Lost

On Saturday morning, Jim and I went to Bev’s assisted living place to bring her a Valentine card and some candy. Bev’s room was empty when we arrived, but her cell phone was on her chair, so we assumed she was close by because she and her phone are never far apart. (In fact, Jim recently had to change her cell plan to include additional minutes since she has been yakking hundreds of minutes over her limit each month.) Anyway, we checked the dining room and lobby for any sign of Bev, and made a few laps of the building’s hallways, but she was nowhere to be found. I immediately suspected that she was with one of her smoking buddies, so we eavesdropped outside of her pal Mary Lou’s room and thought that we heard Bev’s voice inside. Not wanting to interrupt their visit, Jim and I decided to run a few errands, then come back.

When we returned, Bev was still not in her room. In the lobby, we saw Debbie, who was also trying to locate Bev for a planned lunch date. Debbie and I wandered over to Mary Lou’s room and knocked on the door. Mary Lou’s daughter appeared, and when we asked if Bev was there, she slammed the door shut in a huff saying that we had the wrong room. Well! We double-checked the sign-out log, and finally queried the front office. Before long, a small search party was hunting for Bev. By now it was lunch time, and when Bev’s table mates realized she was missing, the poor women were worried sick. Debbie decided to drive over to Big Boy to see if Bev had possibly waddled over to the nearby restaurant without remembering to sign out at the office first. A few minutes later, Jim’s cell phone rang with the news that Bev was indeed there, enjoying lunch with some old friends who had picked her up from the assisted living place for a previously arranged outing. Of which Bev had no recollection. And, oops, she forgot to sign out. And, geez, she forgot to take her phone along. And, wow, she even forgot that she had arranged a lunch trip with Debbie for the exact same day and time. When Jim and I arrived at Big Boy, Bev was as happy as a clam, smoking up a storm, and cackling about how she hadn’t remembered planning anything at all for the day, yet here she was now with her favorite family and friends. Jim reminded her that she must always check out at the office each time she goes out. Bev insisted, however, that she had no prior knowledge of any sign-out rules because she had never, ever before left the building. Sigh.

Another small mystery was solved for us, too, that afternoon. Bev explained that Mary Lou’s daughter is currently very angry with her because she (the daughter) is trying to help her mother (Mary Lou) quit smoking, yet Bev keeps sneaking her cigarettes. Troublemaker. No wonder Mary Lou’s daughter was annoyed at the mention of Bev’s name. Slowly, but surely, Bev will probably alienate all of the nice people in her building.