Page 46 of Let's Pretend I'm Okay

Today is nice. The sun is shining. Birds are chirping. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was a set of a musical where people were waiting to jump into song. That’s the vibe.

In the distance I notice a bright green Ferris wheel. I love it when the fair comes to town. It comes every fall and lasts for about two weeks. I used to go all the time as a kid, but we haven’t gone in the last few years. Happy memories filled with cotton candy and music fill my mind, making time fly by.

It also doesn’t take me a full twenty minutes to get to the nursing home. Apparently, I walk faster than expected. It only took me eighteen minutes. Two whole minutes to spare.

The building isn’t very big, but it’s clean, and there are lots of beautiful flowers on the outside. The windows are framed with white shutters standing out against the yellow siding, and the front door is painted bright red.

As soon as I walk in, there’s a receptionist’s desk where a woman sits adjusting her glasses. “Hello, dear.”

“Hello,” I say.

She smiles, making the laugh lines around her eyes more apparent. “How can I help you today?”

“I’m here to visit someone, but I’m not sure which room they’re in.”

“What’s their name?” she asks.

I have no idea what her name would be. I should’ve asked Olive. The only name I can go off is Daniel’s. “The last name should be Hansen?”

A small laugh escapes her lips. “Are you asking me?”

“No,” I say nervously. “That’s the name. At least I’m pretty sure it’s right.”

The receptionist looks at her computer and searches for the name. “There’s a Janet Hansen down that hallway, second door on the left.”

“Thank you,” I say.

She has me sign in, and then I head to her room, passing a group of ladies playing cards in the recreation area.

I knock on the door and crack it open slightly. “Hello? Mrs. Hansen?”

“Come in,” she says. Her voice is full and rich. It’s a voice that sounds like it belongs to someone who visits the opera and art galleries in their free time. Although, I doubt Daniel’s grandma did any of that.

I shuffle in and close the door behind me.

Janet is a beautiful person. Her hair is long and gray, pulled to the side in a wispy braid. She’s sitting in a chair facing the window, letting sunbeams glow across her skin.

The room is small, but cute. The walls are mostly bare, with the exception of one big family photo. I don’t see Daniel in it. The picture is older. Janet is in the center with a young girl to her left wearing braces and a man standing behind them both. They all have big, bright smiles.

I wave. “Hello, I’m Margo. I know Daniel.”

Her face lights up with a grin. “How’s he doing?”

Great. Definitely not sleeping through all of his classes and getting into fights. “He’s been staying busy.”

“He’s such a good kid. Never gets into trouble, and he has straight A’s,” she says, smiling.

Are we talking about the same person?

Janet quickly changes topic, reaching for a crossword book on her side table. “While you’re here, maybe you could help me with something. I can’t figure out what this word is.” She opens up the book, bending the cover around to the back. That way she can hold it with one hand. “What has holes, but still holds water? For the life of me I can’t figure it out.”

I walk closer to her and peer over at the other answers she’s found to see if there are any letters I can use as clues. There’s anS, and it’s six letters long.

As someone who prides myself on finding and fixing things, I silently vow to figure out the answer, and I refuse to cheat by looking online. I mull over a bunch of different options in my mind before settling on the most obvious one. “Try sponge.”

She grins. “That must be it. You’ve always been pretty sharp. I wish you’d come visit me more.”

I smile, not fully understanding what she means. I’ve never come by before. She must think I’m someone else. That’s the only explanation.

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