“He’s great,” said Isaac. “Just very busy all the time, you know.”
“That’s a good thing, though, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just that…” He hesitated, clearly ill at ease to discuss his boss with these new residents.
“Lousy pay, is that it?” Gran prompted. “Forces you to work all hours of the day and night and pays you chicken feed?”
“No, the pay is fine, and the hours, too. But Brian used to be around a lot more. He used to take a tour of the rooms every day, greet the residents, organize meetings.”
“And he doesn’t do that anymore?”
“Lately he seems preoccupied for some reason. Spends a lot of time in his office with the door closed, and lets his personal assistant handle things.” He shrugged. “I can understand that running a place this size takes a lot of work, but his door used to be open all the time, and we could always walk in whenever we had something that was troubling us, or when we wanted to talk. He even encouraged that.”
“And now he doesn’t.”
“Now he doesn’t. But like I said, I can’t complain. He’s a good boss. Just busy.”
“Busy with his girlfriend, I’ll bet,” said Harriet.
Gran must have heard her, for she grinned.“What I heard, and correct me if I’m wrong,” she said, “is that Brian is having an affair with this personal assistant you just mentioned. Which could be the reason he spends so much time in his office.” She gave Isaac a meaningful look, and the young man’s face became thoroughly flushed again.
“I’ve also heard the same rumors,” he confessed. “But honestly I think there’s simply no truth in them. Brian is a happily married man, and he’s also an honorable man, so I’m sure he would never do such a thing.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Gran. “So where did you say we can find this Henry fella?”
“Right across the corridor,” said Isaac, pointing in that direction. “You can’t miss him. And usually he leaves his door open, so you can always go in and introduce yourselves.” He eyed Scarlett for a moment. “He seems to like… female company.”
And that said, he excused himself and left.
“I have the impression that Isaac isn’t too happy about the attention Henry is giving Kirsten,” said Gran keenly.
“He’s such a sweet boy,” said Scarlett, then sighed. “Though he’s probably a little young for me.”
“Now will you look at that,” said Gran.
And as we all watched on, a young woman walked into Henry’s room. Isaac, who just stood there as if nailed to the spot, had seen the same thing. His face was working, and he had balled his hands into fists. He did not look happy.
Gran immediately seized the moment.“Who’s the young woman who walked into Henry’s room just now?” she asked.
“That’s my colleague Kirsten Williams,” said Isaac, his eyes never leaving the door to Henry’s room, which had been closed shut by its resident.
“I thought you said Henry never closes his door?”
“Except when Kirsten is in there,” said Isaac unhappily.
“I guess they like their privacy, huh?” said Gran, closely studying the young nurse’s face.
But he didn’t respond. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked away. Judging from the tense way he walked, he was a very unhappy young nursing assistant.
6
The moment Isaac was gone, Gran gave us a sign, and Dooley and I quickly snuck across the corridor. Gran gave the door handle a gentle nudge, and we crept into the room, hoping our special set of feline skills hadn’t deserted us, and we would be able to spy on our target unseen and unheard.
Henry’s room was similarly furnished as Gran and Scarlett’s new lodgings, with heavy antique furniture and plenty of old prints on the walls. To offset the rather gloomy interior, he also had lots of plants that gave the room some much-needed air.
“And how are we feeling today, Mr. Kaur?” Kirsten was asking.
Henry was in a barcalounger in front of his television watching an episode of a daytime soap.
“Oh, I love this one,” said Dooley. “See that doctor? He has a big secret.”
“So what is it?” I asked, intrigued in spite of myself.
“I don’t know,” said Dooley with a shrug. “I guess that’s why it’s a secret.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Henry?” said the old man.
“Fine,” said Kirsten, who was a sparkly and energetic young woman with lovely features and nice blond hair in a ponytail. “So how are you feeling today, Henry?”
“Now that you are here? Fine,” said the old charmer with a toothy grin.
“Now, now, what did we say about comments like that?”
“That they’re perfectly harmless and a sign of my appreciation for all that you do?”
Kirsten decided not to press the matter, but instead went into the bathroom and started rummaging around in there.
“Kirsten?” said the old man as he lowered the sound of the television. “Can you come in here a moment?”
“What is it?” said Kirsten.
“You didn’t tell anyone about our little secret, did you?”
“Now Henry, not again.”
“No, but I mean it. You can’t tell anyone about what I told you yesterday.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know that I haven’t.”