Last week, Walt had sat down with Ruby one morning to review her role. She was to take on the persona of 'Doreen', originally from Greybull, over in Whitlaw county. Greybull was close enough to Durant for Ruby to be familiar with it, but just far enough away for people in Sheridan to be unfamiliar with her back story. After all, Walt thought to himself a bit sadly, hopefully these people at the old folks home won't have their memories intact and won't remember if they ever met Ruby before or that she worked at the ASD. Ruby was to settle into the home quickly, with her meagre possessions and then immediately begin scoping out who the thief might be. Dalton and Walt both had their theories – Dalton thought it was a nurse's aide and Walt thought it was possibly one of the cooks.
Jeremy left Ruby/Doreen to unpack her clothes, a handful of romance novels (Vic's suggestion) and a couple of framed photos of her 'nephew' Ferg. One of the nursing home staff came by to discuss how the laundry service worked. She also gave Ruby/Doreen the activity sheet for that month and mentioned the time for dinner that night.
While the staff member went back to the front desk for a moment to retrieve some additional paperwork for her, Ruby sat on the edge of the tiny bed and looked at the activity sheet. She was dismayed to be looking at what her future activities might be, either as Doreen, or in her own old age. Bridge Club on Mondays, jigsaw puzzle competition on Tuesdays, sing-along on Wednesdays, Woodworking on Thursdays, with the highlight of the week being French Fry Fridays. What the heck is that, she wondered about the last one.
To Ruby's dismay, she was given a flexible fridge magnet, shaped like a poodle. Since Ruby was now residing in the minimally assisted section of the villa, she would only be tapping into a few services, and would largely be coming and going as she pleased. Each resident in her section had been instructed to put the magnet on the white board outside the door, by 10 am daily, to signal to staff that everything was ok. Protocol called for staff to enter any rooms without the posted magnet to check on the resident's welfare. To herself, Ruby renamed the device the "I'm not dead" magnet. She vowed to discuss her final wishes with her husband and dearly hoped they would be able to live out their days together and in their own home. Then she vowed to give Walter a very hard time for giving her this unpleasant assignment.
She decided to wander through the complex to get the lay of the land and look for suspicious characters. She checked herself in the mirror, not liking what she saw. Walt had suggested that she 'let herself go' a bit for the role. This went against her grain because she had always prided herself on her appearance. She hated the oversized purple cardigan that Walt had found for her at the thrift shop. When she first saw it, she commented on what looked like food stains on the front. "It's perfect, Ruby," Walt said. "It will make you look like you are a bit vulnerable. So maybe the creep will try to steal something from you," he said hopefully, hating how he sounded. Ruby had always been like a mother figure to him and now he felt like he was really taking advantage of her kindness and their friendship. Plus he hated the thought of Ruby being vulnerable to a thief or anyone else who could do her harm while she was some distance away.
The grey wig and oversized eyeglasses were hideous. It seemed to Ruby as though Walt had gone out of his way to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible. The fuzzy slippers were also beyond her capacity to bear. Ruby dreaded being seen by Ferg and Vic, who would be coming to visit their 'auntie' Doreen in the next couple of days.
She adjusted her wig which always seemed to be crooked, and then wandered down the hall, looking into the combined library and games room. A couple of the tables contained jigsaw puzzles in progress, but unattended. Several people were playing cards. Classical music was quietly playing in the background.
Ruby nodded hello to a couple of elderly women near the door, and then she tottered further down the hall, stopping briefly to say hello to the clerk at the front desk. Suzie had been friendly and helpful when Ruby had checked into the facility. The same person, a 30-something woman, name unknown, was still sitting at a computer desk behind Suzie, looking decidedly unfriendly. Ruby made a mental note to let Walt know of this person.
Beyond the front desk was a large dining room, with an adjacent kitchen. Since it was only 2 pm, no one was in the dining room. At the end of the hallway was a laundry room. Ruby poked her head in the room and was startled to see an aide going through the pockets of a pair of trousers. He looked startled. He scowled at her and then quickly dropped the pants into the nearby laundry basket. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I might get some stamps?" Ruby asked.
"Um…" the young man said. "You can get some at the front desk. If they don't have any, you can put in a request and someone will pick some up for you at cost," he said, trying to look helpful. "Thank-you, dear," Ruby said with a smile. She moved on. Around the corner, she reached into her cardigan pocket and pulled out a small notepad to make some notes about her first two suspects.