Aging with Gracie Read Free

she mumbled as she made her way through the doors, tugging on her badgeless banner in the process.
    Grace couldn’t agree more, but before she could say so, the girl continued.
    “This place would depress a Psychiatrist. I know so because my mom is one, and you don’t see her here, do you ?” With the parting comment, she gave Grace a desperate look over her shoulder and followed the rest of the group through the foyer toward what Grace presumed was an activity room.
    For a moment, Grace felt an odd kinship with the girl. She was so obviously out of place with the rest of the group that it was almost laughable. If her lamb-to-the-slaughter expression hadn’t given her away, the lack of neat blonde pigtails had certainly sealed the deal.
    “I’m right there with you,” Grace said to herself, wishing all the while that she could escape the place and head back to the Dairy Freeze she had spotted on her way into town. A triple chocolate milkshake would have been the ideal cure for her job-induced melancholy.
    She leashed Mr. Knightly to one of the columns and ordered him to stay put before heading into the building
    “May I help you?” a voice asked just as Grace turned back toward the door to make the break for town.
    Grace raised her eyes to find an uncanny likeness of the evil psychiatric nurse she’d once seen in an old movie standing before her. The woman was dressed in white from head to toe. Grace clasped her freshly manicured hands in front of her to quell an insane urge to flick the starched white cap off the woman’s head.
    “Yes, you may,” Grace answered. She took a deep breath and tried to form the business smile the image consultant had shown her. “I’m Grace Woodhouse. I’m with The Woodhouse Corporation. I will be overseeing the renovations and other changes here at Mansfield Park.”
    “Hmm. The boss’s daughter.” The woman eyed Grace’s attire and turned her lips down into a distasteful smirk. “We’ve been expecting someone to show up for the past week.”
    “I had to take care of a few things before leaving Atlanta,” Grace told her.
    “I’m sure you did.” She pulled out a tissue and sniffed loudly. “Well, now that you’re here, you might as well follow me. I’m Agatha North, the Nurse Manager. I’ll give you a quick tour while the boss finishes up his lunch.”
    “Thank you, Ms. North,” Grace smiled.
    The pale-faced, white-washed witch led her down a hallway littered with forgotten wheelchairs and an odd assortment of clothing and into a dining room where a group of elderly residents sat in uncomfortable silence at a multitude of tables positioned haphazardly around the room. A depressingly uncomfortable lump settled in Grace’s throat at the sight.
    As she glanced around the room, she knew that she had to do something for these people. Her father might have planted her here to simply test her mettle, but Grace knew that there was an even greater purpose for her arrival…these folks actually needed her!
    A harsh clapping noise interrupted her personal pep talk. The Florence Nightingale wannabe stomped toward the front of the room as she tried to gain the attention of the residents.
    “As a part of earning their medical badges, the Willow Mountain Scouts will be assisting our staff with Influenza vaccinations. Appointments are on a walk-in basis and will begin in fifteen minutes in the recreation room. Everyone is expected to attend!” she announced.
    The volume of her voice was only a few decibels lower than the screeching landing of a fighter jet, but Grace watched with fascination as the people sitting at the tables barely raised their heads in acknowledgment before delving back into whatever indelicacy the cook had prepared for lunch.
    The woman marched toward Grace and snapped her folder closed. “Follow me, Miss Woodhouse. Since you will be working closely with the residents, you will be required to have the vaccination just like the other