Patricia Rockwell - Essie Cobb 03 - Valentined (8 page)

Essie shoved her mail into her walker seat basket and pushed
herself over to the front desk. 

“Good morning, Miss Essie,” said Phyllis, looking up from
her duty.  She appeared to be counting the number of residents who had signed
up for some activity.  Essie moved closer to Phyllis.

“Hello, Phyllis,” she said, her head bent close to the desk
clerk.  “I see you already have the mail out.  The mailman must have come early
today.”

“He did,” replied Phyllis.  “Some days he’s early.  Some
days late.  But whenever he arrives, Essie, I always drop what I’ve been doing
here and distribute the mail to the boxes.  I know how important it is to our
residents to get their mail each day.”

“There isn’t any pattern to when the mailman arrives, then?”
asked Essie.

“Not that I’m aware of,” replied Phyllis, biting her lip. 
“I’ve never thought about it.  Maybe there is.  I just don’t know what the
pattern would be, Essie.  Possibly he’s later on Mondays because the mail piles
up over a weekend.  I don’t know.  I never really stopped to analyze it.  Is
there a reason you need to know?”

“Oh, no!” said Essie, laughing.  “You know me, Phyllis!  I’m
just curious.  I noticed how early he was yesterday—so much earlier than
today.  I was just wondering.”

“I can’t really say why,” said Phyllis.  “Let me see, it’s
ten thirty and I just finished putting the mail in the boxes.  Yesterday, I
believe I had it all up by…hmm…maybe nine thirty.  You’re right.  It was
earlier yesterday.  I don’t have any idea why.”

“So, what you’re saying is that the mailman arrives at
different times every day, but that you put the mail up as soon as he delivers
it, no matter when.”

“Absolutely!” said Phyllis.  “I would never just let the
mail sit on the counter undelivered.  I always distribute it as soon as it gets
here.  Of course, he always gets here in the morning.  I’ve never known the mailman
to arrive any later than noon.  And usually no later than, let’s say, eleven.”

“Hmm,” said Essie, pondering this information.  “No later
than eleven.  And how early might he arrive?”

“That’s a good question,” replied Phyllis.  “Of course, he
couldn’t get in the building before six because it’s locked.  But I don’t
believe he’s ever been here that early!  Probably the earliest he’s ever been
here was…maybe nine or eight thirty.”

“So, the window for the mailman’s arrival is somewhere
between nine and eleven,” said Essie almost to herself.  “A two hour window.” 

“Yes,” said Phyllis, “that sounds about right.  Why do you
ask?”

“It’s that old curiosity of mine again,” laughed Essie. 
“You know us old ladies; we don’t have much else to do with ourselves than
calculate the arrival time of the local postman.”  She gave Phyllis a forced
laugh.  Phyllis joined in for a moment.  As she was about ready to depart,
Essie turned from the front desk as Santos whizzed by her with a covered food
tray heading towards her hallway off the family room again.  Essie said
farewell to Phyllis and pushed her walker after the waiter and down her
hallway.

As she turned into her hallway, she saw Santos at the far
end where the hallway dead-ended.  He made a quick turn to the left.  Essie
contemplated whether to continue to her own room which was a few doors down on
the left or follow Santos.  She quickly decided to follow the waiter.  She
wished Santos had turned right because the hallway on the right continued only
a short distance.  There were just a few apartments down that portion of the
hallway and Essie knew all the residents in them.  Unfortunately, Santos had
turned left.  Taking this route led him down a segment of hallway that ran the
full length of the Happy Haven building.  Essie thought she knew a good number
of the residents who lived down this hallway but she wasn’t exactly certain
which room went with which resident. 

She rolled her walker quickly down the corridor to the end
where Santos had disappeared from sight.  Cautiously, she peeked around the
corner and glanced surreptitiously down the left-hand side.  She saw Santos’s
back walking in the distance.  As she followed him with her eyes, he suddenly
stopped and knocked on a door on the left.  The door opened immediately and
Santos slipped inside. 

Now whose apartment is that?
thought Essie.  Did she
dare roll down the hall and read the resident’s name on the door? 
No
,
she thought. 
Santos will probably just drop off the tray and then come back
out.
  She waited and waited.  Several minutes went by and Santos did not
come out of the room. 
Now, why is he staying so long after delivering a
food tray?
she asked herself.  She counted the number of doors down the
hallway where Santos had entered.  Keeping the location of the apartment firmly
in her mind, she turned around and pushed her walker back towards her own room
and past it and out to the family room where she snatched a comfy,
inconspicuous chair.  She sat down and waited, her eyes on the hallway, waiting
for Santos to return.

Chapter Ten

“Nothing takes the taste out of
peanut butter quite like unrequited love.”

—Charles M. Schulz

As she sat in the family room, totally focused on catching
Santos when he returned from delivering the food tray, she failed to notice a
group of card players at a table nearby.  As her eyes continued to squint
towards the end of the corridor watching for the waiter, she began to recognize
the voices of several residents she knew.  She saw several residents and staff
members enter and exit the hallway, but no Santos.

“Essie Cobb!” called out a familiar voice.  “You can’t hide
over there in that big chair!”

Essie glanced over and immediately saw Dave Esperti waving
at her to join the group of card players. 
Curses and epithets!
she
thought. 
There goes my attempt at spying.
  With a sigh, she pulled
herself out of the comfortable armchair and rolled over to the group of men and
women sitting at a small card table.  In addition to Dave, she also recognized
Hubert Darby.  She didn’t know the two female players. 

“Get any more fancy valentines from your secret admirer?”
asked Dave.  Essie frowned.  Even though she knew that most of Happy Haven was
apparently aware of her unknown beau, she really didn’t appreciate Dave Esperti
teasing her about it. 

“No, I didn’t, Dave,” replied Essie perfunctorily.  She
smiled briefly at the group and returned her attention to the hallway.  Several
people disappeared at the far end around the corner. 
Oh, no!
she
thought. 
I didn’t see them.  Where did they come from?  Maybe I’ve missed
Santos.
  She was annoyed that Dave and the card players had distracted her
from her task.  Now she might have missed Santos returning down the hallway. 
Was it safe to check who the resident was in the apartment in which he had gone
or not?  Essie was totally lost in thought.

“Hey, Essie!” yelled Dave.  “Cat got your tongue?  So
smitten with your new fellow that you can’t even talk to us regular guys
here?”  Essie tore herself from her hallway watch and smiled sweetly at Dave and
the group.

“Of course not, Dave,” she said.  “You know, just
distracted.  A senior moment.”  She knew that any fault or flaw at Happy Haven
could be easily dismissed with the ‘senior moment’ excuse.  She used it herself
quite frequently although there was usually some other reason.  Essie didn’t
have many senior moments.

The ladies at the table laughed and Hubert Darby, who was
also one of the card players, blushed.  Or at least Essie thought she saw him
blush. 

“Essie,” said one of the women.  “Ignore Dave.  He’s a
terrible tease.  I, for one, think your secret admirer is one of the most
romantic things I’ve heard of in ages. I’m Hazel.”  She touched Essie’s hand
warmly.  Hubert scowled and stared at his cards more intently.

“I do too,” added the other lady card player.  “I’m
Mildred.  It’s nice to know that there’s at least one man out there who knows
how to romance a lady!”  She gave pointed looks at both Dave and Hubert.  The
two men stayed quiet.

“Actually, Essie,” said Hazel.  “I’m jealous of you!  I
never even got any kind of romantic valentine from my husband when he was
alive.”

“Me neither,” agreed Mildred.  “Do you have any idea who he
is?”

“No,” said Essie.  Dave and Hubert had apparently bowed out
of this conversation.  “I wish I did, but it’s a mystery.”

“That makes it even more romantic, don’t you think?” asked
Mildred quietly.  She gestured for Essie to come closer.  Essie hesitated.  She
wanted to be polite, but she also wanted to keep her eyes on the hallway so she
could see Santos when he returned.

“Could we see it?” asked Hazel shyly.  Essie looked back and
forth from one woman to the other.  She really didn’t want to display her card
around Happy Haven like some wild life trophy from a safari.  Like she had
bagged an unknown man and this card was the result. 

“Please, Essie,” pleaded Mildred. 

“I really…” began Essie.

“A little bird says you carry it everywhere with you,”
whispered Hazel. 

“Hey, Hazel,” interjected Dave.  “Essie doesn’t want to show
you the card.  Leave her alone!”  He slammed a card down on the table. 
“Trump!” he declared and then slid down in his chair and crossed his arms.  The
women bristled and Hubert Darby looked up at Essie with a soulful glance.

Essie felt uncomfortable that she now suddenly found herself
in the middle of this dispute.  The women at the table were obviously excited
about Essie’s valentine and her secret admirer, the men apparently annoyed,
possibly even threatened.  How could she dispel the bad vibes that she felt
from this group and avoid prompting a mini-battle?

“Oh, Dave!” she declared.  “Don’t worry!  I don’t mind
showing the card to Mildred and Hazel.  I’ve shown it to just about everyone
else here at Happy Haven!”  She lifted her walker seat and produced the
cream-colored envelope that remained on the top of her precious pile.  She
handed it to Hazel who pulled out the card inside and examined it.  Mildred
reached across the table and grabbed it.

“Oh, let me see!” she cried.  The two women gushed over the
valentine while Dave and Hubert fumed. 

“It’s not all that amazing,” noted Dave.  “I’ve seen
better.”

“What do you mean you’ve
seen
better?” asked Hazel. 
She clutched the card to her chest so Dave couldn’t see it.

“I mean I’ve given my share of fancy cards, Hazel,” replied
Dave, “and some of them have been a lot nicer than this one!”

“Oh, really?” said Hazel.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any
valentine quite so elaborate as this.”  She held the card with both hands and
brought it close to her face.  Essie grimaced in fear that the little heart
would fall off with all of the handling it was getting, but the glue in the
center of the doily held strong.

“Do you have any idea who your admirer is, Essie?” asked
Mildred.

“No,” replied Essie.  “I wish I did.”

“Just forget him, whoever he is,” continued Dave, now full
of his original confidence.  “I told you, Essie, I’m the man for you!”  He
winked at her.  Hubert’s eyes widened.  He looked over at the flowery card from
Essie’s secret admirer. 

“Hubert,” exclaimed Mildred.  “What’s wrong?”  Indeed,
Hubert Darby’s face was a bright shade of red and his mouth looked as if it
might explode with some horrible swear word at any moment. 

“Hubert,” added Hazel, “are you okay?”

Hubert grabbed his suspenders and looked at Essie.  Then he
looked at the valentine in Hazel’s hands.  His hands and shoulders shaking
uncontrollably, he ran from the table.

“What’s wrong with him?” asked Dave. 

Essie was shocked to see that the discussion of her secret
admirer valentine had brought out so many emotions in the residents at the
table.  She had certainly not expected Hubert Darby to react in such a dramatic
way.  Now she felt terrible.  Hubert had always been sweet to her and always a
gentleman.  The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt his feelings.  Now
apparently, she had.  She looked up and only then remembered her plan to track
Santos’s coming down her hallway.  With all the excitement over her valentine,
she had completely lost track of the people coming and going from the hallway.

“I think Hubert’s sweet on you, Essie,” whispered Mildred. 
“I’d like to know just what you do to get so many men to adore you!”

“Nothing!” retorted Essie.  “Nothing at all.  In fact, if
anything, I discourage them.  I was a lot happier before this strange person
sent me this valentine and I truly wish he’d never sent it in the first place!”

“You’re kidding!” said Hazel.  “I wouldn’t feel that way. 
I’m jealous of you, Essie.”

“See, Essie,” noted Dave, now having disposed of his cards,
the hand evidently over with Hubert’s departure, “the women here all want to be
you!  And the men all love you!  At least, I know I do!”  Dave stood elegantly,
bowed to Essie in a majestic fashion, and then departed.

Left alone with just the two lady card players, Essie took
the seat that Dave had just deserted.  Turning her back on the hallway, she
faced the females, giving up her attempt to track Santos. 
I guess I’ll have
to check out that room later
, she thought.

She sat with Mildred and Hazel, smiling politely while the
two women continued to examine her valentine.   Much later, when the women had
apparently tired of looking at the card, Essie took her valentine and returned
it to her basket.  Rising and heading down her hallway, she glanced at her
wristwatch
.  Oh, my!  I spent over an hour sitting there chatting with those
four!
 
Surely that’s enough time for Santos to have left that room.  I
obviously missed him.