Page 53 of Dying to Read

“I’ll drive. We probably should leave Killer at home. We won’t be able to watch him while we’re moving and packing.” Shirley rinsed off the plates and the cups and put them into Rarity’s dishwasher. She’d already put two cinnamon rolls into the fridge.

“He probably wants to sleep anyway.” Rarity let him in and went to grab her purse. “He’s been goinga lot lately.”

As they drove to Sedona Memory Care, Rarity updated Shirley on what she knew about Archer’s dad.

“That’s such a shame. I’ve heard that Dana was a big daddy’s girl when she was growing up. One of the ladies in my women’s group was friends with June, the wife. She says it nearly broke the woman’s heart to divorce him and move away. But she wanted to have a life before she died and Archer’s dad was lost in the past. I guess she’d accused him of cheating before, but this time, he stopped being there for her at all. Marriage is hard, even when it should be easy.”

Rarity watched out the window as they drove through town. If anyone knew the subject matter, Shirley knew all about marriage. The good and the bad.

When they got to the nursing home, Sally Ball, the administrator, met them at the door. She stood in front of Shirley with her arms crossed. “I didn’t realize you’d be here today. I thought we agreed that George’s move would be put on the aides’ to-do list.”

Rarity heard the steel in her friend’s answer.

“Actually, you told me that I couldn’t move his boxes myself due to my age. So I brought someone to help me. I don’t want George stuck in that windowless room for weeks while you deal with staffing issues.” Shirley pulled her wagon closer to her. “And I brought supplies so you don’t have to be inconvenienced at all.”

“I didn’t mean to say we have staffing issues. The aides are all busy with resident tasks and…” Sally paused and looked at Shirley. She must have seen the determination as well. “Okay, fine. You’re more than welcome to move George’s things. You will need a nurse to transfer him from one hall to the other. I’ll let them know to expect you andyour friend.”

“Thank you so much.” Shirley turned around and winked at Rarity. “We’ll get this done before lunch. George hates it when his lunch is late.Or he used to.”

Sally moved so Shirley could wheel her wagon into the resident area, and Rarity tried to follow. Sally touched Rarity’s arm, stopping her. “I wanted to tell you that I was so pleased to see you at William’s memorial. He didn’t have a lot of family in the area. It was nice to see Sedonarepresented.”

Rarity nodded. “I know William’s aunt was pleased with the turnout, even though she and that side of the family were estranged.”

Sally frowned. “He had an aunt who attended? I thought it was only his mom and stepdadin the area.”

“The aunt lives in Flagstaff near his grandfather. I don’t know if there are more relatives nearby. I didn’t have much of a chance to talk to Daisy.” Rarity nodded to Shirley, who was standing at the doors to the secured area, waving at her to follow. “I better catch up. We can chat later.”

As Rarity hurried over to follow Shirley, she could feel Sally’s eyes burning a hole in her back. So William hadn’t told her about his father or relatives. Was this an issue for the administrator who had thrown away a file to keep his indiscretions with a patient a secret?Rarity wanted to have an honest chat with Drew about the administrator and the social worker at Sedona Memory Care.

Maybe before the sleuthing group meets tomorrow.

Shirley smiled at the nurse on the floor and handed her the pan of cinnamon rolls she’d brought along. “How’s Georgedoing today?”

“He’s a doll. Now that Lizzy’s gone, he’s calmer. Terrance came this morning and played cards with him for a few hours. That man’s a keeper. I hear you’re moving George back to his old room?” The nurse’s name tag said she was Shevonne. “I know he’ll be happier back with his roommate; he talks about himall the time.”

The look on Shirley’s face almost broke Rarity’s heart. She decided to follow up on what Shevonne had said. “Lizzy Hamilton left?”

“Oh, I probably shouldn’t have said that, medical privacy law and all, but I guess since she’s not here anymore, it shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Shevonne looked around, as if to see if anyonewas listening.

“I won’t say anything. She was actually in my bookstore last week and mentioned she was moving out and getting married?” Rarity leaned into the nurses’ station. “I mean, I’m glad for her, but going from being in a facility to running a household, that’s a big step.”

“That’s Lizzy for you. She was a hard-core romantic. She said her boyfriend was coming to rescue her all the time. I called her Rapunzel and she loved it. She even started braiding her hair. But no, she didn’t get married. I hear she went to a facility in California where her sister moved.” Shevonne leaned forward. “If you ask me, that William Jully had the girl tied up in knots. I saw him going into her room at night. She pretended to be interested in George—she would wink at me when she was flirting with him. No, those two had a thing going on. I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but William Jully was trouble witha capital T.”

Shirley and Rarity made their way to George’s room. He was sitting at a table, playing cards with Terrance. As they entered, Terrance stood. “Oh, I didn’t expect you here today.”

George looked up from the cards in his hand. “Don’t disturb us. I’ve got this guy over a barrel.”

“We’ll pack up your things while you play out that hand. Then maybe you and Terrance could go to the activity room to play. Rarity and I will get you set up in your old room while you’re takingTerrance to the cleaners.” Shirley started folding up a box. “How does that sound?”

“Great. I hate this room.” He stared at Shirley. “What’s your name again? You seem familiar.”

“I’m Shirley.” The brightness in her voice wavered a little. “This is Rarity and we’re here to get you moved.”

“Hi, Shirley. You sure look familiar.” He looked up at Terrance, who was still standing. “Are you going to finish this hand or keep gawking at thepretty women?”

Shirley and Rarity worked on packing up George’s room, and when he and Terrance left for the activity room, she collapsed on the bed. “I don’t know why I keep trying. He hasn’t recognized me for months now.”

“Because you love him. Good or bad, you’ve committed. I’d hate to see you going through this.” Rarity sat next to her. She didn’t mention the pain on Terrance’s face when he saw Shirley in the room.

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