Part 37 If Oak Trees Could Talk!
It is amazing to me how fast the year is flying by, but each week we are getting closer to the end of my Romance/Suspense Novel If Oak Trees Could Talk! Thank you so much for hanging in here with me! Whether you are reading along with me or “tuning in” each week to my Video blogs or regular blogs, I sincerely appreciate you for visiting!
Today we pick back up in Chapter 17 The Tyrant!
When they had gotten the words out of their mouth, another nurse came to get them settled into their new suite. The Tyler’s had seen her around Glenview with other patients but they had not met her or been helped by her.
“Are you Mr. and Mrs. Tyler? I am Nurse Melba Applegate. I will be your nurse for the remainder of your stay. Mrs. Tyler it appears that you will only be with us a few more weeks.” Nurse Applegate concluded.
“No Mam, I will not be the only one going.” Helen answered. “When I leave, Mr. Tyler will be going home as well!”
“Oh well, for right now let’s just get you settled back into your new room! It will be a great day whenever you both are home.” Nurse Applegate said with a gentle smile. She seemed nice enough, however she wasn’t Nurse Wanda. It was obvious that she never knew Henry and Helen. Thank God that Amelia stuck to her guns when it came to insisting that her parents stay together. She felt like because they would be together that they would definitely be stronger and more aware of what was going on.
Amelia had become suspicious of even the nurses. She wondered which nurses on staff at Glenview were in cahoots with Mr. Hodges? Amelia surmised that if a patient was drugged and made to be quite that it probably made the nurse’s jobs much easier. It registered to Amelia that it is the nurses, after all, that must administer the medications to the patients, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Amelia intended to be aware of every move that Nurse Applegate made to see if she was indeed an unknowing victim or a willing party to helping Mr. Hodges, such as Sheriff Eugene was.
Nurse Applegate led Amelia and her parents down a hallway that wasn’t far from the main entrance of Glenview. This was important to Amelia, as she did not want her parents placed at the end of another dark and dreary corridor like the one that Mr. Hodges had led them down earlier. When they stopped three doors down into the hallway, Nurse Applegate turned to them and with a smile on her face stated, “Here we are! Home sweet home until you can return to your own home!”
When Henry and Helen walked in, they were pleasantly surprised! It was bright, beautiful, and Sunny! All of the décor was fresh and new and their double bed looked like a regular bed. They had a small comfortable sitting area to the right of the bed. Also a little bistro table with chairs to enjoy their meals. It was the perfect little place for the both of them for the next few weeks of their stay in Glenview. They felt like it was indeed a nice luxurious suite. Amelia too was very pleased, but then she thought again of the room where Mr. Hodges was going to place them and she truly realized how vengeful he really was.
“Oh it is beautiful, isn’t it Amelia!” Helen announced with a sweet smile. She looked at Henry who had already made his way to the bed. He gazed into Helen’s eyes and patted the bed. He smiled his little impish smile that Amelia was so used to. Nurse Applegate couldn’t help but smile as well.
“Nurse Applegate, my parents really are in love with each other, so I must warn you to be prepared for anything!” Amelia warned as she admired her parents.
“Where is my gun cabinet? I don’t see my gun cabinet anywhere! Also I want my picture of my old friend hanging right there!” Henry said as he walked in front of the bed and pointed to the wall. He needed to see the old Oak tree in front of him. He never wanted to lose anything that he gained, but he also wanted to see what else his old friend could help him with! Wouldn’t you say that would be a good place dear?” He asked Helen.
“Yes, the perfect place Henry!” Helen confirmed.
“I’ll make for sure that you get all of your things from your other room Daddy! Your old friend will be here! Amelia stated. “Gun cabinet?” She questioned. “That is a scary thought!” She thought with another smile.
“I will leave you to get used to your new suite. If you need anything please let me know.” Nurse Applegate said again with a smile that seemed to be genuine. Amelia, however, was not ready yet to let her defenses down and trust her yet?
“Do you want to go out to the gardens, Honey?” Henry asked. He had walked over to the window and was staring out. Worried that her Daddy was becoming a little disoriented, Amelia walked over and looked outside of the window as well. Surprisingly, there were beautiful gardens right outside their window! She couldn’t help but chuckle a little as she really thought that her Daddy was talking about their gardens at his own home.
“No Henry, I am a little weary in my bones! I think I need to just get something to eat and rest awhile. This has been a trying day and emotional to say the least.” Helen answered as she sat down on her little sofa. Henry agreed with Helen as he walked in front of her and sat down beside her. In true Henry fashion, he picked up her hand and kissed it tenderly. They both breathed a sigh of relief as their eyes spanned the room to take it all in.
“Amelia, darling, we are fine now. You need to go home and be with your family!” Helen stated. “Go on we are tired and will probably take a nap. Go get out of here!” She continued to order.
Amelia was torn. Yes she needed to go and be with her family, but her parents were her family as well. She never wanted them to become so comfortable in their new surroundings that they let their guard down!
“Momma, if I go home for a little while, please just keep your guard up. Don’t be fooled, even by Nurse Applegate. Do you understand me?” Amelia whispered because she never wanted anyone to hear their conversation. “I mean, do not trust anyone Momma. Right now we do not know who is going along with Mr. Hodges! Be careful.” Amelia continued to warn as she paced the floor. She then turned to her parents.
“If you need me for any reason, if Mr. Hodges dare says anything to you, call me immediately Momma! Do you understand me? Call me! Do you have my number handy to where if you need me in an emergency situation that you can call me quickly? I hate that they do not put telephones in these room. They have one at the nurse’s station. If you have to, Momma, just use your on call button in case of an emergency.”
“Yes, my dear! I know right where your number is, so go on. Get on out of here! We will be fine.” Helen reassured.
Amelia obeyed her mother and hugged them tightly. She felt as though she was leaving her child on his first day of kindergarten. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Her heart was breaking to leave them. She didn’t care how beautiful or nice their room was. Amelia was more concerned about Mr. Hodges and what he was planning to do next. While walking to the front entrance, she saw Nurse Applegate.
“Oh, Nurse Applegate, my parents are exhausted and decided that they needed a rest. So I left them to rest. I wanted to say thank you. I really appreciated you being so nice to them today.” Amelia said even though she did not know if she could trust her yet. “I will be back before they retire for the night. I just wanted to make for sure that you have all my information so that you could reach me if you needed to.” Amelia continued.
Nurse Applegate reached out her hand and squeezed Amelia’s. She then looked over her shoulder and whispered. “My father is in Glenview as well Mrs. Steele. That is why I am working here. Mr. Hodges, of course does not know this. My father’s last name is Wilson, of course, different than mine because I was married. I used to work over in Scioto County, but my father lived in Mason. I applied here about six months ago so that I could keep an eye out on him. You may not know this, but Mr. Hodges also has his hooks in the Scioto County Nursing home. I would love to speak to you outside this place if possible.” Nurse Applegate whispered.
Totally shocked at what Nurse Applegate had told her, suddenly Amelia felt like she had another ally like Nurse Wanda on the inside to help watch after her parents. A huge burden seemed to roll off of Amelia’s shoulders, but still she did not take her guard completely down. She did, however, want to meet with Nurse Applegate to find out as much as she could about Mr. Hodges.
“When does your shift end?” Amelia asked. “Oh, if you leave, then who takes care of my parents?” Amelia asked in a panic as she hadn’t thought about Nurse Applegate leaving them.
“I get off at Nine o’clock tonight, but please do not worry. Nurse Warren at the front desk will check on them after I leave. She is a really sweet and compassionate nurse. She will enjoy taking care of your parents as I am sure I will.”
“Meet me for coffee at Maggie’s Pie and Coffee?” Amelia whispered.
“That sounds, wonderful, around Nine-Thirty? Nurse Applegate asked.
“Sure, I’ll meet you there! Thanks again.” Amelia said with a sigh of relief that her parents was in good hands.
Thank you once again for “tuning in” or reading along with me! It is my hope that you have been enjoying my Romance/Suspense novel, If Oak Trees Could Talk, for it has been my pleasure to share it with you! As always I would love to hear from you. I want to thank all of you that have begun following my WordPress blogs. Please continue to “tune it” as we are moving right along through the book.
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