Valerie walked into the administrator’s office at the nursing home, sat down at her desk, and tried to turn on the computer. She managed to turn on the monitor, but it only gave her a “No Signal” sign.
Valerie huffed in frustration. They kept changing the way these darn computers worked, so that as soon as you figured it out, they changed it and you had to learn everything all over again.
She picked up the receiver of the phone on her desk and dialed the extension for IT. “This is IT,” said a voice on the other end.
“Hello, this is Valerie. I think something’s wrong with my computer. Could you please send someone to check on it for me?”
“Sure. Where are you?”
Valerie took a moment to respond, she was so stunned at the stupidity of the question. “What do you mean, where am I? I’m in my office. Where else would I be?”
“Oh, right. Um, sure Ms. Valerie, we’ll send someone right away.”
“Thank you.”
While she waited, Valerie started looking through some of the files on her desk. She picked one up off the top, glancing at the name before she opened it: Love, Mary. That was funny. She had a neighbor named Mary Love. What are the odds? Perhaps they were related.
Valerie started looking through the file and her eyes landed first on Mary’s medical records, where a nurse had made a note about a persistent cough Mary had developed since the weather outside had turned cold and their concern that it might be (or develop into) pneumonia. How strange! Valerie’s neighbor was just complaining to her that morning that she couldn’t stop coughing, and that her doctor was keeping an eye on it in case it turned out to be pneumonia.
Valerie kept reading until a shadow fell over the page and Valerie looked up to see a figure standing over her, blocking the light from the ceiling lamp.
“Ah, there you are,” said Valerie. “I tried turning on the computer when I came in this morning, but all I got was that stupid message saying it can’t find a signal.”
“Now, Ms. Valerie, how many times do I have to tell you this isn’t your office anymore?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I was looking all over for you on the third floor when Tim calls me and tells me you’re in here again. Now come on upstairs before Ms. Gaven comes in.”
“I don’t know who Ms. Gaven is. Do I have an appointment with her?”
“No, Ms. Valerie.” She looked at the open file on Valerie’s desk. “You have an appointment with Mary Love.”
“Ah! Yes, of course. Let’s go then, shall we?” Valerie grabbed Mary’s file.
“I’ll carry that for you, Ms. Valerie. You’ve had so much trouble getting up the stairs these days that you’re going to need both your hands for support.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you.” Valerie handed the file over, but then she thought about it. “Perhaps we’ll take the elevator today.”
“You sure?”
“I don’t see why not. After all, it’s there for a reason. It would be silly not to use it.”
“All right. While we’re at it, would you like to use your wheelchair?”
Valerie was surprised to find a wheelchair sitting outside her door as they exited the office. But it had a tag bearing her name tied to one of the handles, and as she looked at it for a moment, she found it did look somewhat familiar after all. “Yes. OK, why not?”
She sat down in the wheelchair and allowed herself to be steered to, and then on the elevator, and then off the elevator when they reached the third floor. They navigated their way past the nurse’s station, down a hallway, and into Mary Love’s room.
“Hello, Mary,” said Valerie. “How is your cough today?”
Mary responded with a bout of coughing that sounded like she was trying to hack up a lung.
“Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound any better at all.”
“No. We’ll see what the doctor says when he gets here. In the meantime, do you want to play gin rummy?”
“Sure, why not?”
Valerie was pushed up to the table that sat in the corner of the room she shared with Mary, who was already shuffling a deck of cards.
Valerie looked skeptically at the cards being dealt her with hands that may or may not be contaminated with pneumonia. She shrugged it off as she picked up the cards and began to play. She’d just have to be sure to thoroughly wash her hands once they were done playing. It was necessary when working with the elderly.
The end.