Race to Refuge

Chapter Twenty-Five: Mallory

It wasn't just that Ginny's grandmother didn't recognize Ty's name. Ginny's face was stricken when she realized her grandmother didn't recognize her.

I reached out to give her a hug, and then answered for Ginny, "Mrs. Brown, Ty and Ginny here are your grandchildren. We just ran by to check on you and make sure you're okay."

The old lady gave a vague nod. Then she smiled kindly at Ginny. "What a sweet girl. Do you live here, too?"

Ginny looked up at me with tears in her eyes. It was clear to me that Clarice Brown had been slipping into dementia for probably a good while. It also seemed likely that Ginny's parents had decided not to share that information with their children. Maybe they'd kept it secret to keep from upsetting their children. But their approach sure hadn't worked out for the best.

I cleared my throat and said briskly, "Mrs. Brown, now that we've checked in on you, Ginny and I need to go. But what I want to find out is whether you'd like to come with us or not."

Ginny gave my hand a grateful squeeze. I wasn't sure that Clarice Brown would want to leave, but I wanted to at least give her the option. Plus, I wasn't sure how well she could fend for herself here, or who might be available to take care of her.

Ginny's grandmother nodded thoughtfully as if she were carefully considering the choice. Then she said, "I want to stay."

"Are you sure, Nana? You can come with us. We're going to try to find Ty." Ginny seemed to have trouble saying Ty's name. I knew her hopes were high that he'd be here at Crofton.

Her grandmother turned that blank, confused look on Ginny at the mention of Ty. She mumbled, "I want to stay."

Right then there was a tap at the door and we turned to see a thin nurse standing there. Her lips were pressed together in disapproval and her face was lined with stress. "It's you," she said brusquely. "I guess you made your way in."

This was the woman who'd opened the gate for us then. I looked at her coolly.

The nurse glanced at Mrs. Brown. "We need to move you now," she said. "Really, we should have moved you weeks ago, but we were trying to give your family time to help you."

Clarice Brown gazed uncomprehendingly at her.

I said, "Where are you moving Mrs. Brown? Surely business isn't carrying on as usual right now."

The nurse pursed her lips again. "It certainly isn't. But I want to make it easier on myself since I'm really the only staff left. I'm moving all the remaining residents to the memory care unit. It's secured and can be locked from the inside as well as the outside." She studied Mrs. Brown. "And, of course, Mrs. Brown should have been placed in the unit weeks ago."

Ginny frowned. "So she won't be in her room? Won't that be confusing for her?"

"She's already confused," snapped the nurse.

I'd had just about enough from this woman but I was trying to keep from flying off the handle since I felt that was the last thing Ginny needed right now. "I'll put some things together and carry them over to the memory unit. It might help her get more adjusted there."

"And you are?" the nurse tried to look down her nose at me, but since she was shorter than I was, it didn't work well.

"I'm a friend of Ginny's. And Ginny is Clarice Brown's granddaughter. Mrs. Brown has decided to stay put and not travel with us," I said.

Ginny's voice was amazingly steady when she spoke to the nurse. "If my brother Ty comes looking for me, can you tell him that I'm safe? And that I have a new friend, Mallory, who is looking after me?"