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"I’nes Grey"

"Patient or employee?"

"A patient At least she was a couple of months back"

"Try adht I collected ht of the feeble and infirrade school to the horrors of the nursing home

The administration offices were housed in makeshift quarters where the principal’s office had probably been once upon a tie central hallway had been annexed and was now enclosed in glass, providing a small reception area, which was furnished with a wooden bench I waited at the counter until a woed froht of me and veered in my direction with a public-relations smile "May I help you?"

"I hope so," I said "I’nes Grey I understand she was a patient here a few o"

The woman hesitated briefly and then said, "May I ask what this is in connection with?"

I took a chance on the truth, never guessing how popular I was going to be as a consequence I gave her my card and then recited my tale of Irene Gersh and how she’d askedwith the oft-repeated query: "Do you happen to knohere she is at this point?"

She blinked at me for a moment Some interior process caused a transformation in her face, but I hadn’t the faintest idea how it related to my request "Would you excuse me, please?"

"Sure"

She ed a moment later with a second woman, who introduced herself as Mrs Elsie Haynes, administrator of the facility She was probably in her sixties, rotund, with a hairstyle that hisker-short along the neck and topped by a toupee of ginger-colored curls This e for her head She was, however, s at me most pleasantly "Miss Millhone, how very nice," she said, holding out her hands The handshake consisted of her ht hand as the lunch meat "I’m Mrs Haynes, but you must call me Elsie No can we be of help?"

This orrisoet such receptions into locate a wones Grey I understand she was transferred here from Pioneers"

"That’s correct Mrs Grey has been with us since early March I’m sure you’ll want to see her, so I’ve asked the floor supervisor to join us She’ll take you up to Mrs Grey’s room"

"Great I’d appreciate that Frankly, I didn’t expect to find her here I guess I thought she’d be out by now Is she doing okay?"

"Oh my, yes She’s considerably better… quite well… but we have been concerned about continued care We can’t release a patient who has no place to go As nearly as we can tell, Mrs Grey doesn’t have a per any next of kin We’re delighted to hear that she has relatives living in the state I’ements to have her transferred to a comparable facility in Santa Teresa"

Ahh I feltout I tried a public-relations s "I’m not sure what Mrs Gersh ant to do I told her I’d call as soon as I found out as going on She’ll probably need to talk to you before sheshe’ll ask nes back to Santa Teresa with ed a quick look

"Is there a probleaze shifted to the doorway "Here’s Mrs Renquist, the ward supervisor I think she’s the person you should properly discuss this with"

We went through another round of introductions and explanations Mrs Renquist was perhaps forty-five, thin and tanned, with a wide, good-natured mouth and the dusky, lined complexion of a smoker Her dark auburn hair was pulled back in a knot shaped like a doughnut, probably supported by one of those squishy nylon devices they sell at Woolworth’s The three women seemed to hover about me like secular nuns, full of murmurs and reassurances Withintoward the ward

5

I heard agnes grey before I ever laid eyes on her Mrs Renquist and I had cli stairs to the second floor We proceeded down the upper hallithout saying rade school was still oddly evident, in spite of the fact that extensive re had been done to accoe, ide, ht strealass embedded with chicken wire The ork had been left in its original state, varnished oak aged to a glossy russet shade Up here, the ood floors had been covered with mottled white vinyl tiles and the once spacious roo two beds each The walls were painted in shades of pale green and blue The place was clean, if ione sour Old people were visible everywhere, in beds, in wheelchairs, on gurneys, huddled on hard wooden benches in the wide corridor; idle, insulated fros by senses that had shut down over the years They see Anyone would wither under such a regiht They had outlived not only friends and fahty and ninety, they seeled out to endure, without relief, a life that stretched into yawning eternity