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For the apparently crucial date nuet et ho and hard to a certain young, auburn-haired aunt Emphasis on the word hard
She was feisty--I liked that Strong-minded butdefinitely soft in that attractive, fe head
I wonder how she handled Rory after I left--did she ground the little sarden orthe lawn? I can say from experience, manual labor leaves a bitch of an impression on even thele Chelsea’s brother, Robert, for reasons I can’t explain But the pull of infor to resist
Most lobbyists are bottom-feeders Smarmy, self-important deal makers who are drunk on their power over the powerful--not unlike the pencil pushers who run the Department of Motor Vehicles But, as I told his sister, Robert McQuaid had a reputation as a straight shooter A good guy who genuinely cared about the cause he was paid to champion
There’s a wealth of information about his career--and his death He was at a charity dinner with his college sweetheart turned wife of seventeen years, Rachel On their way home, a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and veered into their lane, too quickly to avoid a head-on collision His obituary lists his professional accomplishments and his survivors: six children, Riley, Rory, Rayan, and Ronan, as well as a sister, Chelsea, of Berkeley, California There are pictures--a few of the kids through the years, with their attractive parents at various family-friendly events around DC And one of Chelsea, head bowed, in a black dress and large dark glasses, beside a double grave site Looking tragically beautiful
And veryto bed
• • •
Like I said before, I’e at Sofia and Stanton’s, having a breakfast of coffee and delicious Brazilian cheese balls that shecherry and recounts ourStanton mentions that Presley has a few days off fro for a visit
It’s just after noon when I leave their town house and head straight for the Brookside Retirement Hoe who pulled my fifteen-year-old ass out of the fire--who literally saved htened nificance? That’s where he is
I don’t like being beholden to anyone I don’t have ladly pay
"Good afternoon, Jake"
"Hi, Mildred"
"Hey, Becker"
"How’s it going, Jiraces of the lower staff at any facility--be it a hospital, law firm, school, or retirement home They’re the ones who do the actual work, and if shady shit is going down, they’ll be the ones who let the cat out of the bag, while the owner and upper-echelon ade control The staff at Brookside and I are on a first-nareet the orderlies and nurses traveling down the hall, so trays oftheir feeble charges in wheelchairs to their physical therapy sessions, art classes, or daily afternoon bingo gao with these senior citizens They take that shit seriously Theyfor B-6? They’ll bust your fucking kneecaps as quick as any backstreet bookie, without an ounce of remorse
Brookside is a private facility, top of the line Its rooenerically comfortable, like a hotel chain Its employees are educated and well compensated, so they treat the clients here with the respect, care, and dignity they deserve Other places, for those on public assistance, those who don’t have pensions or family with the funds to pay, they’rewelllet’s just say there’s nothing golden about spending your "golden years" in a dae’s sunlit roo chair by the , dressed in tan slacks and a burgundy sweater, brown loafers on his feet His thick, gray hair is clean and combed neatly
His nae He wasn’t always the way he is today Ten years ago, he cut an i for his seventy years, and active, with green eyes that see lie detector with a brilliantly inti I wanted to be Everything my real father never was
But life’s a bitch sonosed with advanced Alzheins Little tricks--hidden notes and reminders--so no one could tell he didn’t knohat day it was Sometimes he’d walk home from the courthouse, but only because he couldn’t remember where he’d parked his car Then, later, he’d spend hours in a coffee shop because he’d forgotten his address
I was busy then--practically just out of law school-- was off, but I missed it So, eventually, when he didn’t have any other choice and told s went downhill really fast And the hard-ass I knew, the man I feared in the best sense of the word, justslipped away, practically overnight