The nursing home complex sits in the lower slopes of the Diablo Range above San Ramon, California, just east of Interstate 680. It has several buildings in the style of the old Spanish missions with white walls. There is an inner courtyard with a fountain and some garden plants, some with huge leaves, and an outer yard with green grass. About three dozen elderly people reside here, their needs attended to by nurses and orderlies, some who commute from as far away as Vallejo or Stockton.
Addison Augustine, Herbert "Magic" Williams, and Beth Calavicci wait in the courtyard, having gotten to the nursing home in a black 2024 Chevrolet Suburban.
A nurse in a white outfit walks out, escorting a man. He wears a simple blue short and blue trousers. He holds onto a walker to support himself. His hair is white, and he looks like he is in his late eighties.
His facial features are distinctive, with the epicanthic folds in his eyes, the sloped forehead, the relatively undersized ears. His fingers are short and stubby. Eyeglasses frame his face.
"Hi, Beth," says Jimmy La Motta.
"Hi, Jimmy," replies Beth. "Great to see you again."
"I last saw you at Al's funeral," he says. "It's been years. How are you doing?"
"More or less fine."
"Hi, I'm Herbert Williams," says Magic, extending his hand to the elderly man. "I was also a friend of Al's."
"And I'm Addison Augustine," says Addison. "I worked with Al for a few years."
"Al and Beth were at my retirement party at Blue Balls way back in 2010," says Jimmy.
"I'll never forget," says Beth. "You all were and are a family."
"Beth told me she and Al used to visit you frequently there," says Magic. "Twice a year, I've heard."
"Yeah," says Jimmy. "and I remember you. I saw you all at the funeral."
"Nice to see you again," says Addison, knowing that this is the "first" time she met, as Jimmy had not originally kept contact with Al and Beth until Ben changed things in 1999.
Jimmy looks at Addison. "I remember the funeral; you were with this guy named Ben," he says. "Is he all right?"
"He has work," says Addison. "Sometimes he's so busy, it's like he's leaping around in space and time."
"Maybe I'll meet him next time. Anyway, we have a PS5 inside," says Jimmy La Motta. "I still see good enough. Wanna play?"