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I dropped to my knees in front of her on the sand and scratched her back, her shoulders, her ears, and she dragged her long sloppy tongue over my cheek.
I giggled, tugging up the collar of my shirt to wipe off the drool.
“You know, Heidi, you might be the best part of my day,” I admitted, sitting back in the sand. She nuzzled up next to me, nudging her head under my arm.
I smiled slightly, petting her fur. “Today was my dad’s first day at a day program, and I’m really worried it didn’t go to well.” My throat got tight. “But I don’t know what my mom’s going to do when I’m gone if she can’t ever get a break.”
I scratched Heidi’s fur as I watched the waves roll in, then I looked at her sweet golden face. “Want to try a short walk by the water?”
She jumped, giving me all the answer I needed.
I stood back up, taking her leash and walking farther down the shore. Every so often, the waves lapped over my feet, giving me a refreshing jolt. With the sun shining on my skin and Heidi actually walking beside me, I felt hopeful.
I just hoped Dad had a good day at the center.
Now and then, Heidi would get distracted by a seagull or a crab, and I’d use Harini’s tip of getting Sadie’s attention again by turning and calling her name.
At the end of our hour, I walked her back to Jesse. And when I say that man smiled big when I told him that she’d behaved so well... It made me so happy.
But even with the progress I’d made with Heidi, more nerves settled in as I walked home. Mom should be back with Dad by now. What if the day had been too much for him? What if it made things worse?
I approached our house, seeing Mom’s car in the driveway next to mine. They were back.
I tried deep breathing to calm my nerves, counting backwards from ten, but my hand was still shaking as I turned the handle on the front door.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I braced myself for the worst.
Instead... I found my mom and dad on the couch while one of their favorite movies played on TV,The Switchwith Jennifer Anniston and Jason Bateman.
The show was like a melody to my ears, relieving my anxiety so much I could cry.
Mom patted the couch next to her. “Want to come watch with us?”
I nodded, walking to the couch and curling under her arm just as Heidi had done to me earlier.
“How was your day?” Mom asked.
I thought back over the events, from arriving to school to walking with Heidi and then making sure a teacher found Diego and his friends without telling on him directly. A small smile tipped my lips as I said, “Alarmingly good.”
Sixteen
Diego
Janice said,“We have a lot to cover today, so please get settled in and take out your workbooks.”
In less than a minute, she began covering professional communication skills. There was so much to consider that I’d never even thought of. How in retirement communities, these people had gone from living independently in their own homes for years to downsizing into a single room, sometimes shared with another person.
My gut ached at the thought ofAbuelitaorAbuelohaving to do the same and some lame kid coming in and treating them like a chore. They deserved better than that.
There was more to the unit too, about how to communicate with patient families, charge nurses, housekeepers, and other people we might find in a residential or hospital setting.
As the class time neared its end, Janice said, “Don’t get me wrong; the physical parts of care are important. Our people deserve to be safe, clean, well-fed, given their medications on a regular basis, but you CNAs… You’re the ones who interact with them most. Sometimes more often than their own families.”
That last sentence settled heavily over the room.
“Because of how important this is, I’m assigning you each partners to practice ten common conversations you’ll have with your patients. You’ll practice one conversation each week, record it, and submit it online.”
A student up front cleared her throat. “Can we opt to do it alone?”
