Lee nudged me. “Sure. That’s the only reason.”
We headed back to Wellhaven, pausing to ditch our trash in the barrel at the entrance to the park. Lee led us in the front door, and I let him watch me sign in as a visitor and put “Lee Robertson” under “resident you are visiting.”
He laughed. “The staff will give me shit for that.” But he didn’t seem displeased.
There were more people moving about with dinner hour over. Lee got nabbed a couple of times on our walk down the hall to answer questions. His patience and the focused attention he gave each person made my heart melt just a little bit more.
The door to Harvey and Prescott’s room stood open. Lee stuck his head in. “Got time for a visitor?”
“Sure.” That was Owen’s voice. “Been a slow day.”
Harvey grumbled something about cabbages for dinner.
Lee beckoned me in and Prescott waved from his bed as I entered. Owen sat in a chair and Harvey lay half propped against his pillows. Owen brightened and smiled at me but Harvey picked at a thread on his blanket and didn’t raise his head.
“Hey, Harv.” Owen’s bright tone sounded forced. “Griffin’s going to think you don’t like him anymore.”
“Hah.” Harvey peered down at his hands, rubbing the bad one with the good. “That was yesterday.”
Owen winced and Lee took a step closer, peering at Harvey. “Hey, dude. Having an off day?”
“I told you, it’s this place. My head goes around. Must be almost dinner time, right?”
Lee and Owen exchanged worried looks, and Lee beckoned with his head. Owen followed him into the hall, but I could just make out their words, Lee asking, “Does he seem off to you?”
“Hell, yeah. Confused, almost, the last day or two. Scares me a bit.”
“We’ll get him a proper workup done. First thing, check for a urinary infection. You’d be surprised how often a simple thing like that can cause mental lapses.”
“You think?” I could hear the hope in Owen’s tone.
“It’s a possibility.”
Lee came back in and leaned across Harvey’s bed to push his call button. “I’ll get an aide in here. We’ll check his pressure and O2, get a urine sample and all.” He tugged the privacy curtain forward between the two beds. “Owen, you’ll need to give us a bit of room to work. Go get yourself a coffee or something? Ten minutes.”
“I’ll keep you company,” I offered, and when the aide appeared and Lee started giving orders, I led Owen out into the hall.
“This sucks,” he muttered.
“I’ll bet.” I glanced around. “Coffee?” The staff at the front counter kept a pot going and would hand a cup to residents who were able and allowed to drink the stuff.
“It’ll be foul by this hour. Anyhow, more caffeine isn’t good for me.” Owen leaned on his walker and threw a look over his shoulder. “I’m glad Lee stopped by.” He turned to me with a nod. “That’s a good man you’ve got.”
“I wouldn’t say got. Not yet.”
“Well, Harvey and I decided to— ahem— room together a week after we met. When you know, you know.” He watched a minute longer as the aide hustled out of Harvey’s room and came back with a cart of supplies.
“Come on,” I suggested. “Let’s go sit in the library. The chairs are comfy and it’s usually quiet.” We made our way to the small book-lined room down the hall. Owen slumped into one of the wing-back chairs near the window and I took another beside him. No one else was using the space, although the sound of other folks came distantly through the doorway.
“I should be grateful,” Owen said. “So many men didn’t make it to our ages. So many others didn’t get to keep their love for forty-eight years.”
“And counting,” I put in.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“That’s true, but it still sucks that you’re fighting for your right to be together after all that time.”
“Right? I want to be with Harv tonight, but if I try to sleep in the damned chair the nurses will harass me to go to bed. Plus they’d be right because my back would kill me. But the bed is verboten to guys living in sin.”
