The ward

From the outside, the entrance to the retirement home looked friendly and inviting. The sterile security gate blocked a picturesque driveway. The guard worked mechanically and remained aloof as she introduced herself. Her initial nerves returned as she parked her Datsun in the allotted space. Geriatric care or Pediatrics? She eagerly answered that question with her choice to take up a post at Remstone Care. 

The cold was tugging at her hair as she hurriedly ascended the stairs. It was 06.15 and the front entrance lights were still dimmed. A soft jingle announced her entrance, and a short army frame was rushing towards her with a clipboard in hand.

‘Welcome, Phoebe. I am so thrilled that you chose us. Please follow me. We are about to start the staff meeting.’

She entered a large room filled with uniforms of all shapes and sizes. Her companion showed her a seat and then marched to the front. The meeting lasted about thirty minutes, with new pharmaceutical products explained, new working hours and policies reiterated, and the new strategic direction of the facility introduced. Then suddenly, she was asked to stand, and introduced as the latest member of staff. She was to do her orientation during that day, but would formally start the next evening. She would be doing the night shift for the next four weeks.

The atmosphere in general remained friendly. The matron handed her over to the chief administrator. She waited while the latter supervised the hand-over procedures. When all administration work was done, she grabbed a clipboard and took her to the kitchen. It was one huge sanitized area, with way more machines that human beings. Menus and special meal plans were typed into computers. Meat, vegetables and fruit are prepared by robots, then collected and served by humans to the residents.

‘We follow the utmost safety protocols….’ She was led into a back room, where more machines were folding, ironing and washing blinding white sheets and curtains.

‘There are certain things which cannot be scheduled according to people’s availability. People die at all hours. Accidents happen at all hours. Instead of waiting, we can thus continue maintaining a hygienic routine twenty-four hours a day.’

She led her through another door and then she was in the midst of the most beautiful garden. The lilies were still wet from the morning dew, the carnations revealed their beauty to the rising sun, and right in the middle, a slow stream of water was flowing and creating the most delightful rivulet. All this beauty was surrounded by a beige ten-metre-high wall. There was a mini golf course, a fish pond and an open walking path for a lovely stroll through this magnificent landscape.

We re-entered the building through a side door. Before I could ask about its safety, we were greeted by a resident in a wheelchair.

 ‘Good morning Grace. Please meet Phoebe Watson. She joined us today.’

‘Oh wow, what a lovely face. Welcome to Remstone dear.’

Her veined hand held Phoebe’s tight. But it was her eyes which captivated her. There was something odd about the eyes. She followed the administrator to the front desk and met more of the personnel. They had the view of the dining area where about fifty residents were settling for breakfast. Grace rolled herself to a corner table where two other gentlemen were already seated.

‘They are like three peas in a pod. Always together. Always in earnest discussions about something or the other.’

The balding nurse offered her a cup of coffee and continued explaining.

‘They never join the others. Their secret discussions are all they do, whole day.’

 ‘Did they know each other before?’ She quietly inquired.

‘No one knows. They came from different countries…arrived months apart. Gerald was a GP in Windhoek; Joe, an architect from Nairobi; and Grace is a retired tax consultant from Johannesburg. For some reason, they just hit it off.’

The rest of the day was marked by supervised duties, a two- hour lecture on the Code Book and a hundred more safety protocols. That afternoon, she was exhausted. As she was signing out, she decided to stroll through that beautiful garden again, before she went home to her tiny apartment.

She noticed the family of squirrels in the old oak tree, and the huge tortoise everyone was talking about. She spotted a nest of cockatiels. The many small hills made this space ideal for recuperation after a busy day. She wondered how many residents made use of it. As if to answer her question, she heard the rustle of wheels on the gravel. There were only two residents in wheelchairs, and she very much doubted that Mr Harper would be interested in the outdoors at this time of the day. She turned around and caught the smiling eyes of Grace.

‘The place must have made a good impression on you. Normally, you lot are so eager to get home to end the first day.’ Her smile revealed slanting, yellowing teeth.

‘I am exhausted, but just needed to see this again. I’m doing night shift from tomorrow for a whole month, so I’m creating a few memories.’

Grace laughed, held her gaze for a few seconds and then rolled passed without saying another word. Her eyes were bothering her again. She looked at Grace as the latter waved at the other two on the left side of the pond.

She slowed down at the gate to see if the guard’s mood lightened. She smiled as he approached the vehicle. Ready to strike up a conversation, she rolled down her window.

He said, ‘Is this the only vehicle you have?’

‘Yes’.

‘Thank you.' and then he disappeared into his office. Sitting in the afternoon traffic, she thought she should get a dog.

The following evening started with another staff meeting. More protocols, more introductions and more safety procedures. There were very few residents who required assistance at night. Those who did, were assisted by older staffers. From 22:00 pm, the place just became quiet. She kept busy with cleaning the dining area, and then tidied the lounge area. She familiarized herself with the patients who had severe medical conditions. She was re-labeling the fading files when one of the nurses came to find her.

‘Hey, there you are. Come and relax for a few minutes. We are all in the staff room.’

Touching her shoulder, she continued, ‘This is the most chilled place you will ever work, and your colleagues are okay, too. Come and tell us about yourself.’

It did turn out to be the most chilled place indeed. It felt like a hostel, with very disciplined old people. They even died quietly.

It was during her third week on night shift, as she was waiting for the kettle to boil, that she saw a man climbing over the fence. She found it quite odd that the security guard did not see him. As per protocol, she pressed the blue button, and announced the sight of the intruder over the internal intercom. A call to the security gate revealed that the guard was inside the premises doing his early evening rounds. Floodlights were lit, doors and windows were checked again.  After half an hour, the intruder was still not located. She started to doubt whether she indeed saw someone. She remembered the side door and decided to go check it. She found everything was in order. Walking down the passage, she realized that the activity did not alert any of the residents. She was about to go downstairs, when she heard that familiar wheelchair further down the passage. Gerald’s door was open and she could hear voices. She knocked softly. Grace turned around and smiled at her. Those eyes again. And then it hit her. Her eyes were not those of an old woman’s, but a younger one. Sitting on his bed, in a green tracksuit, Gerald was untying his muddy sneakers.

Grace, touching her hand said, ‘Can you keep a secret?’