#43 Longterm

The lawyer couldn’t come for a month. The hospital recommended she call the cops, so she did. The cops found out, not only was it all Hildi who took everything, but she had drained her bank account too. So now, was she not only homeless, but she had nothing as well The hospital was mad, and they took her off as Next-of-kin. The cops waited for her to tell them when to arrest Hildi. They wanted to build a case first, and she wanted to confront Hildi. It must have been instinct, because Hildi missed a few days, but still China waited.

Hildi was still contagious when she came back for a visit. She coughed all over everybody, so the hospital asked her to leave, but not before China got a hold of her. China demanded to know where her animals were, what did she do with her furniture, and why did she take her money. Hildi cried, denied everything, asked how could she, then left in a huff. Now, she had nobody.

China started to get even better. She had a good appetite, ate hospital food, went outside everyday, but she talked to herself. People complained. She kept them up at night. So, she went out in the hall, and talked all night to the people out there. She told her story over and over again. The hospital felt sorry for her, and wanted her to make friends. She did. Most people felt pity. Someone suggested she take the landlord to court, but China thought it best not to draw attention to herself, so she just made nice, and soaked up the attention.

China went outside, in the courtyard with Sandra every nice day. They could be seen together, both with their dark heads leaning in toward each other, hair blowing in the breeze, and chatting. They were a good match; China liked to tell her story and Sandra forgot what they talked about by the next day. They both had nothing; China, because someone had stolen it, and Sandra, because she couldn’t remember where she left it. They were both problems the hospital had to solve. Neither of them had anywhere to go, they had nothing, and they were both better a long time ago, so it only made sense that they should be together. The lawyer and his assistant never showed up, as they were really just friends of Hildi’s; probably aggomplices too. They called in a Social Worker. She worked mainly with China because at least she remembered what the Social Worker said.

The Social Worker had a list of Long-Term Care facilities and scheduled a visit. China protested, and said she was quite independent. That’s when Miriam showed up. She wanted to advocate for China saying she was her stepdaughter. China confirmed that Miriam was the daughter of her second husband, and therefore, her only child, and it was through legal marriage. She was all grown up now. Miriam didn’t know her father was dead; she thought it was by her own free will that she never saw him again. She hated him. But, she liked China, and wanted to be there for her. Miriam was friends with the landlord. China had found out that. Miriam had heard that Thomas had just up and left, and China was still in the same apartment, waiting for him. Secretly, China knew she was playing with fire, but now she had somebody.

Miriam described Thomas as the sperm doner who is a disgusting pig, affectionately known as SDDP. Miriam arranged to be there when the people from the long-term care home came to visit. She didn’t like them right off, because they cancelled twice, didn’t bother to call until after, and that was mainly to reschedule. Miriam decided to take China, and go to visit the place. It was too small. They talked to the people living there, and found out they were very unhappy. The place was old, in disrepair, and the food was crappy. Miriam was spiteful, let them keep their third appointment, interview China, accept her, then turned them down flat. She coached China to wait until the last moment to call.

China had another operation; it was her 26th. This time, it was on her Carotid Artery. Her specialist ordered it. It needed to be cleared and reinforced, so she wouldn’t have a stroke. At first, the hospital