Page 116 of Look on the Bright Side

“What about our arrangement? Can we end it?”

“Why? So you can date my brother? I just told you he’s only interested in you to get back at me.”

She sighed. Loudly and pointedly.

Lorenzo looked at the floor. “Can’t you just stick it out till Sofia’s wedding? It’s three weeks away. I’d rather not have to deal with anything else right now.”

He looked…tired. Well, he would be tired. He did have a full schedule, and he was a world-renowned surgeon. He might not be the easiest person, but he did a lot of good, she had to give him that. “I’ll think about it, how’s that? Great talk. Seriously. You’re doing well in becoming a human.” She couldn’t help a weird rush of fondness and tousled his hair as she walked past.

“Dr.Smith?”

She turned. “Yes?”

“I appreciate that you…that you’re trying. And also that you wouldn’t do this for money. It speaks well of you.”

She smiled. “Good job, Dr.Santini. And thank you for noticing.”

With that, she left.

TWENTY-TWO

JOY

Joyful Movement had become the most popular class at Bayview. Previous activities directors had chosen golden oldies for the playlist, but Joy hated that. Why be reminded of a youth that was fifty or sixty years ago when all these dead singers were at their peak? She’d kept a few classics, but filled in most spaces with Britney, Rihanna, Eminem, Bruno Mars, Cardi B and Justin Timberlake (though she’d had to replace a song or two when Evelyn started singing “Put your filthy hands all over me” in the hallways). Aretha always got everyone jazzed. “Get those arms up over your head, Florence,” Joy yelled. “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to you! Atta boy, Hugh! Okay, boxing moves here, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, that’s right!”

The residents loved it. One guy, Gary, came to every class, even though he wasn’t in the Memory Care Unit. He always made meaningful eye contact when “I’m a Slave 4 U” came on, but Joy ignored him.

Her makeup class had gone over well, though she wouldn’t try false eyelashes again, since three clients had had glue incidents, one requiring a nurse to get her eyelid unstuck. Lesson learned. Another day, she’d blown up balloons and had them play slow-motion volleyball. There were upscale field trips for the higher-functioning residents of Bayview—museums, art fairs, fishing—but Joy let the other directors head those up. She stayed in Memory Care, but more and more, the regular residents were migrating to her sessions. She liked finding things no other activities director had done yet. For example, today’s class.

“A lot of you might have some muscle memory with this,” she said from her table in the crafts room. “You fold the paper in half, then open it up so you have a nice crease. Put the filter on the end, then sprinkle, oh, let’s say, a quarter teaspoon right in there. Make sure it’s ground up. You don’t want big chunks in there. Even it out and then just roll, lick the paper so it will stick, like so. Then tamp it down and twist the end, and voilà! You have a joint.”

“So easy,” said Etsie, who was in her late eighties and sharp as a tack. Another person from the regular unit who’d been dropping in on her classes.

“You just have to buy your own weed,” Joy said. “I’m a lot of things, but a drug dealer isn’t one of them.” Everyone laughed. The class was full today.

“Excuse me!” came a voice. Oh. It was Meredith, the sour-faced daughter of Etsie. “Are you actually teaching my mother to roll a joint?”

“Marijuana is legal here, and yes,” Joy said.

“It was more of a refresher,” Etsie said.

“You can’t do that!”

“Why?” Joy asked.

“Because she’s…” Meredith lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. “Impaired.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Meredith,” Etsie said. “I am not, and if you keep this up, I’m changing my will. If I need a little toke to relax and help with my knee pain, I can do that.”

“Just not inside,” Joy reminded her. “We are a nonsmoking facility. Now, obviously, gummies are easier on the lungs. Edibles take a little longer to relax you, and I recommend starting off with a half if you haven’t tried it before.”

“Oh, come on. We were all alive in the summer of love,” said Ward, who was crushing on Etsie. “We know what grass is. But I do appreciate the class. Never did have to roll my own.”

“Every dispensary carries pre-rolls, too,” Joy said.

“Think we can get the Bayview bus to take us to one?” asked Gertrude.

“I can ask,” Joy said. “Okay. Who wants to play Cards Against Humanity?”

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