On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Nicky decided that she couldn't take the isolation anymore and ventured outside of her apartment for the first time in over a week. She hadn't seen a living soul in just as long. Her maid had braved the grocery store for her and made sure that Nicky's kitchen was supplied with enough fresh foods and pre-packaged meals to last several weeks, and then had gone home to self-quarantine with her own family. Leaving Nicky bored, restless, and lonelier than she could remember feeling in quite a long time.
Outside the streets were bare. The noise, traffic, and excitement that usually defined New York City was replaced by eerie silence. All non-essential businesses were closed, playgrounds were taped off to keep children away, and aside from a couple of people she passed walking their dogs, Nicky felt just as alone outside as she had in her apartment.
"This blow," she muttered to herself, momentarily considering turning around once and for all. However, the thought of returning to the place that still didn't feel quite like home was very unappealing right now. The decor and furniture, and basically everything about the place screamed Marka and made Nicky feel like she was once again trapped in the confines of her childhood home. She disliked everything about the showy apartment, even while reluctantly acknowledging that she was very blessed to live there.
Sighing, Nicky shoved her hands even deeper into her pocket and began walking with more purpose. There was more to it than that...being told not to leave ignited painful memories of being physically trapped. She worked hard not to think about how she had spent several years as a prisoner at Litchfield Penitentiary. Now she felt confined in a different way. Though she was physically free to move as she pleased, at least once the stay at home orders were lifted, Nicky had nowhere to go, nobody to be with, and no money of her own to spend.
Everything she had, came from her mother, and while getting money out of that woman had never been particularly challenging, it bothered Nicky to constantly be reminded of the fact that she was still wholly dependent on Marka in every which way.
Even though she had to admit that being Marka's daughter had significant perks, which she was hoping to exercise now. Nicky turned the corner and quickened her pace as the beautiful grey stone manor came into view. In ordinary time, the flowers would be in full bloom in a few weeks time and hummingbirds would patron the bird feeders and splash in the bird baths displayed for the residents' amusement. Nicky wondered if the groundskeepers would begin planting soon at all. Were gardens considered essential in this strange new world? For one woman, Nicky knew it would.
She reached the grand front entrance and ignored all the signs posted about being closed to visitors and rang the doorbell. The Grey Manor nursing home had been converted from a historical mansion in the city about twenty years ago. Before that it had been closed up for many years and it had been a huge mammoth of a project to refurbish it and transform it into the elite and exclusive nursing home that it was. Marka Nichols was the CEO and founder, something that had always perplexed Nicky growing up because she had always been convinced her mother didn't care about anybody but herself. She'd made a fortune in business though, and the project had been one of Marka's most successful and occupied most of her time when Nicky was growing up.
Nicky waited several minutes without a response, and then rang the buzzer again. Still, nobody came to answer the door but this time someone spoke over the intercom at her.
"No visitors," a nurse spoke in a clipped tone.
"Oh, come on," Nicky spoke back. "I haven't been out of my apartment in weeks. I kept my hands in my pockets the entire walk here. Nobody is going to catch anything from me."
"You can't come in," the nurse replied. "Nobody can."
"Do you know who I am?" Nicky said back, hating herself at the same time but sensing the desperation in her own tone. "I am Marka Nichols' daughter. My mom owns this whole place!"
"Then have her give me a call," the nurse said boredly. "My first priority is to protect my patients. We're in a state of emergency right now, in case you've forgotten."
Recognizing defeat, Nicky huffed one final time and hung up the phone. On the other side, Cecelia Mendoza hung up the phone with a dramatic roll of her eyes. As if she didn't have enough to do. She was short staffed and being under quarantine was very distressing for the residents which increased her workload. They couldn't understand why their routines had been disrupted or why staffers they'd grown attached to had stopped coming to work. Above all that, Ceci had been dealing with harassment from angry people who couldn't appreciate that she was doing everything in her power to keep their family members safe.
"People are working my last nerve today, mom," Ceci complained loudly, looking up at the familiar sound of the lunch trolley being pushed to the dining hall. Residents who were capable, ate in the communal dining room, and others who needed more help were often fed in their rooms.
"And here I didn't think you had one to spare," Gloria smirked. She lifted a lid on a top tray and pulled out a chicken salad sandwich she'd covered in plastic wrap. "Here, mija, you need to eat. I bet you didn't even eat breakfast before you came in."
"Thanks," Ceci offered her a grateful smile, as she accepted the sandwich, unwrapped it, and took a large bite. "Mmm," she nodded appreciatively. "I slept through breakfast. I'm exhausted."
"You look it," Gloria told her bluntly.
"Thanks," Ceci rolled her eyes. "Flattery like that, maybe I'll regret getting you this job."
"Yeah, right," Gloria teased. "I've got you spoiled. The old cook never made you lunch."
"I cook for the residents, not for you," Ceci said in a mocking tone. "She didn't like it too much when she sliced her hand and I told her to go to the hospital to have it looked at. After all, I take care of the residents, not her. Gave her a taste of her own medicine."
"You're ruthless," Gloria smiled. "So, who was working your last nerve today?"
"CEO's daughter," Ceci replied, once she'd swallowed another bite of her sandwich. "You probably know her. She's always in here visiting your friend."
"Nicky?" Gloria asked. She hadn't seen her in years and hadn't heard much about what had become of her. Since her release from prison, Gloria had been focused entirely on her own family and working hard to make ends meet. She had her boys to provide for, she wanted to repay Lourdes, and now her younger daughter Elena was talking about moving home with her own daughter.
For years, Gloria had taken whatever job she could find, which wasn't easy to do with a record. She'd often had to work several jobs at once to get enough hours to pay her bills, before finally landing a job in a factory. The work had been gruelling, but Gloria had never slacked off or called in sick. Yet that didn't stop her from being one of the first to be laid off indefinitely once this epidemic struck the country. She would forever be grateful to her daughter for helping her get this job in the kitchen.
"Does Nicky visit often?" Gloria asked.
"Everyday," Ceci replied. "She's a pretty familiar face. You'll see lots of her once the quarantine lifts."
"Well, that's good," Gloria said softly. "I'm glad she hasn't forgotten her."
Though it had been a relief to discover that Red wasn't in prison anymore, it was heartbreaking for Gloria to see what had become of her. To see such a strong and bright woman reduced to this was nothing less than tragic, and for the most part Gloria had kept her distance. Red wouldn't remember her anyway, but it was hard for Gloria to see her this way. She knew from speaking to Ceci that Marka had given Red a bed in the facility at no cost to her family. Yet, Nicky's attentiveness was still endearing to see.
"She threw a right fit when she realized she wouldn't get her way," Ceci said. "She even tried to pull the "do you know who I am" line on me."
"You mean that didn't work?" Gloria asked sarcastically.
"I don't have time for that," Ceci shook her head. "You know my night nurse called in because she doesn't have childcare? I'm going to be pulling a twenty-four hour shift again."
"Can they make you do that?" Gloria asked warily. Her daughter worked so hard and as impressed and proud as she was, it still worried Gloria for her. Ceci seemed determined to do everything differently than her mother had. Gloria couldn't exactly blame her, but she was concerned her daughter might miss out on things. Ceci gave everything to her work and her patients. They filled the void in her life that a partner or children may have filled, since she had almost no personal life. She had put herself through nursing school, while working two jobs, and now seemed to always be going into overtime and never seemed to go home. She was an excellent nurse.
"I could say no," Ceci replied. "But I'm not going to do that to my patients. It's my job to take care of them, and this has all been very hard on them."
"It's been hard on everyone," Gloria agreed. Lourdes and the boys were going stir crazy in their tiny apartment together, and Gloria secretly was very grateful that she had somewhere to be and didn't have to stay cooped up with them all day. She felt very sorry for Nicky and anyone else who wasn't able to visit their loved ones right now. She considered herself very lucky to live with the family she did, even when they bugged her, and working with Ceci was fulfilling her hope that things would someday improve between them. They grew closer every day.
"I'm going to go feed Galina in her room today," Ceci said. She searched the trolley for the labelled tray. Different residents, depending on their abilities, got to eat different things. Gloria tried to make the food as appealing as she could, but some, like Red couldn't eat anything but purees. It saddened Gloria's heart every time she prepared her food to think of what Red would have had to say about it before when she was in her right mind.
"How's she doing?" Gloria asked quietly.
"She got upset when I tried to get her to come to breakfast this morning," Ceci said softly. "That's why I figured I wouldn't even push it now. She misses her family. Even if she doesn't recognize them, they brighten her day. Now she seems so lost."
"Maybe I should go sit with her sometime," Gloria said guiltily. Though she tried to tell herself it didn't matter because Red didn't know her anymore anyway, maybe she could find a way to still be there for her. After all, Gloria believed in fate and had to believe that they had been put back together for a reason.
"If you want," Ceci gave her an understanding smile. "I wish I could give her more attention but I am stretched so thin right now. I've only got about half my staff at the moment."
"Don't sell yourself short," Gloria said. "You go above and beyond every single day. I see you."
"Yeah, well that's why Nicky irritated me so much today," Ceci said. "She thinks I don't care? I wish I could have let her in. She's not making my job any easier."
"A pattern of hers," Gloria said with a small smile. She was remembering how hopeless Nicky had been when they worked the kitchen at Litchfield together. Always sneaking off and more focused on seducing other staff members than getting the tasks Gloria assigned her done.
Ceci popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth and thanked her mother once again for thinking of her. It was the first time she had stopped working all day. She was always so preoccupied with taking care of everyone around her that she rarely got to look after herself. Yet, she still had doubts whenever she thought about starting a family someday. For some reason nobody around her could understand, she didn't know if she could handle it.
"How are we doing?" Ceci's voice was bright and cheery, masquerading how tired she was feeling. She paused in the doorway to give Red enough time to study her before she came closer.
"What are we watching?" Ceci asked.
The television was on in the room, but Red wasn't sitting on the sofa where she usually sat to watch shows. She was perched on the side of her bed, but the sheets and blankets were pulled off of it and her eyes were red rimmed like she'd been crying. Her books were all knocked off the shelves and a few of the dresser drawers were pulled out. Concerned, Ceci set the tray on the dresser and then gently fixed the bedding as best she could with Red still sitting on the edge.
"What's the problem?" Ceci asked gently. She was silently very irritated and ready to go question the nurse who was in charge of the last rounds. Turning the room upside down would have taken some time and Ceci didn't like to ever think of any of her patients upset without someone responding to them.
Red's lip quivered. "I can't find my daughter," she confessed, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "What kind of a mother does that?"
"Oh, no, honey," Ceci said soothingly. Now she understood the state of disarray in the room. Why everything had been taken out and searched. She'd been looking for her baby.
Ceci's eyes scanned around the small room, while Red spoke distressingly to her in Russian. Ceci murmured comforting sounds while she knelt down on the floor and pulled a doll out from underneath the bed. She slept with it all the time. The doll nearly never left her arms. And sometimes when it got misplaced it would send Red into a panic no less intense than a mother who lost her child in the grocery store. The emotions were real. The love that shone in her eyes when Ceci passed the doll back to Red and she tucked in close, was very real. It was part of a doll therapy program that had been brought into the nursing home a few years ago. They even had a part of the recreation hall set up as a nursery for residents who had dolls to be. Some people were uncomfortable with it, but Ceci was happy with any methods that provided her residents some comfort.
"You're such a good mama," Ceci praised her because she had learned in their time together that her role as a mother was what had meant the most to Galina Reznikov throughout the course of her life. That hadn't changed.
"I don't know…" Red said softly.
"Oh, but I do," Ceci said brightly. "I think about becoming a mother sometime but I'm not sure I'm ready. If it's the right time yet."
"There is no right time," Red replied, snuggling the doll close and stroking its golden locks of hair. "No woman ever thinks they're ready. But once your baby is here...you just do it. You figure it out."
"Yeah," Ceci smiled at her, and went to work cleaning up her room. She put the books back on the shelves and pushed all the drawers of the dresser back in.
"Now, I brought some lunch for you," Ceci told her.
Red frowned. "But I didn't make anything," she said.
"I thought you deserved the afternoon off," Ceci replied. "Isn't it nice to have a break sometimes?"
"I never get a break," Red said. "We'd all starve if I let Dmitri handle the cooking."
"Well, I guess that's why this isn't as good as what you would have made," Ceci flattered her, removing the lid from the tray, "but I think we should still try it." She picked up a bowl of warm creamy soup and set it on the table that could pull up to the bed.
"Can I hold her while you eat?" Ceci offered, and after a moment's hesitation Red handed the doll to her. Ceci cradled it as though it were a real baby, fully aware that she was being closely watched. She tried to leave all her patients in a happier state than she met them in. She reached them where they were and listened to everything, they told her even when it was spoken in a different language or made no sense to her. These people had already had so much taken for them. So, she tried to give them all that she could.