A Five-Minute Life

“Sure,” I said.

I took Brett around, finishing at the rec room. I pointed out the residents’ shelves, the game storage, and the supply closet.

“You got a hole in the wall,” Brett said, nodding at the crack in the closet’s sheetrock.

“Alonzo knows,” I said. “He’s called someone to fix it.”

Brett’s face was narrow and angular, with a small curl to his lips. “He’s kind of obsessed with this place, yeah?”

“He has high standards,” I said.

I wondered how Brett would stack up. He seemed friendly enough, I thought, following him back into the main room. As usual, Mr. Webb was at his table, working his puzzle.

“His head looks like the fender on my last car,” Brett muttered under his breath.

“That’s Mr. Webb,” I said pointedly. “He works that puzzle every day. It’s okay to box it up after he leaves, even if he’s not done. He’ll start it over tomorrow.”

Brett stared until Mr. Webb looked up, scowling.

“Hey, Mr. Webb. How ya doing?”

Mr. Webb narrowed his eyes and went back to his puzzle. Brett’s gaze turned to Thea.

“What’s her story?”

I stood straighter. “That’s Thea Hughes. Her case is severe. Alonzo will explain it to you.”

“She looks all right to me,” Brett said. He grinned and elbowed me. “You sure she’s a patient?”

“A r-r-resident,” I said, trying to gauge this guy, my hackles up. But he shrugged and smiled.

“Right.” Brett laughed. “Gotta use the terminology.”

I nodded. “Come on. I’ll show you the dining room.”

“You like working here?” Brett asked along the way.

“Sure.”

“Kind of weird, isn’t it? All these people with fucked-up brains. Like that dude with the dent in his head?” He whistled between his teeth. “That’s fucking wild.”

I stiffened. “It’s what happened.”

“Alonzo was telling me there’s a guy here who’d had a metal rod go straight through his eye and he lived. Perello-somebody.”

“Mr. Perello,” I said. “He’s a veteran.”

Brett laughed. “Mister. Right.” He rummaged in his pants pocket. “You smoke?”

“No.”

“Suit yourself.”

Brett sauntered toward Jules at the front desk. He spoke to her a moment and her laugh echoed down the hallway as they went out to smoke.

I found Alonzo in the break room, stacking case files.

“You done for the day?” he asked.