Read Aging with Gracie for Free Online Page B

“You’ll be back?”
    “Don’t see how I can avoid it now,” he heaved a deep sigh. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he assured her.
    As he walked to his truck, Jack had an uncanny premonition that keeping an eye on the accident-prone prima donna would be par for the course...at least until her work at Mansfield Park was complete.
    And the way he figured it, he was just the man for the job!
    •∞•∞•
    The next morning, as Grace struggled to awaken, she found that several of her body parts throbbed as if she’d been run over by a truck.
    Wait a minute! Something is not right here. What is going on?
    Her head fell back onto the cushion of the chaise as she remembered the events of the previous day. Her arm and ankle were absolutely killing her!
    She took a moment to stretch out the kinks in her neck before she tried to move anything else. Practically helpless, she scooted over to the edge of the lounge, grimacing as she felt a pain in her backside. The memory was swift, and she vowed then and there to avoid nurses at all costs. After all, if not for Nurse North and her ridiculous vaccination, she would have never been in this predicament in the first place.
    Grace tried to remember the events following her visit to the Emergency Room, but her mind was hazy. She recalled Jack Ellis and a few smirking grins, but other than that, she was lost.
    “Well, he’s probably like everyone else, thinking I’m going to fail at this assignment,” she said as she reached toward a cane someone had hooked over the arm of a nearby chair. She pulled herself up with her good arm and headed toward the restroom.
    “Well, I’ll show him that working with Grace Woodhouse is a completely different ballgame. Just wait until Jack Ellis gets a load of me!”

 
    Chapter 3
    Scents and Senility
     
     
     
     
    “Hey, Artie, get a load of her!” Grace heard a man call out as she entered the foyer of Mansfield Park three days later.
    She leaned on her cane and pierced him with a withering stare. Despite her intentions to head into work the day after the accident, her pain had been too severe to allow more than a few minutes of standing. Working beyond the comfort of the chaise lounge had not been an option until today. Thankfully, she’d had her laptop. Plus, Jack had breezed in a couple of times to make a repair or two. Grace’s irritated expression turned to a smile at the image of Jack Ellis pampering her.
    Ah, bliss !
    Remembering her previous mishap, Grace turned around in a cautious circle and headed toward the Common Room. Thankfully, Mrs. Elderman had volunteered to keep an eye on Mr. Knightley. Grace had been overjoyed with the offer and had quickly accepted. Tugging on a leash would not have been possible with the sling and cane.
    As had occurred on her first visit, she was hit by the stale smell of urine and moth balls the minute she exited the foyer.
    Something’s gotta’ give with the ventilation in this place , she groaned to herself. She added that item to her mental checklist and headed toward the director’s office...but not before she heard the other man’s parting comment.
    “They’re letting them in here younger and younger every day,” he replied in a loud voice. “Why, that girl’s at least forty.”
    “And get Mr. Polyester Plaid Pants a new set of bifocals,” Grace tacked onto her growing list with a grumble.
    She glanced down at her outfit and felt a surge of annoyance. Why, merely the cut of the emerald green wrap blouse screamed twenty-something. Not to mention what it did to accentuate her eye color!
    She moved to retrieve her smart phone then groaned as she realized that she couldn’t reach it. With one hand practically glued to the cane and the other encased in the sling, Grace was forced to sit down just to do the most basic of functions. The helplessness and lack of order was driving her crazy.
    As she hobbled down the hall, she took a closer look at the corporate gift that, according to Jack