Dark Beach (6 page)

“Yeah.
Considering I can’t remember her name, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. Wonder what she’ll think if she finds out I nailed the door shut. What a mess. We’re lucky crime rates are low here. Anyway, remind me to ring the locksmith to come out and fix it.”

Jenny nodded. “Sure.” Her mind was elsewhere, thinking of the stranger
s that could possibly access her prospective home.

Ron pressed the buzzer. Waited.
It was a longer wait than anticipated. He pressed again. “Hello?” he enquired of the intercom.

“Busy Bees Meadows, how may I help you?”
came and old woman’s voice, slightly odd in tone.

“Uh, yes. We’re here to see Geraldine James?”

The tone increased in pitch, excited. “Oh, come in. Come in.”

The door unlocked with a soft click. The smell hit them with a fist.

“Jesus.” Jenny whispered, one hand to her nose. “What
is
that?”

A
frail woman in a lavender dress greeted them and Jenny promptly gathered her manners and dropped her arms to her side.

Jenny had dressed up
—dusk pink, tight-fitting skinny pants beneath a white blouse. Kip looked as cute as ever in a pink dress by Jenny’s side and Ron wore pressed black pants and a baby blue button-up shirt.

“Hi! My name is Marilynn, and you are?”

“I’m her grandson. Ron.”

“May I see your ID please?”

“Sure. Here it is.” Ron shook his license from his wallet and handed it over.

“Thanks! Follow me. This way.”

The old woman hobbled down a beige-tiled hall. The stench became stronger; Jenny once more covered her nose with her sleeve.

“It’s so good to see new visitors. Gerry hasn’t had any in quite
a while ... well, Mrs. Coggington does come to see her weekly, but, you see, Mrs. Coggington has been laid up with arthritis these past few weeks. She had a hip reconstruction you see, and well … I did pay Mrs. Coggington a visit myself and took her some of those chocolates she likes. I know she likes them, because she brings them in for Gerry, although Gerry can’t eat them. This way now.”

“Thanks.” Ron was at a loss for words.

“Gerry just had surgery. She might not be able to speak yet,” Marilynn warned.

“Surgery?” Ron asked.

“Yes. They removed all her teeth.”

“You removed her
teeth
?”

“Yes, uh…” Marilynn paused before a door with the number 946 on it. “The last of her teeth had to be removed from decay,” she whispered.

Jenny and Ron’s eyes widened.

“Yes. You see, Gerry won’t let anyone brush her teeth anymore. We tried everything! She wouldn’t even let her favorite nurse, Sue, do it. Of course, she got an infection—deep down in the root. The dentist suggested
all her teeth be removed, because soon they’d
all
be in decay.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ron whispered back, loudly. “She has
no teeth at all. How does she eat?”

“I’m sorry.” Marilynn stared down at the linoleum floor. “I thought you would have known, being family.”

“Excuse us a minute.” Ron took Jenny by the arm and led her and Kip away, around the corner.

“What the hell?” He shook his head.

Jenny shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a place like this. Maybe they do this?” She put two fingers to her temple and rubbed. A slight headache was forming, along with a whiff of nausea. “Do we have to go back in there? What is that awful smell? It’s like something fucking died in here.”

“Shhhh, don’t say that. People may hear you.”

A nurse in magenta scrubs adorned with some ugly floral print passed them. Kip waved at her happily. She ignored the child; they all watched each other.

“Ron, seriously, I don’t think I can take this.”

“But it’s my Nana. We have to go in there! She may pass at any moment. I mean, Jesus—
her teeth
. She’s already lost her mind.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t going to tell you.” Ron bit his bottom lip. 

“What? Come on?”

He shook his head. “She has Alzheimer’s.”

“Oh! ... oh.” In all their years together, Ron had never mentioned that. “Really?”

“Yes. It’s the family secret. I was hoping we’d go in and she might be lucid or something, but with this tooth thing, hell. I don’t know why my mother never told me about this. She knew we were coming here.”

“You said it’s the family secret; your mother is obviously ashamed or something.”

“What the...? Well, let’s go in.”

Jenny stopped him. “No. You go first. I’ll wait out here and come in soon. Is that all right?”

“That doesn’t sound like a question.”

It wasn’t so bad sitting outside the room waiting
; Kip kept her company. The child swayed back and forth and fidgeted, sat up, got down, tapped on this, looked at that. Watching her, Jenny felt glad she was out here with the young, not in the room with the old and decrepit. Something about nursing homes gave her the creeps in general. She did not want Kip to see any of it.

The door opened and Ron stuck his head in. “She’s good. She looks fine, but she’s a bit confused. Come in, but I don’t think you should bring Kip. I’ll wait out here with her,” Ron said.

Jenny looked down at Kip, who was busy picking at something on the peach leathered bench. “Okay, I guess.” came her answer, despite the sense of terror welling up inside her.

With a deep breath in, and a fluff of her collar, Jenny opened the door to room 946. A lump lay still under the peach covers.

In the far corner was a small, rickety chair. Jenny took it, crossed her legs, and folded her arms. She was hiding, but from what or from whom she didn’t know. The pull-around privacy curtain was tucked back neatly behind the patient’s bed. Part of her wanted to go over there and pull it shut.

The lump moved.

Tightening up even more, Jenny closed her eyes, and said, “Gerry?”

There was no response.

“Gerry. I’m Jenny, your grandson Ron’s wife. He was just in here.” She opened her eyes to peek. Everything was still. The only sound was a dull ticking.
Oh no, there is a clock in this room!
Jenny thought.
Who’d want to know the time in a place like this? This is no place for time. It’s a place to lose yourself in your thoughts, or in the ramblings of your failing memory.

There was a sudden movement, something at the head of the bed, just under the sheets.

“Gerry?”

It was killing her—the ticking
; she couldn’t take it. Jenny tiptoed to the head of the bed.

“I know you’re under there. What are you doing under there?” She tried to sound nice, pleasant.

There was a fleshy snap.

Jenny backed up. A single drop of blood seeped through the pale apricot sheet.

There was a whimper, then another snap and more blood.

“Gerry?” Jenny pulled back the sheet.

The shrunken, white-haired woman’s face was smeared with crimson as she picked the stitches from her gums. Jenny stared, horrified, not even seeing the fist that came out from nowhere and popped her straight in the gut.

“Jesus Christ, you punched me!” Jenny yelled. “What are you doing?” Shielding her abdomen, she backed up further.

Gerry licked her lips.

Jenny frantically searched the room for the nurse call bell. “It’s got to be here somewhere!”

Gerry stared vacantly and kept picking at the stitches.

“Stop that, Gerry! You’re hurting yourself. Here it is, Jesus Christ.”

Jenny pushed the big red button and left the old woman to her fascinations.

* * *

“My God, honey. I’m so sorry you had to see that. She was fine when I went in. She just sat there looking out the window. I talked to her, told her about our lives a bit. I just don’t know what to think about all this.”

Ron backed the car out of Busy Bee Meadows and Jenny’s panic subsided a little. Ron was thinking of only one thing. “Chinese?” he asked.

“I have blood on my blouse.”

Ron didn’t even look. “How’d that happen?”

“Your Nana punched me, right in the ... here.” Jenny placed both hands over her belly.

“She what?”

“I know, right.”

Ron shook his head. He was driving, but he wasn’t particularly aware of the road. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine; luckily she’s weak. I think everything will be okay. I mean in there. I think it will be fine.”

Ron accidentally crossed the yellow line and then swerved out of the path of an on-coming car.

“Watch out, where are you going?” Jenny looked back to check on Kip, who was just sitting there, staring out of the window.

Nervously, Ron shook his head. “Okay, okay. I just can’t get over it. When you left, the nurses tied
my Nana to the bed. They tied her down so violently. I didn’t know they did stuff like that. I’ve only seen it in the movies—you know, when they put those insane people in padded cells and straitjackets. This is just a nursing home.”

“You didn’t see what she was doing. It was completely, utterly mad.” Jenny covered her face. All she could see were sharp teeth coming on.

“Stop it. Stop it. Go away,” she pleaded quietly. “I don’t want to see you … please.”

“I can’t go away; I’m driving. What are you talking about?” Ron asked.

“The teeth, I can’t get rid of them.”
Leave me alone
, she silently begged, but the mental image wouldn’t fade. In her mind’s eye, the whale turned, flipped its tail above the water and sucked her down, down into the dark with it.

“Jenny!” Ron pulled over and stopped the car. He got out and
hurried to his wife’s aid, unbuckling her seat belt and pulling her out onto the verge. Her eyes were shut, her breathing rapid. “Jenny! Wake up.”

No reply.

“Honey! Wake up! Wake up! I know you’re in there … Jenny.” He was at a loss for what to do.

Choking for air, Jenny tried to swim away. The water was thick as mud and the massive whale hung suspended in it, facing her, smiling at her, it’s teeth so sharp and its eyes black and empty. She reached out to touch it, but it was just out of reach.

Her eyes flew open.

“Oh my God, honey. Honey? You’re okay, you’re okay,” Ron babbled, rocking her back and forth.

“What?” Jenny looked up him. He was red-faced and sweating. A car passed, slowed, and then continued on.

“You fainted or something. I don’t know what happened.”

“How long was I out?”

“Just a few minutes. What happened? Do you remember?”

“No. I don’t remember a thing. Where are we? Why am I on the street?”

“I pulled you out, to get air. Wait … I don’t know. I just had to get us out of the car. Are you okay? Should we go back? Do you want to eat?”

“Eat what?” Jenny sat up, feeling slightly dizzy.

“Chinese food,” said Ron. “We’re almost there.”

“I don’t want to go in, not like this. Look at me.” Jenny looked down at the bloodstain on her shirt. Memories of the nursing home flooded back to her. “Your Nana … we saw her.” Jenny shook her head. “Can we just get takeout?”

“Yes, we can. Do you want me to take you to a doctor?”

“No. No way. That is the last place I want to be after what happened earlier. Anyway, I am a little hungry, and I’ve heard this place is the best joint in Rocky Shores.”

Ron sighed, relieved to hear Jenny’s tone lighten. “Yes, I’ve heard that too.”

THREE

Morning brought sunshine and contentment, and Jenny threw open all the doors and windows. A cool ocean breeze greeted her.

“Ah.” She took a seat on the old rocking chair in the living room.

“Chinese food for breakfast?” Ron stood behind her, rocking the chair with one hand.

“It was just so good; I couldn’t resist.”

“May I have a bite?” Ron eased the carton from her hands.

“Yes, you may. I’m just about full.”

He took the last two morsels of sweet and sour chicken. Charlie, his head on his paws on the plush navy blue sofa, raised his ears.

“I just fed you, you silly dog,” Jenny said.

“Jenny?”

“Yeah, hon.”

“I need to tell you something.” Ron’s voice was grim.

Jenny turned her head. “What?”

Ron paused, not knowing what to say. “Um.”

“Tell me.”

“I got an urgent message this morning when I checked my voicemail. I don’t know how to say this, but … there’s an emergency at work. They need me to come in.”