Patricia Rockwell - Essie Cobb 04 - Ghosted

by Patricia Rockwell

  “No,” said Essie, “it’s just that he seems to be popping up when I least expect him.”

  “Something must have reminded you of him,” suggested DeeDee as she ordered Essie to lift her arms and slid her pullover top on.

  “My grandson Keith came by last night,” offered Essie. “When he showed up at my door, I almost fainted. He was wearing his uniform and his hair was in a crew-cut. DeeDee, he looked almost exactly like I remember John looking when he first signed up for the service.”

  “Oh, my!” replied DeeDee, wide-eyed. “That does sound creepy. No wonder you’re dreaming about him. But it’s good, Essie. Good dreams, right?”

  “Mostly,” she said, looking down and scowling.

  “What do you mean, mostly?”

  “Mostly except for the rolling room and the giant rodent,” Essie replied. She peered up at DeeDee over the top of her glasses that DeeDee had just handed her from her end table.

  “You’re dreaming about giant rodents?” asked DeeDee, sitting next to Essie on her bed.

  “More than just dreaming,” admitted Essie.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know, DeeDee,” said Essie, cringing. “I’m afraid I might be going crazy, or senile. I’m seeing things during the day. Not just dreaming at night.”

  “Now wait a minute, Essie,” said DeeDee, turning to Essie on the bed and grabbing her shoulders. “Have you talked to anyone about this?”

  “Not really,” said Essie. “Well, maybe my friends—Marjorie, Opal, and Fay—at lunch. And Lorena. I guess I must have forgotten a whole day too.”

  “Hmm,” replied DeeDee, “you have been a little strange lately, Essie. You mean you lost track of time—”

  “And I’ve been seeing strange things,” said Essie. “I’m really getting worried.”

  “You need to tell your doctor,” said DeeDee. “This isn’t something trivial. It might be serious and if you’re seeing strange things during the day and losing track of time, your doctor needs to know. I’m going to let the head nurse know—”

  “No!” cried Essie. “Please, DeeDee! Don’t tell on me! It’s probably just something I ate. I’m feeling much better this morning. Look! I can stand up just fine!” And with that, Essie pushed DeeDee’s hand off of her and rose on her own without the aid of her walker.

  “But, Essie,” said DeeDee, “physical stability isn’t the same thing as…”

  “As mental stability? I know, DeeDee. You think I have Alzheimer’s, don’t you?”

  “I didn’t say that, Essie,” replied DeeDee, her hand on Essie’s shoulder. “There are all sorts of things that could cause you to have these symptoms, but whatever they are, you can’t just ignore them. We need someone to check you out.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be better today,” insisted Essie. “Why don’t we go out in my living room and you can test me. I’ll do the daily puzzle for you to prove that I’m still mentally stable.”

  “Essie,” said DeeDee calmly, her hand still firmly on Essie’s shoulder. “No one doubts your intelligence. This isn’t the same thing. You know it.” She grabbed Essie’s other shoulder and stared directly into Essie’s face. “We need to get you checked out.”

  “Oh, all right,” replied Essie. “But don’t tell my daughters! They’ll just panic.”

  “I won’t do that,” said DeeDee. “I’ll have the head nurse come check on you sometime today. How’s that?”

  “I guess it’s okay,” said Essie.

  “Good,” replied DeeDee, rising. “Now, let’s get your morning meds and you can head off for breakfast. It’s getting late and I know you don’t want to miss eating with your pals.”

  “How late is it?” asked Essie, reaching over to the end table for her wristwatch. “Oh, percolating participles! I’m really late!” She rose and pushed her walker quickly into the living room. DeeDee followed and veered off to the kitchen to prepare her morning pills. Essie rolled over to the recliner and plopped down, picking up her clipboard.

  “See, DeeDee!” she called out to her aide, who was standing in her kitchenette talking quietly on her cell phone. “I finished this puzzle last night! All the squares are filled in! Pretty good for an old gal, right?”

  DeeDee finished her short call and came over to Essie, glass and pills in hand. Essie took the meds from her aide and quickly downed them without complaint.

  “Essie, you are the puzzle whiz!” replied DeeDee. “I could never figure those things out. I don’t know how you do it.”

  “Ick! I still hate that powder stuff,” she said. “I’m going to tell Doctor Graves the next time I see him to prescribe a different brand—one that doesn’t taste like sand.”

  “You’re a trouper, Essie,” said DeeDee, smiling. The doorbell rang.

  “Tooting tarantulas!” cried Essie. “Who’d come ringing my doorbell before breakfast?”

  “It’s just Nancy,” replied DeeDee, going quickly to the door and opening it. “I called her to come see you.”

  “Oh, DeeDee,” chided Essie. “That wasn’t necessary.”

  DeeDee opened the door and a woman wearing green scrub pants and a flowered top entered. She had a stethoscope around her neck and carried a medical case.

  “Miss Essie!” she said in greeting. “DeeDee tells me you’re having bad dreams? Even during the day? Is that right?”

  “Oh, Nancy,” said Essie from her recliner. “DeeDee shouldn’t have bothered you. I’m just fine. I must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me. You know, sometimes you get a bad pickle and it makes you see things.” Essie mumbled her excuse as Nancy smiled and bent down next to Essie’s recliner and applied her stethoscope to Essie’s chest.

  “Sounds good!” she pronounced. “You just saw your doctor recently?”

  “I did,” said Essie. “He said I’m fine. He didn’t even weigh me.” She beamed proudly as if not being weighed was a sign of extremely good results at a doctor visit.

  “Goodness,” said Nancy, smiling. She looked in Essie’s eyes and ears and asked her to open her mouth. She had Essie respond to questions regarding the number of fingers she was holding up and the direction they were moving. Essie had been given these types of questions many times before at various doctor visits.

  “Tell me, Essie,” said Nancy, “just what sort of symptoms have you been having?”

  “Oh, nothing much,” replied Essie, laughing. “I’ve just been having some strange dreams…or daydreams, I guess.”

  “You mean, dreams you remember when you wake up?” asked the nurse.

  “Yes,” said Essie, “but more than that. Dreams or…I’m not sure what…seeing things sometimes.”

  “Like what?” Nancy asked. “What do you see?”

  “Things I know aren’t really there,” replied Essie. “So they must be dreams, right? Oh, I hope I don’t have Alzheimer’s!”

  “Essie, now let’s don’t jump to conclusions!” replied Nancy.

  “That’s what DeeDee said,” sighed Essie. “But what else can it be when you see giant squirrels in your mirror?”

  “You see giant squirrels in your mirror?” asked the nurse cautiously.

  “Yes,” squeaked Essie. “And once in my bathtub.”

  “You were dreaming this?” asked the nurse, attempting to clarify.

  “No!” cried Essie. “I wish I were dreaming it! But it really happened. Or I think it really happened. Oh, I just don’t know. I’m so confused!” Essie put her head in her hands in anguish.

  “Oh, Essie,” said Nancy, her hand on Essie’s shoulder. DeeDee bent down and also touched her arm.

  “She’s really upset about this,” said DeeDee to the head nurse.

  “It’s very strange,” replied Nancy. “She’s never one to complain. Always so stoic.”

  “I know,” replied DeeDee. “What do you think is going on?”

  “I don’t know,” said Nancy, “but, I’m going to find out. You keep an eye on her, DeeDee.”

 
“Should I stay with her?”

  “No,” said Nancy. “But we should check in with her. Essie, are you able to get to breakfast on your own?”

  “Of course I am,” replied Essie, pulling away from the two women and pushing herself out of her recliner. “And it’s really late so I’d better go or I won’t get anything to eat.”

  “I won’t let that happen, Essie,” said Nancy. “I’ll make sure they keep the kitchen open for you, if I have to.” She gave Essie a little hug. Evidently, reasoned Essie, she had passed Nancy’s brief examination. “Everything looks good, Essie, but if you experience any more of these weird symptoms, I want you to contact me right away. Here’s my direct line.”

  Nancy handed Essie a small business card. Then she headed out the door.

  “Okay, Miss Essie,” said DeeDee, “you’d better get going to breakfast. But we’ll be checking up on you. And don’t be despondent. If anyone can get to the bottom of these weird dreams or whatever you’re having, it’s Nancy. You have a great day!”

  DeeDee had cleaned up the medicine glass and placed it in the drainer in her sink. She’d put the pill bottles back in their locked box and up in the cupboard. Then she’d headed out Essie’s front door.

  Essie remained sitting in her recliner. Her heart was beating really fast. She knew she still had time to get to breakfast—and even if she didn’t make it in time, Nancy would tell the kitchen to stay open for her. Of course, she wanted to get there before Opal, Marjorie, and Fay left. They would all want to see her and she had a lot to tell them. But it was hard to actually leave her room. She looked around. Why was this all happening to her?

  Yes, she was ninety years old, but up until this moment, she’d never experienced any age-related mental flaw. She had always prided herself on her cleverness and her sharp wit. After all, she was Happy Haven’s detective. She had deduced numerous mysteries—and now here she was with the biggest mystery of all. What was happening to her? To Essie Cobb, Senior Sleuth? And why couldn’t she figure it out?

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

  ––H. P. Lovecraft

  Whatever was happening inside Essie’s body—or probably more accurately, inside her brain—Essie realized that she couldn’t deal with it––or anything, unless she had a good breakfast. So, as soon as DeeDee had left to help her next resident get dressed, Essie grabbed her walker and forced herself to head to the dining hall. The Halloween decorations were now at full throttle with the holiday just a few days off. As Essie entered the lobby, some spooky but light-hearted music was playing, punctuated by ghostly groans from time to time.

  The residents seated in the lobby had obviously become accustomed to the theme music and appeared to be ignoring it. Some were reading the morning paper; some were sitting and enjoying the fire in the fireplace, and a group of early risers were already off to a lively game of poker at one of the game tables. Essie ignored them and rolled quickly across the main lobby and to the dining hall. She could see through the glass partition that most of the residents had completed their breakfast. Some were still seated sipping coffee and a few were still working on a tough bit of bacon or ham.

  Essie drove up to the main dining hall door and rolled inside. The host who usually greeted each resident was nowhere to be seen—a sure sign that breakfast was almost over. She guided her walker back into the dining hall and could see that her group of friends was still seated at their regular table—drinking coffee. Essie arrived breathlessly, parked her walker, and slipped quietly into her chair.

  “Essie,” said Opal, “I thought you weren’t coming to breakfast. You’re late.”

  “I know,” responded Essie, fluffing out her napkin on her lap and opening her menu in front of her. She peeked around, looking for a waiter.

  “Where have you been, Essie?” asked Marjorie over the top of her coffee cup.

  Santos popped up beside Essie.

  “Miss Essie,” he said, “I save you some Canadian bacon. I know you like. You want scrambled eggs too?”

  Essie sighed. It was so nice to have someone who wasn’t so nosy about her comings and goings and who just seemed to like to help her. Santos was a dear and she resolved to give him an extra-large tip today. And seeing as how she typically never gave tips—no one at Happy Haven did—it would come as a surprise she was sure. Santos jotted on his pad and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “So, Essie?” asked Marjorie. “What have you been up to now?”

  “Why do you assume I’m up to something, Marjorie?” asked Essie with a certain annoyance. “What if I’d fallen in the bath tub?”

  “Did you?” asked Opal in alarm.

  “No,” replied Essie, “but Marjorie always assumes I’m doing something I shouldn’t.”

  “You usually are,” shot back Marjorie, her auburn curls bouncing as she tossed her head.

  “If you must know,” began Essie, “I had a terrible night!”

  “Not still worried about the haunted house, are you, Essie?” asked Opal.

  “I don’t know,” said Essie, pondering the possibility of a connection between her fear of going to the haunted house and the strange dreams and hallucinations she’d been having. “Could that make me have weird dreams?”

  “What kind of dreams?” asked Marjorie.

  “Some nice ones about John,” said Essie, “but some really strange. And some not at night either.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Opal, leaning in. “Not at night? You mean daydreams?”

  “I don’t know, Opal,” said Essie, whispering. “I told you I’ve been seeing some strange things lately. Maybe it is because I’m thinking about this field trip. Do you think that could be it?”

  “What else?” asked Marjorie.

  Essie looked around the dining hall. No one else seemed to be paying any attention to her. “Well, it could be Alzheimer’s!”

  “Not you, Essie!” declared Opal. “You are as sane as a Saint Bernard!”

  “What?” cried Essie. “A dog? You think I’m a dog, Opal?”

  “It’s just a saying,” replied Opal, clutching her namesake necklace defensively as if she expected Essie to bean her over the head. “I just meant I think you’re smart.”

  “Even smart people can lose their marbles,” said Essie mysteriously.

  Santos appeared and placed a delightfully aromatic plate of eggs, Canadian bacon, and some grits before Essie. He filled her coffee cup and then departed.

  “That young man is the best waiter at Happy Haven!” she declared, now totally devouring her breakfast.

  “He’s the only waiter at Happy Haven,” noted Marjorie, “at least for us. We hardly ever get any of the other ones.”

  “He’s sweet on Essie,” added Opal, “that’s what I think!”

  “Oh, pitiful potbellies!” said Essie, brushing off the compliment. “That’s ridiculous, but whatever, I am going to leave him a nice tip.”

  “We’re not supposed to tip,” said Opal, her thin eyebrows arching sharply upward.

  “I’ll do what I want,” said Essie, as a piece of bacon flopped out onto her chin. She grabbed her napkin and wiped it off and then immediately returned to her meal.

  “Essie,” said Marjorie, “so, what is it you’ve been seeing? You said you were seeing things? Not like in a dream?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Marjorie,” replied Essie, sighing. “I’ve probably just imagined it all. First, I lost all that entire day.”

  “We remember that,” said Opal.

  “And then the giant squirrel…” added Essie, looking off as if trying to remember something.

  “What giant squirrel?” asked Marjorie.

  “The one who appeared in my mirror…and my bathtub!” said Essie firmly, turning to Marjorie.

  “Your bathtub?” asked Marjorie. “You should call maintenance. If you have rodents in your apartment.”
<
br />   “I don’t have rodents, Marjorie,” said Essie, sneering. “I have hallucinations. I see things, then I blink and they’re gone. I told you that!”

  “Oh, Essie!” declared Opal. “Maybe you should tell your aide or your doctor.”

  “My aide knows,” reported Essie. “She called Nancy down and she examined me. They say they’re going to keep an eye on me.”

  “That’s good!” said Opal.

  Essie had finished her breakfast at supersonic speed. Now, with her stomach full she was feeling excellent and all this talk of the weird things that had been happening seemed almost as if they had happened to another person. She glanced at her three friends and around at the few other residents in the dining hall. Everyone looked perfectly normal. Whatever had happened to her was probably just a fluke. It probably wouldn’t happen again.

  “What about the field trip, Essie?” asked Marjorie. “If you’re feeling badly, will you still be able to go with us today?”

  “Oh, it’s today?” asked Essie. “I had forgotten.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Opal. “We won’t let you forget. We’ll come down to your apartment and get you when it’s time to go. How about that?”

  “You don’t need to do that, Opal. I won’t forget,” said Essie with a smile. Her entire outlook had changed and she was certain she’d be able to attend the haunted house field trip. It was amazing what a little food could do for a person.

  “I have things to do before then,” said Opal, rising. “But I’ll be down to get you before ten, Essie, if you want. Don’t worry.” She patted Essie’s shoulder. “Come on, Fay.” The two women set down their empty cups and headed out of the dining hall.

  “I’ll come down too, Essie,” said Marjorie, also rising. “Don’t worry. We won’t let you forget. I know you’ll enjoy the field trip.” She bent low, leaning against her walker so she could whisper into Essie’s ear. “Remember how much fun we had at the last one.” Giving Essie a sweet smile, Marjorie rolled her walker around and followed Opal and Fay down the center of the hall and out into the lobby.

  Hmm, Essie mused. They’re not going to upset me. I’m feeling so much better now that I’ve eaten that I’m actually excited about the haunted house. I’ll just be sure to take a potty break right before and I should be fine.