“Must be nice to have a pet,” said Ester as she eyed me with fondness. “I had a cat, you know, but Prunella decided to get rid of her. Said she was allergic to cats, so we couldn’t keep her.” Then, with a touch of bitterness, she added, “And then of course she discovered she was allergic to me, and got rid of me as well.” But then she brightened. “God, I’m doing a great job of spoiling your appetite, aren’t I? Eat up, you guys. And I’m going to shut up from now.”
“Such a sad story, isn’t it, Max?” said Dooley. “This poor woman was kicked out by her daughter-in-law. And her grandkids won’t even speak to her! It’s absolutely terrible.”
“Gran will talk to them,” Harriet assured us. “And she’ll make sure that Ester’s grandkids come and visit her again. She just has to.”
Which shows you how Ester’s story had touched all of our hearts, if even Harriet Bond had momentarily forgotten about her mission enough to get sucked into a secondary mission: how to reconcile Ester with her family.
“Why is it that daughters-in-law are always evil, Max?” asked Dooley.
“Not all daughters-in-law are evil,” I said. “Only some of them, like Prunella.”
Though to be honest we didn’t know anything about this Prunella person. Maybe she had a good reason to get rid of her motherin-law. Maybe Ester was a psychopath who terrorized every person she lived with. Though she didn’t look like a psychopath to me.
“I’m going to have to leave you for just a moment,” said Scarlett, getting up. “I’ll be back in a sec, though.” And before confiding in us what she was up to, she hurried off.
“Isaac again?” said Harriet.
We glanced over, and saw that Isaac was on breakfast duty, and indeed Scarlett now joined him and took him aside for a quick word.
“The love doctor at work again,” said Brutus with a grin. “Let’s hope she succeeds this time.”
18
Never let it be said that Scarlett didn’t seize an opportunity when she saw one. The moment she walked into the breakfast room she saw that Isaac was on breakfast duty. But it was only when Kirsten joined him in the room, assisting those residents who had trouble eating independently, that she knew she had to strike while the iron washot!
So when Kirsten disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, she quickly sidled up to her pupil.
“And? How is it going?” she asked. She was eyeing the serving dish of scrambled eggs with some relish. This job was going to wreak havoc on her figure if she didn’t watch out!
“Not well,” said Isaac sadly as he wiped an elderly resident’s chin. “I tried to talk to her, but for some reason she doesn’t seem interested. I think that smile last night might have turned her off.”
“It was a freaky smile,” said Scarlett.
“You told me to go big or go home!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell you to smile like a serial killer.” Though truth be told, she hadn’t known that Isaac’s smile would rival the one displayed by Hannibal Lecter in his cage. Which just goes to show: even nice guys can have terrible smiles. “It was probably nerves,” she said soothingly. “Give me a smile.”
Isaac flashed her a halfhearted smile. The kid was trying but you could tell that his heart wasn’t really in it.
“Less teeth.”
He dimmed the smile to reasonable proportions and she nodded approvingly.
“See? That’s not so bad. That’s how you should have smiled last night.”
“It’s all lost now,” said Isaac morosely. “She won’t talk to me. She won’t even look at me.”
“Okay, listen to me,” said Scarlett. “I know from a reliable source that Kirsten has her own problems to deal with right now. So the fact that she’s not very responsive probably has nothing to do with you. Just… act natural. Be upbeat. Make some friendly conversation. And… oh, here she comes. Remember what I said: act natural!”
Immediately Isaac cramped up, and there was that horrible smile again.
“Okay, forget what I said. Whatever you do: don’t smile!” she hissed.
His smile faltered, and was replaced by an expression of pure helplessness.
“Hey, Kirsten,” said Scarlett pleasantly. “Just thought I’d give young Isaac here a helping hand.”
“That’s very kind of you, Miss Corr,” said Kirsten. She was frowning, Scarlett saw, and glancing in Henry’s direction. The man was seated next to Bob, and was talking a mile a minute, with Bob not looking all that happy.
“Everything all right?” asked Scarlett.
“I’m worried about Henry,” said Kirsten. “He seems very restless lately. And he’s been badgering Bob about writing his memoirs.”
“Yeah, I heard about that,” said Scarlett, and gave Isaac a poke in the rear.
Isaac piped up,“You like Henry a lot, don’t you?”
“I think he’s a good man, if that’s what you mean.”
Isaac simpered a little.“Isn’t he, you know, a little old for you, though?”
Kirsten turned a frosty look on her young colleague.“What did you just say?”
“I mean… He’s not very young and you’re… not very old and… well, I just mean to say…”
“Yes?” she said, her voice dripping with ice.
“I guess I don’t… I mean I just… well, you know…”