The Tropical Dream

Chapter 78 - An Interesting Day

Greg, Susan, Jessie and Melody were up, dressed, finished with breakfast, and on their way across the Bay Bridge headed towards Menlo Park by nine o'clock on Monday morning. As Susan expected, the traffic was horrible, and so even though Greg thought they had plenty of time, they were in fact ten minutes late in arriving at the retirement home in Menlo Park where they were meeting Sam Siskle.

"Good morning," Sam said, stepping up to the car when Greg pulled up at the curb in front of the entrance to the building.

"Hi Sammy," Jessie said with a grin.

"Sorry we're late," Susan told him as she and Jessie got out. "The traffic was particularly bad this morning coming from Oakland."

"No worries. The traffic can be like that sometimes ... and it's not like we have an appointment. Mr. Simms doesn't really know we're coming," Sam said. "Is Greg coming back for you?" he asked when Greg said goodbye and drove away with the baby in the back.

"Yes. They've decided to go to the park. I'm supposed to call after our visit," Susan said.

"That should work ... or I can drop you off, if you know what park they're going to," Sam offered.

"Thank you," Susan said, as she turned to survey the outside of the facility they were visiting.

"My, this is quite a complex," she commented as she looked over the outside of what looked to be more than one building, most of were connected to one another through a system of breezeways, some on multiple levels. The doorways to most of the buildings must face away from the parking lot, Susan decided, because there was only one distinct entrance in and out of the complex as a whole. From what she could tell from the outside, the place was something of a cross between an apartment complex for the elderly and retired, and a nursing home.

"Is this a hospital, Mama?" Jessie asked as she looked at the place too.

"Not exactly," Susan told her.

"The people who live here and are considered residents instead of patients," Sam explained to his goddaughter. "They do have nurses on the staff here to help them out, but most residents have a room or a little apartment to themselves that they live in. In some cases, couples keep house in the same way they would in any other place they might live, but here they have extra help and they have options for meals if they don't feel like cooking for themselves."

"What about Mr. Simms?" Susan asked.

"He did have a regular apartment until just recently. But he wasn't keeping it up, and never cooked for himself, so he decided to give it up. Now he just has a couple of rooms. It's nice, but it's less space than the place he had before," Sam said.

"Is my great-grandfather sick?" Jessie wanted to know.

"No, he's just old, Jessie. He needs help sometimes, so he lives here where people can cook for him and help him out when he needs it," Sam said. "Shall we go inside?"

Jessie nodded, but she also took Susan's hand.

"Are you nervous?" Susan asked.

"Yes, Mama," Jessie told her. "What if Mr. Simms doesn't like me?"

"I think he will," Sam said. "This way."

He led them through the entrance to the facility, checking in with the receptionist at the front desk first.

"He's in what they call the living room," Sam said.

"Do you know the way?" the woman behind the counter asked.