Page 105 of The Sign for Home

“Yes! Serious! We must go back to nursing home. Shri and I long talk. Discuss plan. Her idea. She knows best time and way escape. Shri says we run away, find apartment, and live together. Remember, you promise will help? So help!”

“No, no, no! I did not promise that. We are not helping Shri escape from the nursing home!”

“But Shri has plan!”

“Forget it. Besides, we can’t get within ten feet of that place thanks to you!”

“Shri like prisoner! They abuse! Not provide interpreter! ADA law says illegal! Must tell police!”

I took a deep breath and tried to see the whole thing from Arlo’s point of view. The person he loved was in danger, was hurting. She convinced him of some lame plan that would let them be together. Of course he wasn’t thinking clearly.

“Yes. You’re right,” I signed. “But the police aren’t going to help us. There are dozens of steps she has to take. First, we can report the situation to Adult Protective Services. Once they get involved it will still take some time. But it’s the best we can do at the moment. And remember, we have to get you back to Poughkeepsie so Brother Birch doesn’t find out. And then you’ll go to Ecuador tomorrow and let the situation here cool down. I can make sure someone follows up on getting help for Shri, even if it has to be me. I promise.”

All of a sudden, Arlo let out a guttural scream and swung at me, nearly hitting me.

“No!” he yelled. “I refuse wait! I refuse fly to Ecuador. Understand? Shri will kill herself if I leave her there. She fell off roof because of me. She suffers because of me!”

I grabbed his hands and tried to sign calmly.

“Just please listen for a moment. And please do not try to hit me again. You shouldn’t be blaming yourself for any of this.”

“You don’t know!” Arlo yelled. “We must help her get out tonight! Must!”

“We can’t. Don’t you understand? Shri’s under guardianship like you. I know this isn’t fair, but the state has said that neither of you can make decisions for yourselves. If we took Shri tonight, we could be accused of kidnapping.”

A look of pure hatred filled Arlo’s eyes.

“Go ahead and hate me,” I signed. “I’m trying to be a good friend by NOT letting you do something stupid.”

At that moment I saw Hanne rushing down the block toward the car, clutching a large tote bag to her chest.

“You went shopping? Are you kidding me?” I shouted, my anger at Arlo projected onto her. “Now he wants us to help break Shri out of the nursing home like we’re in a fucking prison escape movie!”

“Would it be okay if I talked to him?” Hanne asked.

“Good. Please talk some sense into him.”

I felt certain Hanne would be able to reason with Arlo better than me, since their bond was different and didn’t involve interpreting.

“Hanne wants to talk to you,” I signed and voiced. “Remember, she’s almost a nurse. She’s going to explain to you how dangerous it would be to take Shri from the nursing home. We don’t even know the extent of Shri’s injuries. Go ahead, Hanne. Tell him.”

Hanne smiled and then held out the tote bag she had been carrying, letting Arlo feel it. I could finally see that the bag contained a large plastic three-ring binder filled with hundreds of pages and colored tabs.

“This is what I need to tell him,” Hanne said, her voice growing more excited. “While you and Arlo were causing such a mess, I talked to that nurse, the big burly Russian guy? You won’t believe what I found out!”

I stopped interpreting and glared at Hanne, an uneasy feeling seeping into my gut.

“Hanne?” I said. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Tell me what Hanne say!” Arlo demanded, before angrily grabbing my dormant hands and shaking them. I proceeded to interpret.

“Morally questionable?” Hanne said, shrugging. “Perhaps. But effective. It turns out the Russian nurse is from a town I’ve visited on the Black Sea.”

“Hanne, for chrissakes,” I said, shaking my head.

“Oh, stop it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I was chatty, that’s all. Maybe a little flirty. Period. We mostly just talked nursing school stuff, bedsores, and wound drainage. Also, where I can buy the best frozen pierogi in Queens.You think I would whore myself out? Shame on you. Anyway, when he went off to give a patient some medicine, he left me alone in the medical office. And guess what? I found Shri’s medical file just lying out unattended on the nursing station counter with several other files. That’s a serious violation of HIPAA rules! They could definitely be sued. I was so appalled at the understaffing and blatant disregard for medical file protocol, I walked out, and somehow Shri’s unprotected file fell into my tote bag! Can you imagine?”

Arlo started rocking with excitement, then he reached out for Hanne, who embraced him. That’s when I blew up.

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