Instead of going back to Amanda’s office, they walked outside in the garden, as if Amanda could tell Sewanee needed fresh air. “Well. What do you think?”
“It’s great,” Sewanee answered honestly. “Much better than I’d thought it would be.”
Amanda smiled. “I appreciate that. We’ve won many industry awards. I don’t know if you know this, but we were rated the number one assisted living facility in the city this year.”
“I didn’t know that! Barbara Chester can pick ’em.” They sat down on a bench. “Dad will be glad to hear that, too. I’ll be talking to him a little later. Is there anything else I should relay?”
“There will of course be a rather significant increase in the cost of care.” Sewanee nodded. “She’ll start out at Level 1, which is sixty-eight hundred per month.” She didn’t know for sure, but she thought that was about double what her grandmother was paying now. Amanda continued, “For each level of care added, it’s an additional thousand dollars.”
“So, what’s the worst-case scenario? When someone’s . . . here but not here?” Sewanee winced.
“The highest level of care is thirteen a month.”
Sewanee’s breath caught at that. “Wow. Okay. I mean, that’s fine. Blah deserves the best. She is the best.” Sewanee swallowed, surprised she had to hold tears back. “Sorry, it’s–”
“No, please. None of this is easy.” Amanda paused, giving Sewanee time to collect herself. “Last thing I’m obliged to say, and forgive me if I mentioned it when you all first toured the facility, but we don’t have a Medicaid contract. So, there’s no possibility of outside assistance.”
Sewanee shook her head. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem. What’s the time frame for moving her?”
“It depends on Blah.” Amanda pulled her reindeer sweater tighter around her and crossed her arms. “Had the incident on Friday not occurred, I’d have thought she’d be fine for a while longer. But in these situations, days can feel like months. It’s difficult to predict.” Amanda took a moment. “If it were me, I would want to put her on the waitlist, to get the ball rolling. But it’s obviously up to you. It will probably take a couple of months for a vacancy.”
At Sewanee’s silence, Amanda exhaled. “I know this is tough. I went through it with my mom.”
“I’m sorry.” Sewanee respected Amanda. She showed genuine concern and was caringly honest. She was a good woman doing her best in what Sewanee knew was a deeply flawed system. “I’ll talk to my dad, though I’m sure he’ll tell you to put her on the waitlist. Anything I can do in the meantime?”
Amanda smiled. “You keep reading those books. They get me through my commute. But I agree with BlahBlah. How ’bout a love story soon?”
SEWANEE SETTLED IN on her couch after a long afternoon of recording and a bowl of nourishing soup, and called her dad. She told him everything Amanda had told her, reporting in as he had requested, and then said, “So, all you have to do is make the call and she’ll put Blah on the waitlist.”
“Oh, is that all?”
“Yeah.”
“Just one question: Where, exactly, did you ladies find the buried treasure?”
“What?”
Henry took a breath. “Four years ago, your grandmother, against my wishes, moved herself into Seasons. This is after I had found a perfectly suitable facility that accepted Medicaid, in the event she should live long enough to require care she couldn’t afford. But she wouldn’t hear it. It had to be Seasons.”
“So?”
“So, I’ve had to stand by, watching her savings dwindle down to nothing. I’ve even pitched in over the last year. I bet she didn’t mention that.”
Sewanee held up a hand, as if he could see her. “Dad. Hang on. Doesn’t she have Social Security? And what about that land in Tennessee she leases out for grazing? And I don’t know, maybe some–”
“Buried treasure?”
“Stop with the buried treasure!”
“Nothing’s left, Swan. She cleaned herself out. Her monthly income doesn’t even cover what it costs now.” He paused. “Which is why, instead of going to Seasons to get all the information I already possess, you could have tried asking me what was best–”
Sewanee groaned.
“Must you groan? If you have something to say, use words. Sounds are for animals.”