{"id":992,"date":"2020-11-22T16:59:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T00:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/?p=992"},"modified":"2020-11-22T17:58:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T01:58:43","slug":"sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-xxviii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/2020\/11\/22\/sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-xxviii\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheltering in Place at the Magdalena Arms: Episode XXVIII"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Previously:<\/strong> Anxious Lois turned to the Magdalena Arms for help as Pamela sunk deeper into a Covid-induced depression, while Laura explained she\u2019d called Beverly\u2019s ex-girlfriend to care for the stricken nurse, despite the political rift between them. Rifts remain between Jackie and Ramona, Phyllis and Laura, and important clues to Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s daughter are in danger of getting lost in all the romantic distraction!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faithful Readers: <\/strong>Another apology for a delayed episode! Your narrator was occupied from dawn until dark, dashing between disaster service work and the AMIA conference on media archiving. She suspects that many of her faithful readers read more slowly than she writes and may not have even noticed this schedule hiccup, but please pipe up with an “au contraire” if this is not the case!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rifts and Secrets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the following week Beverly\u2019s fever was down and the stricken nurse was on the mend. Audley remained sequestered in Beverly\u2019s studio and what went on between the ex-lovers aside from nursing was anybody\u2019s guess. Dolly was loathe to ask Audley anything, even to query how contagious Beverly still was, and when the building would be free of the Covid taint. The big blond landlady shrugged her shoulders when questioned by her tenants, and supposed that the pair were following some health safety protocol known only to nurses. It seemed to Lon that Dolly was a little afraid of Audley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pamela, the other patient, proved to be a more stubborn case. A series of warm baths and some sets of sit-ups had somewhat restored the retail executive, at least physically. Her personal hygiene was improved, at any rate, and Lois coaxed her each morning into a semblance of normal attire. But Pam was a mere shell of her old self. The only activity that brought a spark of life to her eye was the search for Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s daughter. She\u2019d roused herself to look at the box of papers Sylvia had culled, but her energy flagged after twenty minutes spent perusing the crabbed handwriting from an earlier era, and she was soon sighing, \u201cIt\u2019s hopeless,\u201d as she lay back on Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s bed for another lengthy nap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lon sometimes wondered if Lois hindered her girlfriend\u2019s recovery, for all her desire to help. The office manager\u2019s obsession with hygiene weighed down every interaction Pam had with the outside world, whether it was Lon\u2019s visits to check up on Pamela, or Dolly bringing a batch of muffins, or Sylvia lugging down another box of papers for Pamela to peruse. Everyone had to sanitize their hands under Lois\u2019s anxious gaze; all inanimate objects were sequestered in a \u201cdecontamination zone\u201d in a corner of the room. Lon couldn\u2019t help comparing Lois\u2019s behavior to the DSM\u2019s criteria for compulsive disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But was it any wonder, after these weeks of anxious confinement, that everyone was a little loony? Lon had rejoiced when the local restaurants at last began to reopen for takeout, and had immediately put in an order for cannelloni at Luigi\u2019s. The familiar favorite gave off a faint flavor of normalcy along with the odor of garlic. They were carrying the bag of take-out up to the fourth floor to surprise Maxie when Millie accosted them on the second floor landing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCould you please do me the favor,\u201d said the standoffish newcomer stiffly, \u201cOf not sharing my personal information with our landlady?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d asked Lon, coming to a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou apparently told her I was starving and needed a handout, when I\u2019m not and I don\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh?\u201d Lon looked at Millie carefully, searching for signs of paranoia, and then remembered. \u201cOh. I did mention your visit to the food pantry. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe last thing I need right now is some stranger interfer\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell Dolly to layoff,\u201d Lon interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d appreciate that.\u201d Millie unbent a bit. \u201cI have plenty of food. It\u2019s just a pity the pantry doesn\u2019t include coffee with all those carrots\u2014\u201d She stopped as if she\u2019d said too much. \u201cBut anyway, unemployment should kick in any day now. Don\u2019t mention that to Dolly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d Lon told her. Although they thought they might mention it to Maxie. As a fellow caffeine fiend, Maxie would surely be moved to share her stash. Something about Millie brought out Lon\u2019s protective side, and they hated to think of their young neighbor jonesing for a cup of joe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour hair\u2019s wet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remark startled Lon. \u201cStaying clean,\u201d they said, passing a self-conscious hand over their damp head. Underneath their mask they\u2019d put on an automatic smile, designed to charm and deflect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a moment Millie looked like she might say more\u2014maybe remark that Lon was coming from the street, not the shower, and shouldn\u2019t their short hair have dryed by now? But Millie only shrugged slightly and said, \u201cWell, goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lon made a mental note: the new girl was observant. Even when distracted by her own woes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A flight and a half up Lon crossed paths with Ramona. She greeted Lon cheerily and Lon caught a whiff of alcohol as she passed. The green entrepreneur had been having a drink with Maxie again, they supposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Lois was ultra-vigilant in her sanitizing and protecting against contagion, the rest of the Arms\u2019s dwellers had gotten more casual in their precautions, hobnobbing in the halls, masks askew, or in the case of Maxie holding intimate little happy hours on her back deck. It was as if Beverly\u2019s recuperation from Covid had proven somehow that the pandemic could be survived, and so lessened their fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new nonchalance made Lon a little uneasy. If the two nurses weren\u2019t isolated and unaware in Beverly\u2019s studio, they might have put a stop to such behavior. But why hadn\u2019t Laura and Phyllis, the protocol-conscious bureaucrats, spoken up? They hadn\u2019t hesitated to make a huge fuss about that haircut a few weeks ago!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if conjured by Lon\u2019s musings, Laura opened her door and peered out. \u201cOh\u2014hello, Lon,\u201d she said, trying to conceal her disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxie might have asked, \u201cWho are you looking for Laura?\u201d but Lon simply said, \u201cHi,\u201d and continued to climb. She’d stayed out of the speculation as to what had blighted the growing bond between the bureaucrats this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxie was on the couch for once, scribbling busily on a legal pad. She greeted the cannoli with a squeal of delight. \u201cLon! How perfect! I thought we\u2019d have to have the lentil stew or something healthy.\u201d But she kept writing, and even brought her notes to the table, continuing to jot down words between bites, until finally Lon asked, \u201cBig story?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxie looked up. Instead of answering, she asked a question of her own: \u201cWhere is it you go, that you come back with wet hair?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lon swallowed the last of their glass of water. \u201cYou don\u2019t really want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDitto,\u201d said Maxie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next:<\/strong> Ramona begins to wonder about Jackie\u2019s continued absence, Maxie visits new girl Millie, and Lois leaves on an unexpected trip.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previously: Anxious Lois turned to the Magdalena Arms for help as Pamela sunk deeper into a Covid-induced depression, while Laura explained she\u2019d called Beverly\u2019s ex-girlfriend to care for the stricken nurse, despite the political rift between them. Rifts remain between … 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":[274,275,255,273,215,220,223,211,257,221],"class_list":["post-992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serial-siping-at-the-magdalena-arms","tag-caffeine","tag-cannoli","tag-covid-19","tag-depression","tag-lesbian-career-girls","tag-lois","tag-lon","tag-magdalena-arms","tag-nursing","tag-pamela"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992","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=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1001,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/1001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}