When she approached the security gate, a guard asked if she had an appointment. She did not. He asked the purpose of her visit, and she told him she was checking on her Aunt Dottie. Dottie Carpenter. The man in the crisp white shirt and freshly pressed slacks tapped her name into his tablet.
“I will have to phone the main office.” He tucked his head into the small guard building. Theresa couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, but she could tell there was an issue by the expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you are going to have to make an appointment.”
Theresa furrowed her brow. “With whom?”
“Janet Turner. She is the head nurse.”
“And how do I get in touch with Ms. Turner?” Theresa did not like the feeling she was getting. The young man seemed a bit nervous. He pulled out a small card and handed it to Theresa through the driver’s side window. “Visiting hours are from ten to twelve and then three to five.”
Theresa thanked him, turned her car around, and drove to the main highway. It was about a mile to the nearest gas station, where she pulled over and dialed the number on the card.
“This is Turner.” It was one of those voices that could have belonged to a man or a woman with laryngitis.A smoker?Theresa thought to herself.Or someone sang contralto in a choir?She resisted the temptation to laugh.
“Hello. My name is Theresa Gallagher. I am here to visit my Aunt Dottie. Dottie Carpenter.”
“Yes, so I heard.” Not only was her voice grating, but it was also terse. “You cannot simply show up without an appointment,” the woman barked at her. “And we have no record of any family members in her file.”
Theresa was about to give the woman the “long-lost aunt explanation,” but decided to push ahead with a visitation request. “She’s been away for a long time. Her neighbor got in touch. May I please see her this afternoon?”
There was a long pause, and then the raspy voice continued, “Your aunt is in very poor health.”
“Yes, I understand. All the more reason to see her.”
Another pause. “I must warn you, she is not in good health.”
Theresa refrained from saying,I heard you the first time. Instead she simply repeated, “I understand.”Plus, she has no clue that I even exist, Theresa thought. She was glad she brought the photo with her. It could serve as a good introduction.
After another long pause, Nurse Ratched barked into the phone again. “You will have to come back tomorrow.”
“But I am visiting from Virginia. I came out here specifically to see her.”
“Well, you should have phoned ahead. Be here at ten.” And that was the end of the call. Aunt Dottie would have to wait another day.
Theresa admitted to herself that she may have made a hasty decision to come here, but it felt right at the time. It hadn’t occurred to her there would be restrictions or tough regulations just to visit a relative. Accepting that there was little she could do to change the circumstances, she decided to take in some of the local scenery. Sedona was a little over a two-hour drive, so that was out of the question. Instead, she drove to the Desert Botanical Garden, home to over fifty thousand plants.
As she drove west, she marveled at the buttes and Usery Mountains that jutted above the Sonoran Desert in the distance. She engaged her hands-free dialing and phoned her sister to let her know that her trip had been delayed by a nasty nurse, and she would have to stay at least another day. Her next call was to Brian to let him know the same. In the beginning he thought she was going on a wild-goose chase, but after Theresa showed him the photograph, he softened to the idea. Not that he could or would stop her. Considering the current circumstances, she could very well be on a wild-goose chase.
It took about a half hour before she pulled into the parking lot of the gardens. She blinked several times, then swore she saw steam coming up from the asphalt. The announcer on the radio mentioned it was “a record-breaking heat,” which slapped her in the face when she opened the car door. She remembered what one of her friends said: “But it’s a dry heat.” Theresa chuckled to herself. Dry. Wet. It was awful. How did people live here?
Within the first fifteen minutes, Theresa realized she had picked a bad day for walking around outside, even with a hat. She felt dizzy and went into the gift shop to buy a bottle of water. The clerk looked at Theresa’s beet-red face. “Not from around here, are ya?”
“How can you tell?” Theresa practically ripped the cap off and took a long swig.
“Nobody from around here would venture out in this temperature.”
“Don’t you worry about people fainting?” She took another swig.
“We have a lot of people checking in throughout the day. But most visitors come either early morning or evening.”
“I should have called ahead.” Theresa realized her planning skills needed improvement.
The clerk handed Theresa a complimentary ticket. “Next time, come early.”
Theresa thanked the well-tanned woman and drained the bottle. It wasn’t even noon, and she had no idea what to do for the rest of the day. She turned to the woman and asked, “Can you recommend something that Icando that won’t bake or fry me?”
The woman chuckled. “Is there a pool at your hotel?”
