happy birthday, dear Belinda, happy birthday to me."
She closed her eyes.
There was a harder knock on the door and the
attendant appeared.
"It's time, he said.
"It can't be a half hour."
"It is," he insisted. "Don't make it hard for me,
will ya," he muttered with threatening eyes. "No," I said standing. "I'll leave that to Mrs.
Greene."
I leaned over and kissed my grandmother on
her cheek. She didn't open her eyes. Then I turned and
marched past him and down the corridor.
The residents were being entertained by a
singer in the lobby. She played the accordion as well.
Mrs. Greene was standing in the rear with some
attendants, a receptionist, and some visitors. She
glared my way and I glared back as I left the lobby
and stepped out of the building, my heart thumping so
hard I thought it would drown out the singing. There was no one on the porch, but I saw Holly
on a bench talking softly to some song birds who stared up at her as if they really understood. Even though I was still shaking, the sight brought laughter
to my lips. She saw me and hurried up the walkway. "How was your visit?" she asked.
"Very bad," I said. "They're medicating her into
oblivion and I have the feeling it's Grandma Olivia's
fault. I've got to pay her a visit."
"Oh, that's so sad. If we just taught them how to
meditate, there would be no need for chemical
therapy."
"There's no need for it now," I said. "Unless
keeping the truth buried is a good reason."
Holly's eyebrows lifted into question marks, but