“Sunny is a leader.”
I know what my lawyer wanted from that question. Just because Cole made a promise to his grandmother, it didn’t mean I would follow his plan. Would they draw the right conclusion though? I look at the jury. Nobody seems to be dozing off today. Or will they just think Sunny didn’t just assist with a suicide because of a boy she loved. Sunny led the way .
The Twelfth Visit — sixteen hours left
At the Christmas party tons of people came and there was lots of food. My job was to get residents with no family their refreshments. That was Johann and Marlene. That’s right, Mr. Brooks, Johann came back. Fred’s wife attended the party so I really felt bad for Marlene. Also, sorry to say, you didn’t win a tree.
No one told me Johann was returning but when I arrived at Paradise Manor, an ambulance was parked in front. As I passed through the two sets of doors, I saw a small reception crew fussing: Katherine and Gillian, Mrs. Johnson and a new male nurse I didn’t know. In the middle I could make out Johann sitting in a wheelchair.
“You came back just in time. Santa Claus is coming today, Papa,” the nurse told him.
“We’re so happy you’re home,” Katherine said. I liked her better because she really sounded as though she meant it.
I rushed over. “ Frohe Weihnachten! ” I told him. “Merry Christmas” in German. Then I hugged him and kissed his cheek, which was warm but stiff. He needed a good moisturizer.
I looked in his eyes. The pupils were as small as needle points and he didn’t even blink. He no longer ranted. He seemed somewhere else but here in this chair sat his body as a place mark.
I frowned, feeling like I’d lost something, too.
As they wheeled him back to his room to get him ready for the party, I joined Cole in the dining room. A Santa Claus who looked familiar was setting up a speaker system.
“Elvis is back,” Cole told me, waggling his eyebrows.
On the right side of the room a banquet table held festive-looking food: a shrimp tree, meatballs in a crockpot, crustless sandwiches on green and pink bread, multi-grain rolls and roses of butter, sausages in puff pastry, and squares and cookies of every flavour and shape.
The regular tables were crowded with residents and their families. I saw the pirate boy from Halloween with some kind of red punch staining the corners of his mouth: Boo Berry juice turned Christmas Cranberry. He carried a plateful of meatballs over to a table where his grandmother sat. She was one of the seniors I still didn’t know.
By another table, I saw Fred being kissed by a leopard-print-wearing blonde. Hussy! Although the lady probably was his real wife. Still, how was Marlene going to take this? She sat at the corner of a table with Susan. Luckily, Cole’s grandmother was parked there too, so Cole and I could work together.
“Merry Christmas, Marlene!” I said. I strolled over to the table to load up a plate with two rolls and some meatballs and gravy. “Here you go. Look Marlene, see all the nice bread. You won’t have to go to the store today.”
That made her turn her head towards Fred’s table. She always walked the halls with Fred to shop for her imaginary bread. She gave him a wave once or twice but he didn’t even look her way.
“Do you like shrimp? I can get you some.”
She didn’t answer. Instead she picked up her fork and continued to watch Fred and his leopard-spotted wife. She was feeding him shrimp. I saw a handsome man maybe my father’s age who looked just like Fred. His son. You could see what Fred must have been like when he was healthier.
At that moment, Gillian wheeled Johann in and parked him right by Marlene.
I got him some sausages. I thought they might be soft enough for him.
Marlene put her hand on his.
There you go Marlene, there are more fish in the sea. Santa Elvis began to sing. “I’ll have a bluh, bluh blue Christmas without you.”
I looked around. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a
I know what my lawyer wanted from that question. Just because Cole made a promise to his grandmother, it didn’t mean I would follow his plan. Would they draw the right conclusion though? I look at the jury. Nobody seems to be dozing off today. Or will they just think Sunny didn’t just assist with a suicide because of a boy she loved. Sunny led the way .
The Twelfth Visit — sixteen hours left
At the Christmas party tons of people came and there was lots of food. My job was to get residents with no family their refreshments. That was Johann and Marlene. That’s right, Mr. Brooks, Johann came back. Fred’s wife attended the party so I really felt bad for Marlene. Also, sorry to say, you didn’t win a tree.
No one told me Johann was returning but when I arrived at Paradise Manor, an ambulance was parked in front. As I passed through the two sets of doors, I saw a small reception crew fussing: Katherine and Gillian, Mrs. Johnson and a new male nurse I didn’t know. In the middle I could make out Johann sitting in a wheelchair.
“You came back just in time. Santa Claus is coming today, Papa,” the nurse told him.
“We’re so happy you’re home,” Katherine said. I liked her better because she really sounded as though she meant it.
I rushed over. “ Frohe Weihnachten! ” I told him. “Merry Christmas” in German. Then I hugged him and kissed his cheek, which was warm but stiff. He needed a good moisturizer.
I looked in his eyes. The pupils were as small as needle points and he didn’t even blink. He no longer ranted. He seemed somewhere else but here in this chair sat his body as a place mark.
I frowned, feeling like I’d lost something, too.
As they wheeled him back to his room to get him ready for the party, I joined Cole in the dining room. A Santa Claus who looked familiar was setting up a speaker system.
“Elvis is back,” Cole told me, waggling his eyebrows.
On the right side of the room a banquet table held festive-looking food: a shrimp tree, meatballs in a crockpot, crustless sandwiches on green and pink bread, multi-grain rolls and roses of butter, sausages in puff pastry, and squares and cookies of every flavour and shape.
The regular tables were crowded with residents and their families. I saw the pirate boy from Halloween with some kind of red punch staining the corners of his mouth: Boo Berry juice turned Christmas Cranberry. He carried a plateful of meatballs over to a table where his grandmother sat. She was one of the seniors I still didn’t know.
By another table, I saw Fred being kissed by a leopard-print-wearing blonde. Hussy! Although the lady probably was his real wife. Still, how was Marlene going to take this? She sat at the corner of a table with Susan. Luckily, Cole’s grandmother was parked there too, so Cole and I could work together.
“Merry Christmas, Marlene!” I said. I strolled over to the table to load up a plate with two rolls and some meatballs and gravy. “Here you go. Look Marlene, see all the nice bread. You won’t have to go to the store today.”
That made her turn her head towards Fred’s table. She always walked the halls with Fred to shop for her imaginary bread. She gave him a wave once or twice but he didn’t even look her way.
“Do you like shrimp? I can get you some.”
She didn’t answer. Instead she picked up her fork and continued to watch Fred and his leopard-spotted wife. She was feeding him shrimp. I saw a handsome man maybe my father’s age who looked just like Fred. His son. You could see what Fred must have been like when he was healthier.
At that moment, Gillian wheeled Johann in and parked him right by Marlene.
I got him some sausages. I thought they might be soft enough for him.
Marlene put her hand on his.
There you go Marlene, there are more fish in the sea. Santa Elvis began to sing. “I’ll have a bluh, bluh blue Christmas without you.”
I looked around. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a
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