lettering on the door, but he could barely make it out. It was so faded to the point of nigh obscurity. He tried to read the letters to no avail, even squinting his eyes. "What does it say?" He asked as he turned to Sophie.

"I have no idea. All I know is that it is supposed to be the room number," she answered, grabbing his hand and pulling it away from the door. "That text has already faded over the years. Wiping it won't do any good. We need more solid action, like reapplying the lettering," she explained with a heavy sigh before continuing, "In fact, everything in this place needs more than just some scrubbing and cleaning. This is exactly why charity work is needed, to fix places like these. They can't afford to pay any professionals, so they have to rely on volunteers like us to get things done."

"But wouldn't it be called volunteer work instead of charity work?" Max thought to himself. He had mixed feelings, but they mainly consisted of sympathy and confusion. After all, he was still very reserved about the whole thing. In the end, he decided not to question it and just go with the flow. "Alright, alright, I understand. Let's just get this over with."

Sophie instantly brightened up, grinning at him. "I knew you'd understand."

He shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head slightly to the side, "So, are we going to start soon, or are we going to continue with the tour?"

"Hmm..." She muttered under her breath. She looked down, a finger resting upon her chin as she became deep in thought. "Doing the charity work while I explain stuff to him would make the work quicker, but I don't want to overwhelm him with information while we're doing stuff." She slammed a fist onto the palm of her hand after coming to a decision. "We're going to start right now!" she exclaimed with determination.

"Alright, that sounds like a plan to me." He grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Deep down, he wished the tour would last longer so that the work would not last as long.

She gestured towards the end of the hallway. "Follow me, I'll show you our base of operations." She said and walked towards the end of the hallway. She picked up her pace, which prompted Max to also move a little faster. They passed through the doors of the hallway, each one looking in worse condition than the other. Eventually, she stopped in front of a door. She beckoned him to hurry, making him pick up the pace. She pointed towards the door and explained, "This will be our base of operations." Looking at the door, it looked different from the others. It was well-maintained, sporting freshly-coated brown paint and a golden plate with lettering on it. Unlike the other doors, this lettering was as clear as day: "Storage."

"Huh, a storage room?" he muttered under his breath, taking a step forward to examine the lettering more closely. Sophie noticed Max taking an interest in the lettering and pulled him away.

"Don't bother with what it says, and if you're wondering, it's visible because I had it redone." She explained and dragged him inside. To his surprise, the inside was very neat and tidy. It did not look like any storage room he had ever seen. Though, he had not seen many storage rooms in his lifetime. What caught his eye was a wooden table with two chairs around it.

"Let me guess, that's where we're going to sit?" Max questioned, pointing at the chairs. Sophie gave a reaffirming nod and took a seat, gesturing for him to also sit down. He sat down on the chair across from her. They stared at each other from their seats. It eventually dawned on Max that they were sitting alone together in the room, making his face flush red. "So, uh, what happens now?" He asked, trying to get his mind off the situation.