{"id":965,"date":"2020-09-27T21:31:50","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T04:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/?p=965"},"modified":"2020-11-22T17:09:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T01:09:10","slug":"sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-xxii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/2020\/09\/27\/sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-xxii\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheltering in Place at the Magdalena Arms: Episode XXII"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Previously<\/strong>: Angelo demanded a rent reduction from Dolly; Beverly returned from her shift at the hospital coughing that she\u2019d caught Covid; as the news spread, Lois and Pamela reeled, while at the Magdalena Arms, tenants bickered about who would nurse Beverly. Meanwhile, Millie\u2019s midnight cooking spree came to naught when she dropped her precious jar of salt pork, and encountered Ramona, who suspected the new tenant of taking Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s Meissen figurine for her own financial benefit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nursing the Nurse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After leaving a breakfast tray outside Beverly\u2019s door, Dolly headed downstairs to join the group in the garden. They’d agreed to meet and hash out the question of Beverly’s care that morning, although everyone was heavy-eyed from lack of sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly hadn’t mentioned the meeting to Beverly. She knew instinctively that the nurse would hate having her health discussed. Beverly had already refused the coddled egg Dolly had urged on her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t need protein,” she’d said impatiently. “Just boil up some thin gruel and I’ll sprinkle some flax meal on it. And could you fetch me a thermos of hot water? Maybe slice some ginger into the water.\u201d Beverly\u2019s voice was hoarse and muffled as she issued these instructions from behind the closed door to 503. She coughed before adding, \u201cMaybe boil the ginger a little. It will soothe my throat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly had had to go all the way down to the basement kitchen to find the big old Stanley thermos that held a half gallon. If Beverly wanted hot water, she would least make sure the stricken nurse had enough to sink a battleship!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The preoccupied landlady had paused on the threshold to the quiet kitchen, a sixth sense pulling her away from her problems and back to the present. Something seemed different about her domain. She sniffed the air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a distinct\u2026porky<\/em> smell in the kitchen, mixed with a boiled cabbage kind of dampness. Dolly glanced about suspiciously. The table and countertop were gleaming\u2014too gleaming. Someone had definitely used the kitchen recently, for a private cooking party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly knit her brows and chewed her lip. Was this another infraction of pandemic protocol? Would she be expected to hunt down the culprit and chastise her? She ticked off the most malcontent of her tenants: Jackie of course, but she and Ramona leaned heavily on packaged food. Lon, in their quest for solitude might be the culprit\u2026or perhaps Sylvia\u2019s daughter Patty, attempting to escape from the smothering parenting of Terry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly shook her head and dismissed the mystery from her mind as she filled the kettle and got out the thermos. It could wait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when Dolly pushed open the door to the garden, she looked around the assembled anxious faces, wondering if one of them had been cooking a late night batch of pulled pork and why. \u201cBeverly\u2019s got water enought to last the day,\u201d she reported. \u201cShe says she\u2019s not hungry, but I\u2019m going to make up some chicken broth, or maybe beef tea all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMake it chicken broth,\u201d Ramona advised. \u201cI believe Beverly\u2019s stopped eating beef.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe certainly has!\u201d Jackie broke in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackie and Ramona occupied opposite ends of the long bench, like strangers avoiding contamination. Angelo was under the grape arbor, on a straight-backed chair he\u2019d carried out from the lounge. Lon perched on the fire escape ladder, long legs twined in the rungs. The ladder swung ever so slightly back and forth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly took the hammock chair, turning her head from side to side to address everybody. \u201cThe point is,\u201d she said patiently, before the participants got hung up on the best flavor for the broth and began advising her on spicing, \u201cThe point is that we can take care of Beverly and keep safe with\u2014well, let\u2019s call it distanced<\/em> nursing. I\u2019ll just keep making meals on trays and\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She trailed off as the rest of the group shook their heads. \u201cWe have to plan for the worst-case scenario,\u201d Ramona declared, with a certain relish. \u201cWhat if Beverly becomes delirious? Can\u2019t feed herself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOr needs to go to the hospital!\u201d Jackie burst out. \u201cSomeone has<\/em> to monitor her!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTake her temperature,\u201d Angelo seconded his old friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdminister alcohol rubs, keep a chart, assess lung function.\u201d Lon was clearly pushing their medical expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly capitulated. \u201cFine, we monitor. But that means,\u201d she looked around the group sternly, swiveling her head like an owl, \u201cwhoever monitors will have to isolate too, so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was time to address the elephant in the room, the coupled volunteers who were apparently hell-bent on escaping their other halves. Contemplating Jackie in her sulk and Ramona who was egging her on for some reason, Dolly felt a wave of grateful affection for steady, serene Kay, upstairs cleaning her clarinet. As for Lon\u2026Dolly turned her head to study the taciturn in-betweener, who was harder to read than ever beneath their mask. She\u2019d never been quite sure how Maxie and Lon\u2019s liaison worked anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m on the roof already,\u201d Lon called dibs on the nursing job before Dolly could finish her thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut Lon, it\u2019s only April. The weather could still turn cold!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They all looked up. It was Maxie who\u2019d spoken, hanging over the fourth floor balcony railing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that I mind sleeping alone for a few weeks,\u201d she added, her cheerful voice carrying to every apartment in the building. \u201cBut you know you\u2019re prone to chilblains, Lon!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd besides,\u201d Angelo began, but Lon interrupted, \u201cThen I can sleep in Angelo\u2019s salon. I\u2019ll sublet it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelo, who had been about to bring up Lon\u2019s mysterious afternoon outings, closed his mouth. Dolly cocked her head. They looked at each other, evidently sharing the same thought: The idea had possibilities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat might work,\u201d Angelo conceded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFine!\u201d Dolly said heartily. \u201cThat\u2019s settled then\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait!\u201d cried Jackie. The thwarted thespian saw her escape from Ramona and their romantic turmoil receding from her reach. \u201cBeverly knows me! We\u2019re friends! Besides, Lon\u2019s not the only one with medical expertise! I did extensive research on onion plasters when I played in that adaptation of Where the Lilies Bloom<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She knows ’em backwards and forwards!” Ramona declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Ramona’s game?<\/em> Dolly wondered. Does she <\/em>want to get rid of Jackie?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnion plasters have been debunked,\u201d Lon said gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could just as easily sublet Angelo\u2019s salon,\u201d Jackie persisted. In desperation she turned to her older girlfriend. \u201cCan\u2019t I\u2014I mean, we?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell\u2014that’s a possibility. Sure.\u201d Ramona\u2019s lack of enthusiasm was evident. Angelo couldn\u2019t help feeling a little sorry for the unemployed actress, who was clearly grasping at straws. Everyone knew Ramona was saving every penny she could get to open her own cannabis dispensary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGosh, Jackie,\u201d Dolly hated to disappoint her one-time proteg\u00e9. \u201cIt does seem like Lon\u2019s got the plan and the medical experience. I\u2019m sure you can find some way to contribute. Maybe reading aloud over skype, or\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the incensed ingenue had leapt from the bench and slammed back into the Arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh dear,\u201d Dolly fretted. \u201cI hoped we could avoid hard feelings.\u201d She turned to Ramona. \u201cDon\u2019t you think you better go after her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese days, it’s best to let Jackie cool down on her own,\u201d Ramona said drily, standing up. She looked around and saw that Angelo was already conferring with Lon. \u201cSay,\u201d the entrepreneurial girl lowered her voice, \u201cWhat can you tell me about that cute number on the second floor, that Missy\u2014no, Margie\u2014no, that’s not it,” She snapped her fingers. “Millie!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh Ramona,\u201d Dolly said reproachfully. “This is no time to go sniffing after someone new!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackie stormed into the Arms\u2019s entranceway, her eyes too full of angry tears to notice Laura, sitting on the bottom step of the curving staircase, almost as if she were waiting for someone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura jumped to her feet and blocked the angry actress’s headlong path to the front door. \u201cWait! What did you decide? Who\u2019s going to nurse Beverly?\u201d the normally serene Bay City bureaucrat seemed unusually anxious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLon is!\u201d spat Jackie. \u201cThat\u2014that\u2014kept quack!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with that she pushed open the front door and darted out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura stood a moment, undecided. She hated to interfere in anyone\u2019s life, and she wasn\u2019t sure Beverly would thank her, but\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beverly was a sister, and she\u2019d introduced Laura to the Arms. And while Laura had nothing against Lon, she thought stiff-necked, proud Beverly might prefer someone\u2026closer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The housing expert nodded, once, decisively, and spun around to the stairs. She had a phone call to make.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previously: Angelo demanded a rent reduction from Dolly; Beverly returned from her shift at the hospital coughing that she\u2019d caught Covid; as the news spread, Lois and Pamela reeled, while at the Magdalena Arms, tenants bickered about who would nurse … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[222,255,212,246,215,261,260,211,231,265],"class_list":["post-965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serial-siping-at-the-magdalena-arms","tag-beverly","tag-covid-19","tag-dolly-dingle","tag-jackie","tag-lesbian-career-girls","tag-lesbian-landlady","tag-lesbian-nurse","tag-magdalena-arms","tag-sheltering-in-place","tag-thwarted-thespian"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=965"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":995,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965\/revisions\/995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}