Page 14 of Generation Lost

“It’s more than herculean. I’m not delusional, I assure you. Washington is attempting to make changes all the time to social security and social security payouts,” said Rose. “I want to force them to stop making changes. Create a doctrine that works for all right now, and make stipulations for review based on changing economies and that sort of thing. I want to make senior housing more affordable for those on social security so that they are not home insecure.”

“You are an ambitious young woman,” smiled Boris. “Do you really think anyone will listen to you?”

“They’ve been listening so far,” she smiled. “I’ve been able to make some dramatic changes to Medicare and other senior benefits within the healthcare systems in the last few years. I’m very proud of the work I’ve been doing.”

“You should be,” nodded Greta. “What can we help with? What do you need us to do?”

“I’ve got boxes and boxes of letters, case files, and complaints that have to be reviewed and sorted. If you could help me do that, it would be a huge help. Then, we’ll be going to D.C. to talk to the commission about what happened with all of you.”

The group stared at one another, looking from one to the next with curiosity and suspicion.

“Rose, it’s lovely, dear, that you want to help, but we can’t afford to go to Washington, D.C. We don’t even have a permanent home right now.”

“Of course you do,” smiled Rose. “This is your home until we can rebuild yours. And who better to speak to the commission about what’s happening with our senior citizens than senior citizens? We are making headway, but I need help. You all are perfect for the job.”

“Well,” said Herb. “Recently, they refused to pay for Lila’s insulin pump. They said it was medically unnecessary, and she could go back to giving herself shots three or four times a day. Poor thing was black and blue from the shots. When you get older, it becomes harder.”

“See!” said Rose excitedly. “That’s the kind of thing I’m fighting. Someone behind a desk with no experience in healthcare whatsoever made that arbitrary decision. Oh, there’s probably a PA or RN somewhere that’s looking over the files, but after seeing thousands of files a week, I can only imagine how everything just runs together.”

“We had such a problem getting medications when we were all displaced,” said Annie. “I was begging people at Charity Hospital to give enough to keep people alive. It was like an act of Congress. It shouldn’t be. It wasn’t like I was asking for opioids.”

“That’s what we’re trying to stop,” said Rose. “Our greatest generation shouldn’t have to beg for medication, food, or housing.”

“Greatest generation?” scoffed Boris. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Rose, but we’re the generation that’s been lost. No one cares or remembers what we’ve done for our communities, our cities, our states, hell, our country. Otto, Clinton, Jim, and me all signed up for the Army right out of high school. We fought for our country, but no one cares about that. We are generation lost.”

“I care,” said Rose, walking toward the older man. “I care. My family cares. We all care. These men you’ve been seeing here, and many of the women, served their country faithfully. Most were Special Forces.”

“Didn’t have to tell me that,” smiled Clinton. “You can tell a lot by the way a man walks.”

“I think so, too,” smiled Rose. “The way my Baptiste walks is one of the many reasons I fell in love with him.”

“I can think of a few obvious reasons to love that man,” giggled Marion.

“Why thank you, Miss Marion,” said Baptiste. He kissed his wife, smiling at the others. “How’s it going, babe?”

“I think I have a team,” she smiled. “What do you say? Do I have a team? Will you all help me to change this?”

“I’ll give you this,” laughed Sarabeth, “you’re full of energy and confidence. I think we owe it to you, your family, and to ourselves to do this with you. I’ll help.”

“Me, too,” said Don and Annie in sync. The rest nodded their heads and smiled at the pretty woman.

“I’ll bring the boxes in,” said Baptiste. “We’ll set up a command center for you to separate things out the way you need it. If you need any help, some of the kids will be on spring break next week, and they can make copies or run errands for you.”

“Perfect,” smiled Rose. “Have I told you how much I love you lately?” Baptiste kissed her again, smiling at her.

“Nope, but you can definitely show me later.”

“See, that’s how you treat a woman,” smiled Phil. “I made sure to kiss my wife every morning and every night. Forty-nine years of loving that woman before she was taken from me. There will never be another like her.”

Rose smiled at the older man, noticing how Greta was staring at him. Phil might not know it yet, but there was another woman willing to kiss him morning and night. The Belle Fleur magic was taking hold, and she was going to get a front-row seat to the show. She chuckled to herself, shaking her head.

“I love my family.”

CHAPTER TEN

Grant Zimmerman, the contractor and builder for Belle Fleur and all her projects, had always been given free reign when it came to hiring people for his team. This project was giving him a lot of free reign given the timeline and expectation of completion.

Interviewing skilled labor could be a long process, especially with the background checks used by his company. They didn’t have a lot of time, so the tech boys were lending a hand, getting the backgrounds done within minutes versus days. They wanted to get the homes built and ready for occupancy as fast as they could without any delays.

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