Read Online Stacy Matthews - Dear Mary 01 - Think Twice Before You Order by Stacy Matthews - Free Book Online Page B

roof recovered in tan leather. 
He was so excited to show me everything he had done; he was like a little kid
with a new toy. He found the car at an auction about fifteen years ago but
never really worked on it until after his wife died. I think it helped him work
through a lot of his grief. I was hoping he would let me drive, but no such
luck. We jumped in and headed towards Dr. Niemeyer’s office on the Plaza. It’s
about half an hour from the house. Silly me thought Charlie might let me drive
part of the way so I could see for myself how well she handled, then he could
take over before we got to the Plaza. Charlie said he really didn’t like anyone
else driving his car.
    He also apparently doesn’t like silence in the car. I learned
quite a bit about the Plaza. It was designed by a man named J.C. Nichols, who
was a developer in the area back in the early nineteen hundreds. When the Plaza
was first developed it was a small shopping area with a few stores. It
resembled a small Italian village with its stucco buildings and red tile roofs.
Now it is fifteen blocks of the most expensive shops, restaurants, and office
space in town.
    If you think of the fifteen blocks as a square, the roads
that make the outline of the square are the only roads that have any
stoplights. There are no stop signs or stoplights on any of the streets inside
of the square, and the pedestrians have the right of way. It’s quaint and still
a very popular place to shop in the Kansas City area. There are numerous
hotels, homes and lofts that outline the square. They have a lighting ceremony
every Thanksgiving Day Night that kicks off the holiday season and it has
gained national attention. Literally hundreds of thousands of people turn out
for it every year. It is quite impressive.
    We were lucky and found a parking spot in front of Dr.
Niemeyer’s office. We took the elevator to the second floor and went left down the
hallway. His office was much smaller than I imagined and very plain. Maybe it’s
just me but when I think of a counselor’s office I imagine it to be cozy and
homey; lots of overstuffed furniture and books, things that would make you feel
comfortable enough to tell someone your problems. This office was small and
impersonal, almost institutional looking. There were two straight-back chairs
and a table with a few magazines on it, and straight in front of that is the
counter where the receptionist sat.
    When Charlie and I walked in, there was no one in the waiting
room, and the receptionist was on the phone. We casually looked around as we
waited for her to get off the phone. I did notice that she didn’t take her eyes
off us from the minute we walked in the door. She was a stern-looking woman.
She had dark hair that was pulled back in a tight bun. I wouldn’t call it a
uniform that she had on, but if that was an outfit there’s a lot of room for
improvement.  “Can I help you?” I couldn’t help but notice that she
sounded a lot like that cartoon character Natasha that said “Moose and
Squirrel.” I was going to ask her to say Moose and Squirrel, but she didn’t
look like she had a sense of humor. I introduced myself and told her I was
looking for my grandfather and Tatiana. She looked at me with a blank face,
almost as if she was looking through me and not at me. She finally said patient
information is confidential. I reiterated that I didn’t want patient
information; I wanted to know if they knew where Grandpa and Tatiana might be.
She said she would have to check with the doctor, and disappeared down the
hall. I think she walked around the corner and stood there, but what do I know?
She returned in less than a minute. She said she had checked Tatiana’s file and
the only family listed was Mr. Graham. They only keep information on the
patient’s immediate family. She also checked with the doctor, but he had no
idea where they might be. That was the only information she was going to be
able to give us and that was