#4 China Cat (Stolen Vehicle)

‘…no..no..it’s not an emergency…I don’t…hello….hello…I don’t have piece of paper…I’m in the loony … hospital…hello…hello…send…hello…I want to report a stolen vehicle…no…I can’t find a pen and paper … I’m at the same place I was before…I can’t walk…send…hello...hello…my daughter stole my car… you need to arrest her and put her in jail…hello…hello… she is my P.A…. but wait …hello … hello… I’m not gonna have her as my P.A. anymore …hello….what’s process to change your P.A….but I am asking you…hello … hello … yes … no…ok, but that will cost a lot of money…I want you to send someone…’ It went on for two days. China was frustrated for Cora, but Cora never once screamed. Finally, she got them to agree to send someone out to see her. Cora just waited. It took weeks, but Cora just waited. In the meantime, Trudy never came to visit and she gave the phone back to Carolyn. It was dead anyway. China thought she forgot about it, but Cora was ready for them when they came.

There were two of them in uniform again, they stepped into Cora’s curtain cubicle, and they listened to her story. ‘…my daughter put my car in her son’s name …I don’t care if he uses it for work but he can’t have it…she forged my name… that car was paid for…cash… 50,000 bucks…she broke the law…’ One of them spoke, ‘…is she your P.A….’ ‘… yes but…yes but I’m going to change it…’ The same one spoke, ‘…but you haven’t yet… so she had the right to do what she wanted…’ Cora never wavered when she said ‘…she is supposed to act in my best interest…’ The same one spoke, but louder, and with more authority ‘…we’ll swing by, speak to her, but this is a family matter…’ They left. Cora didn’t speak, except to Carolyn, ‘…get your husband to plug the phone back in next time he comes here…’ She got orderly to hand it back to her.

Thinking that Carolyn just talked to her sister, and unplugged it by accident, the husband plugged the phone back in. Great, they were back in business, it worked. Cora slept for days after that, and didn’t talk to her at night. Then one day, in that low officious tone of hers, she asked for a nurse to change her diaper. China suppressed a laugh as she pictured Cora talking into the button. An orderly arrived on schedule and changed all their diapers whether they needed it or not, and as usual, he was rough about it. Cora didn’t bother arguing, but she asked for a phone. He wanted to know why, so she told him she just wanted to phone her bank. He consented to bringing her a phone on the conditions that he has time and she not call the police. While he waited, she called the bank, left a message, and they promised to call back. She probably knew that. He left. She probably knew that too, because as soon as he left, she called her daughter. ‘…hello…hello…Trudy …I know you are either sleeping or not taking my calls anymore…it’s your mother… are you ever going to come to visit me…’ The bank called back and Cora tried to reinstate Trudy. Trudy never did come to visit or call again. Cora told the orderly, when he came back, to spread it around to his colleagues that she didn’t want to be saved or awoken if anything bad happened. As if they would anyway. After a while, in that officious tone of hers, she told them she didn’t want visitors either. As far as China knew, only Trudy ever came anyway. The hallway people seemed louder when Cora didn’t talk to her so she talked to herself. They were right outside her door. The roommates complained about her and the hallway people. She was told to shut up and they were told tough. China knew she would get beat up if she didn’t stop, so she was glad when Cora started talking to her again.

‘…there’s a guy comes in and looks at you at night…better watch out…’ China didn’t know what she could do about it, but at least Cora was talking to her again. ‘..and that woman…Carole…looks at your stuff…she’s gonna steal it…’ China knew she couldn’t do anything about that either, but she couldn’t relax. She stayed up all