FULL CIRCLE
Chapter 7
Pushing open the door to the entrance, Miles mentally prepared himself for all the disagreeable odors that usually seemed very much a part of any a nursing home, To his surprise, they were barely noticeable and not covered up by some sickly sweet air freshener either.
"Miles, look out,." Eva warned and he stopped himself short before walking into a big calico cat who was wandering around the lobby..
"What is a cat doing in here?" he wondered, looking to Eva.
"She's' part of our Pets for Patients program," a woman said, scooping up the cat. "This is Kritter and she's quite a joy to the residents. I'm Clarice Landon."
"Mrs. Landon, I'm Eva Rossi and this is Dr. Miles McCabe. We're from the N.I.H. I believe you've been expecting us," Eva said by way of interdiction.
"Yes, I am. Come with me to my office so we can talk," she said, pausing hand Kritter over to an old woman in a wheel chair.
Miles was still looking around as though he was expecting to see the residents aimlessly wandering the halls or sitting staring into space. He couldn't remember how many times he'd been there, sometimes bringing his books to study. The eleven-year-old entering high school, the young boy with no real friends his own age; he's spent a lot of his lonely hours visiting his grandfather.
He was brought out of his reverie by a voice saying, "Now you're a nice looking young man. What's your name?"
He looked down at a tiny woman staring up at him with bright eyes. "Miles."
"Rosie, now don't go bothering the doctor.," Mrs. Landon said affectionately. "Don't mind her, she likes to flirt."
"I'll need to look at the charts and the files of everyone who's gotten sick," Miles said. Now that the initial shock of being there had worn off, he was as he had trained to be, a highly skilled doctor,despite his young age.
"Of course. You can use the empty meeting room to look through them," Mrs. Landon replied. She opened the door to her office. "In here."
"Inside the office, Miles and Eva took seats in front of the desk while Mrs. Landon sat down and opened a folder. "The patients are all in a makeshift ward on the second floor," she said.
"I'll want to see them first," Miles told her.
"Certainly. I'll have one of the nurses show you upstairs." She picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number. "Kay, can you come down to my office for a minute?"
"I'm going to give Connor a call and tell him what's going on over here," Eva said.
Miles nodded, it was time to get to work.