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Pink Jelly Beans
Lynn Miclea
Soft silence settled in the woods, and I shivered in the cold, bunching the coat tighter around me. I glanced around, then followed her footsteps which showed erratically in the blanket of snow. I whispered a quick prayer that she was okay.
Her footsteps suddenly seemed to turn in different directions, went in a small circle, and then went straight again. I knew she was confused. She would not survive long out here. Besides easily getting lost in these woods, she could freeze to death, and I had to find her as quickly as possible. Please be safe. Please.
Even if she had a coat on, I knew she must be shivering and cold, and she might not even have a coat. I was grateful there was snow on the ground so that at least there were footprints to follow and I could find her more easily. This was the second time she had wandered off from the memory-care facility. I would have to talk to them again about locking the doors or putting an alarm wristband on her so they would be alerted if she tried to leave the facility.
Then I saw her — she was leaning against a tree, humming, and picking up the hem of her pink flowered nightgown.
“Mom!” I called. She turned toward me, a bewildered look on her face. “Mom, let me get you back home.”
She squinted at me. “Who are you?”
My voice caught in my throat. “I’m your daughter,” I whispered, tears burning my eyes. “I need to get you back home.”
My mom giggled. “My name’s Margaret. I’m just going to the store for some jelly beans, silly.”
“Mom, no, please.” I shivered as the frigid air pressed into me. How was my mother not cold? “Mom, I’ll give you jelly beans when we get back home. All the jelly beans you want, I promise.”
“The pink ones?”
“Yes, yes, the pink ones, any kind you want.”
She squinted at me. “I don’t know who you are, but the bus will be here any minute.”
I choked on my words. “Mom, no. There’s no bus … I mean, the bus is late. I’ll take you where you need to go.”
My mother stared at me and then flounced her nightgown. “Do you like my nightgown?”
“Yes, it’s pretty, I —”
“Who did you say you were?”
“Mom, I’m your daughter. I want to help you.”
“My name is Margaret. I have a daughter but she’s still a baby. She’s five.”
My voice was barely audible. “That’s me, Mom. I’ve grown up.”
She smiled with pride. “Her name is Ellie.”
“Yes, Mom. My name is Ellie.”
“It is?” She chuckled. “That’s a funny coincidence.”
“Mom, let me take you to the bus stop. I’ll get you some jelly beans, and you can see Ellie.”
My mom’s face lit up. “I would love that. Thank you, dear, whoever you are. You’re very nice.”
I nodded and reached for her. “Come with me. I’ll help you.”
She stepped toward me, the snow crunching under her fuzzy pink slippers. “Okay,” she said in a sing-song voice as she reached her hand toward me.
I reached out and took her hand in mine. “This way, Mom. The bus and the jelly beans and Ellie are all this way, waiting for you.”
“Oh good.” She walked by my side as I led her back down the snowy path toward the memory-care facility. “Do you know I just got back from Las Vegas?”
“Mom, you’ve been living in a …” I caught myself. “You did? Was it fun?”
She laughed. “Oh, yes. We snuck out of school. Me and Richard went to Las Vegas. It was so much fun. But now we’re back.” She looked at me. “But you can’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.” She giggled and raised a finger to her lips indicating I should keep her secret.
“Yes, of course. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Oh good. You’re very nice. You would like Ellie. You’re a lot like her. Did you know she wants to be a nurse when she grows up? She’ll graduate high school next year.”
I squeezed my mom’s cold hand as we continued down the snowy path. My heart thudded in my chest and I ached for her. “That’s nice. That’s a good field to go into. I’m sure she’ll do very well.”
She looked at me and gave a small, shy smile. “Can you take me to the grocery store? I don’t remember where I parked my car, and I need to go get groceries.”
“Yes, Mom, I’ll take you there next week.”
“Oh, good. You’re very nice. You’d like Ellie. I’m sure you would be great friends. But she’s still a little girl.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I’m sure she loves you very much.” Weren’t her feet ice cold? I hoped she wouldn’t get frostbite.
“Well, I sure love her. Even though she gets into my makeup and doesn’t think I know about it.” She snickered.
I gasped. She knew about that? I never knew she knew. “I know you are a very good mom to her and she loves you. She is in a wonderful family.”
“Thank you, dear, that is very kind of you.” She suddenly looked around. “Where are we? Why are we out in the snow? It’s cold out here. What is this place?” She shivered.
I looked around at the snow gently falling. “We just went for a walk, that’s all. We’re almost home.”
“Well, good, because it’s freezing out here, and I’m late for my mahjong game.” She laughed. “I always win. But now they’ll wonder why I’m late.”
“They’ll understand. It’s okay.”
“Is it lunchtime yet? I’m hungry.”
“It’s 4:00, Mom. They’ll be serving dinner in an hour.”
“Oh good. That’s nice. I like the hotel we’re staying in. Maybe we can go ice skating later.”
“Yes, Mom. Maybe later.” I led her off the main path and down a small side path, then up a few steps that led to a patio. “Here we are. This is where you live.”
“It is? Where’s my husband?”
I opened the door and we walked into the warm lobby. “Mom, he passed …” I hesitated and then changed what I wanted to say. There was no need to hurt her, and she wouldn’t remember five minutes later anyway. “He ran out for a little while. He’ll be back. Let’s get you settled in.”
“Okay, thank you, dear. Do you work here?”
“No, I’m Ellie, your daughter, I’m here to visit you.”
Her eyes lit up. “Ellie! I know you. You’re my daughter! Thank you for coming to see me, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. I love you, Mom.” Tears ran down my face as a real connection was made, no matter how long it lasted. I hugged her and kissed her cheek, then stamped the snow off my shoes and walked her through the lobby.
She looked around, a bewildered look on her face. “Where are we? Is it time for breakfast? Who are you?”
“You’re home, Mom. They’ll serve dinner soon. Let me take you to your room and I’ll let them know you’re back.”
I started walking her down the hallway toward her room when I heard a woman’s voice call out in our direction. “Margaret! There you are!” An aide came bustling over. I checked her nametag and saw the name Pat on it. “We were looking all over for you.” She looked at me. “Where was she?”
I let out my breath and tried to tamp down my anger and keep my voice steady. “She was wandering out in the snow down in the woods. This is the second time she has wandered off. The doors really need to be locked, and she needs an alarm band on her wrist so it triggers it and alerts you if she tries to leave. You need to keep her safe so she doesn’t —”
Pat nodded. “Yes, yes, we know. We have the wristband for her at the front desk. She never tried to leave before on her own, so we didn’t think it was needed. That other time was months ago when we had taken a small group out for a walk and she wandered off, but we don’t do that anymore, we keep all the residents inside now. And she has not left the facility in a long time. But we will put the wristband on her today. I promise you, we will keep your mom safe.” She watched my face and her voice softened. “Thank you for finding her and bringing her back. We looked everywhere for her. This won’t happen again, I promise.”
I tapped my foot. “I hope not.” Then I relaxed. “Thank you. I know you take good care of her. She is just so confused and I worry about her.”
Pat’s voice was calm and soft. “I know. We will be making changes and taking additional steps to prevent another incident. They are already installing an audible alarm on the front door, so it will set off an alarm anytime it opens, and all the other doors will be locked and can only be opened with a special code.” Her voice got quieter. “My own mother went through this, so I really do understand. Your mom will be safe here, I promise.”
My mom twirled around, her pink nightgown fluttering around her legs. “Hey, when is breakfast? I’m hungry.” She looked at me. “Who are you?”
Pat turned to her and spoke in a caring and loving manner. “Sweet Margaret, we’ll be serving dinner in just a few minutes. We’ll put warm socks on you first and then we’ll go down to the dining room, okay? Come, I’ll take you. You’re gonna love it. They have meatloaf today, your favorite.” She turned to me and smiled.
My mom looked at her. “With mashed potatoes?”
“Yes, Margaret. With mashed potatoes and gravy, just like you like them.”
“Oh good,” my mom said, smiling. “I’m hungry. What are we waiting for?” Then she turned to me. “Who is that? Does she live here too? She reminds me of my daughter.”
I watched Pat walk my mom down the hall toward her room.
“Bye, Mom,” I whispered. “I’ll bring the pink jelly beans next time I come. I love you.”
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Copyright © 2020 Lynn Miclea. All Rights Reserved.
Please visit Lynn’s blog and follow her at – https://lynnpuff.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/pink-jelly-beans/
Please also visit Lynn’s website for more information on her books – https://www.lynnmiclea.com/
And visit her Amazon author page at – https://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Miclea/e/B00SIA8AW4
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