Read Online The Heritage Paper by Derek Ciccone - Free Book Online

father’s side were the same way. One day they were traveling to France like some infomercial for retired life, and the next thing they knew they were practically paying rent at the hospital.
    Carsten and Eddie had dragged Ellen here kicking and screaming, literally, almost two years ago. It hurt them to do so, but it was clear she could no longer live by herself in the New York apartment that she’d called home for almost forty years. First, she fell down the stairs and broke her ankle. And after surviving that, she ended up getting robbed at gunpoint by a couple of crack-heads while on her way to the grocery store.
    But once she lessened the kicking and softened the screaming, Ellen took to the place, or at least tried to make the best of it. Maybe it was out of respect for Carsten and Eddie, or more likely, she hoped to get released based on good behavior so she could return to the city. But regardless of her motives, she got involved in the sale her first year, knitting numerous sweaters for the event, despite throbbing arthritis in both her hands. She even played the lead in the spring play. But in June of that year, Carsten died. From that point on, it seemed as if this day was inevitable.
    Veronica suddenly felt Maggie missing. Her eyes roamed the room, searching for her. She’d reached her limit of missing kids for one day.
    She quickly located her—practice makes perfect—surrounded by a mob of older gentlemen, standing around a pool table and pretending to play. During Maggie’s many trips here for her project, she’d become the most popular person in the place. Veronica noticed her working the room like she was running for office, which she probably would one day. She had few friends at school, but she was Miss Popular at Sunshine Village. Veronica just shook her head—Maggie didn’t come with an instruction manual.
    Not to be outdone, Jamie was playing the role of Maggie’s running-mate. The residents were doting on him like he was their own grandchild, taking special notice of his police uniform. He loved making people smile—easily his best quality.
    As for the rest of the group, Youkelstein was welcomed as if he were a new resident being dropped off by his family. Zach remained pleasant, but quiet. His serenity contrasted with Eddie, who was violently pacing and badgering the teenage girl behind the counter with questions she wasn’t qualified to answer.
    A few tense minutes later, Mrs. Rhodes arrived. She was in her fifties and wore a tailored suit. During their first meeting she had the bubbly-real-estate-agent thing going, but today she played the somber funeral director. Veronica saw a talented actress who could replace Ellen in this year’s spring play.
    She used all the soft words—peaceful, passed-on, left us—the same ones that were attempted by the doctors when Carsten died. But there was nothing peaceful about a thirty-six-year-old man dying of a stroke in a seedy Poughkeepsie motel, leaving two children without a father.
    Mrs. Rhodes walked them down the cramped corridors. Veronica always felt like a giant when she came here. Everything was made to the scale of the shrinking residents and it felt like she would scrape her head on the roof, despite being just five-six. The familiar trip brought them to Ellen’s room, which like her apartment in the city, was an overpriced closet.
    Veronica wasn’t sure why they were brought here, other than a subtle hint to remove Ellen’s things ASAP so they could move the next resident in. She expected some sort of chalk outline or police tape, but it was just a lonely room.
    “An orderly found her this morning in her bed, she must have left us some time last night,” Mrs. Rhodes said, pointing to the bed that had been neatly made up.
    The room looked the same as it always did—miserable. The small television on which Ellen watched her beloved Yankees play was still there. It was one of few surviving items from the “coffee pot fire,” in which