Page 22 of X-Ray in the Xanth (Lovely Lethal Gardens Rewind #3)

?

D oreen made phone calls to both of the homes that the manager of Rosemoor had commented on.

Neither had any current residents by the name of Eli.

She frowned, knowing that was good news because, if that was Eli in the grave at the park, then he wouldn’t be in a home.

She wasn’t even sure why she had made that call, since it seemed a little foolish, but she couldn’t help herself from checking just to see.

When she got a phone call a little bit later, she answered it right away, recognizing it as being from one of the homes.

“Hi,” said an older woman. “I heard that you phoned the home about Eli.”

“Yes. I just wondered if an Eli was currently at the home.”

“There had been, yes,” she shared.

Doreen thought the woman’s voice was quite creaky, as if beyond old, and yet that was a judgment Doreen couldn’t really make with any accuracy.

She waited for the other woman to speak, but there was silence.

Doreen asked, “And can you tell me anything about him? When did he leave the home? And why? And may I get your name too, if you don’t mind my asking? ”

“I’m Margaret Gibbons. And we’re not sure,” she said. “It was a very long time ago.”

“I know,” Doreen replied, yet feeling something go click inside. “Why are you asking about him?”

“Because I’m concerned about his whereabouts.”

“We all are, as so many years have passed.”

Margaret added, “I’m pretty sure his whereabouts are a nonissue at this point.”

“When you say that, what do you mean?” Doreen asked.

“Just that the chances of him having survived are not great.”

“Was he mentally incapacitated?” Doreen asked.

“He had a brain tumor that they had operated on when he was younger, and there was some damage that he never fully recovered from,” Margaret shared.

“He was a lovely person but was given to fits every once in a while. So, his life was limited in the sense that he lived here with us for a long time.”

“And you worked at the same home?”

“I used to work at the home many years ago, a place I always called home. I was there what seemed like every day, even the weekends, and I grew very close to the residents.”

“And to somebody named Eli?” Doreen asked.

“Yes, very much so. He was a very gentle soul, except for when he was having his turns. Even then it was generally okay, except for if he got off his medications or they needed to be adjusted. Then we would have a period of ups and downs, but eventually he would be fine again.”

“What happened to him? Why did he leave the home?”

“I thought his family pulled him out,” she replied. “We never knew quite what the story was, but I believe they told us officially that they would be moving to the coast and needed to place him somewhere down there.”

“Yet, was he released to the family?”

“I didn’t see that myself. There was a time period when the government stopped funding a lot of these institutions, and we did get caught up in that for the longest time.

It took the company quite a bit to get the funding that they needed to carry on with the manor.

So, for that time period, our management was happy enough for anyone to leave just because we couldn’t afford to keep everyone.

Still, it was sad to lose Eli because he had been such an institution in and of himself. ”

“How long was he there?”

“I couldn’t say exactly, but probably maybe ten years, even fifteen years. He ended up in a home soon after high school.”

“Can you explain that, how he went from a public school to this specialized home?” Doreen asked.

“He was set to graduate with a remedial diploma, something else that they did at the time. Meaning that he had completed his schooling and could go out into the public on his own and work, but the remedial designation also told prospective employers that there were some challenges,” she explained.

“Still, he was really happy, though his medical problems had been rough. He’d had the brain tumor and the surgery, and there were still quite a few issues which remained from the tumor.

Yet the doctor had suggested that Eli would heal and that it would all take time and that, with proper support and care, he could potentially do very well. ”

“But?”

“But he never really seemed to get the proper time or care, and he never really did show improvement,” she shared. “And I don’t know that anybody was to blame for that. All I’m saying is that it was a very difficult time for everyone.”

“Of course,” Doreen agreed. “I’m not sure anything is worse than knowing that someone you love and care for will struggle like that.”

“Exactly, and his mother had to work. I think she ended up passing on in an accident—or cancer. I don’t recall. The mother and the grandmother were Eli’s main points of care.”

“So, who would move him down south then?”

“I believe it was his father. Again you would have to talk to them to confirm.”

“Right. Can you give me the rest of the family’s names?”

“Oh dear,” Margaret muttered. “That’s a little harder, just because I don’t quite have the same memory anymore.”

“Understood,” Doreen noted. “If I could get the last name that would be great. However, if I could even get a first name, the father’s or the grandmother’s or mother’s first names, anything like that, I could carry on with my research.”

“ Hmm , I think the mother’s name was Mary, and I think… I don’t remember the father.”

“And the grandmother?”

“I want to say Glenda, but I can’t be sure.”

“Do you happen to know anybody’s surname?”

“Oh dear. The thing is, we got so very close, but surnames were never really part of it.”

“Right. When I spoke with the manor, they said they didn’t have anybody there right now named Eli.”

“No, they don’t, not now. Eli hasn’t been there for a very long time,” Margaret noted. “It is one of the challenges, you know, once they up and move. It’s not as if we could keep their records forever. Plus, by the time everything was digitized, most of the old physical files were lost anyway.”

Doreen wasn’t exactly sure how medical records got lost, but she presumed it was something that could happen. “I’m sorry for everything that the family went through. That had to be harsh.”

“He was the only boy, but I think that maybe he wasn’t the only child,” Margaret shared. “I’m sorry. I just don’t remember.”

“That’s fine,” Doreen replied, not wanting Margaret to get so frustrated that she would end the call. “What about Mary and Glenda? What can you tell me about them? Were they locals?”

“Oh, yes, long-term locals. Everybody felt so sorry for Mary. I mean, she’d had quite the time with her son. Then, of course, he was never quite right afterward, which impacted everybody even that much more.”

“Of course,” Doreen agreed, “it’s always hard when people need help but can’t get it.”

“And Mary didn’t have much money, so Eli was a charity case.

You would like to think that the government had things in place to provide stable care for him, but it never really was that way.

So this element of uncertainty and struggle always remained.

There was a time when mental health had the appropriate care, but, in Eli’s case, because it was brought on by the surgery and the brain tumor, it didn’t quite fit the mental health arena as being something they could just automatically pay for.

Mary did get quite a bit of help for a while though. ”

“So you mentioned the father moved Eli down to the coast.”

“Yes, that’s what I recall.”

“And you don’t know where on the coast or what facility he might have moved to?”

“No, not at all,” she said. “The father was very caring, very loving, any time we saw him, but he didn’t come all that often.”

“I’m sure it was hard on him to see his son in that condition.”

“I’m sure it was,” Margaret agreed, her voice getting stronger. “That sure didn’t stop his mother from coming.”

“No, but there is nothing quite like a mother’s love,” Doreen pointed out.

“You’re right there.” Margaret’s voice seemed to be weaker, as if all the stuffing had been sucked out of her.

“I appreciate the phone call and your information,” Doreen said, “and I will try hard to track down somebody in the family, although a surname would certainly help. Did Mary or Glenda run a business? Did they work? Do you know what they did for money?”

“Mary was a cleaning lady in town, but I don’t think that company even exists, not past her anyway,” Margaret shared, “as she was one of the main forces in it. Just a couple of them worked together, and I know that the other woman she worked with has also passed on.”

“What about Glenda?”

“ Hmm , I’m not sure Glenda ever worked much.… She was much more the stay-at-home mother and then had various jobs, depending on her home life as a grandmother. At least that’s as much as I can remember.”

“Of course, and, if she could do that, that’s great.”

“Exactly, I never could do that myself,” Margaret stated, with a laugh. “Paychecks were always needed, and, if one of us could bring home a paycheck,… then that’s what we did.”

“How long did you work?”

She replied, “I lost count, though it seemed like forever. I worked right through retirement and then past, thinking we would finally take some time for ourselves, but money was still tight. Then my husband came down with cancer, and that pretty well finished us. He was gone within three months,” she recalled, her voice catching.

“And, soon enough, I will be gone as well. I’m grateful because I want nothing more than to join him and the rest of my family,” she murmured.

“Did you ever have any kids?”

There was a sigh on the other end. “Yes, I did, but unfortunately I lost my daughter and her husband in a car accident.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve had a lot of loss in my life. At some point, you just don’t want to be the only one left,” she explained, “but that’s where I’m at.”