by Lawrence Savell , Esq .
The Visitor
She faintly heard a voice saying her name . “ Annabelle , wake up , you have a visitor .”
Annabelle stirred on the couch , as yet another dream of her childhood faded from her mind . She slowly opened her eyes , confirming that she was in fact in the first-floor sitting room of the assisted living facility that had been her home for several years . “ Annabelle , Julie is here to see you .” Annabelle saw two people in front of her . The first she recognized by sight and sound as one of the heads of the facility , whom she believed was put on this earth for the sole purpose of constantly waking her up and interrupting her dreams .
The second person was more of a challenge . She appeared to be a teenager , but Annabelle did not recognize her as one of her granddaughters who were still in that age range . She felt that gnawing upset she experienced whenever she had trouble remembering the people who were in her life , and bafflement at how she could seemingly precisely recall things from decades ago but struggle with current information and reality .
“ Hi , Annabelle . I ’ m Julie from the high school .”
With that trigger , Annabelle remembered . From time to time , students of Julie ’ s age would appear at the facility to spend some time with them . Such visits had one of two origins . Some kids were among the top students , taking on a bit of extra “ community service ” to help put their Ivy college applications over the top . Others were at the other end of the academic or behavioral spectrum , who had been assigned to come there as the “ sentence ” for some misdeed at school . In both situations , Annabelle ’ s usual sense was that the person would rather be somewhere else .
Julie sat down on the couch with Annabelle , and the facility person walked away .
“ Nice to meet you ,” Annabelle said , turning toward the girl . “ So what brings you here today ?” She was usually pretty good at assessing rather quickly which category of visit she was experiencing , but this time she had some trouble .
Julie smiled mischievously . “ Well …,” she began , “ I got into a little trouble at school .”
A “ category two ,” Annabelle thought , but a little different than the others .
“ So what did you do ?” Annabelle asked directly .
Julie smiled again . “ I got into a fight with another girl .” “ What about ?” This meeting was already going differ- ently than Julie had expected . She had assumed she would be prompting the person she was visiting to answer questions , instead of the other way around . But she liked that someone was taking an interest in her .
“ She took something from me and I wanted it back .”
“ I see ,” Annabelle said . “ Did you think that was the best way to deal with that ?”
“ What else could I do ? I couldn ’ t just let her take it .”
“ I ’ m not saying you should have just let her do it , but weren ’ t there other ways to get it back than fighting ?
“ I asked her for it but she refused . She denied she had taken it .”
“ Doesn ’ t your school have some sort of code or rules of conduct , which say that taking other people ’ s stuff is a violation ?”
“ I don ’ t know ; I never thought about that .”
“ And maybe there ’ s a procedure for doing something about it that doesn ’ t involve getting physical .”
They talked a bit more , and Julie agreed to look into what Annabelle had mentioned . Julie said goodbye , and Annabelle smiled , closed her eyes , and drifted off again .
A Week Later
Julie showed up again , clutching a large envelope .
Annabelle , who this time had made sure she was awake in advance of Julie ’ s scheduled visit , smiled . “ What do you have there ?” Annabelle asked .
Julie opened the envelope and handed Annabelle an apparently unopened copy of the Centerville High School Student Handbook . Annabelle lifted into position the reading glasses that were suspended from the silver chain around her neck .
“ Let ’ s find the 10 Commandments first ,” she said , as she read the index . “ Here it is , ‘ Student Code of Conduct .’”
Annabelle ran her finger down the paragraphs . “ Here ’ s the reason we first met ,” she said . “ Under ‘ Unacceptable Behaviors ,’ item one is ‘ Fighting .’” Julie smiled guiltily . “ And here we go — ‘ Theft ’ — a . k . a . Thou shalt not steal . And the ‘ Range of Consequences ’ includes ‘ Parent / guardian contact , restricted participation in school activities , loss of privileges , suspension , restitution , referral to police and superintendent ’ s hearing .’”
“ Wow ,” Julie exclaimed , “ that ’ s a lot worse than getting beat up . How do we make that happen ?”
They were both getting into it . “ There ’ s got to be some kind of procedure spelled out somewhere ,” Annabelle suggested . She flipped through the pages . “ Here it is ,” Annabelle said . “ You have the right to bring violations to the attention of school authorities .” “ I ’ m not a tattle ,” Julie protested . “ You ’ re not tattling ,” Annabelle insisted . “ You ’ re merely sticking up for yourself and asserting your rights against someone who wronged you .”
Annabelle explained to Julie the steps outlined in the booklet . “ You should probably mention the fight you had , and that you realize it was not the appropriate way to try to get back what was taken from you .”
Julie agreed , took her booklet and said goodbye , with a more determined gait as she headed out the front door of the facility .
A No-show ?
Julie did not show up that next week , although Annabelle had put on her best outfit — and drank an entire cup of coffee — in anticipation of her arrival . She was disappointed , and she was surprised to sense that emotion . It had been some time since she had looked forward to anything , and thus it had been some time since she had been disappointed that something did not occur .
When Julie did not come the following week , Annabelle ’ s long-cultivated defense mechanisms kicked in . I guess she had a two-visit sentence , Annabelle silently concluded . Or maybe she just had something better to do . But the next week , Julie came again . “ I got my earbuds back from the girl that took them ,” she reported .
“ That ’ s great ,” Annabelle responded , not being completely sure what earbuds were .
Julie nodded but did not come across as very happy . Maybe she really does not want to be here , Annabelle wondered to herself . “ Is anything wrong ?” she bravely asked Julie . “ I don ’ t know …” Julie trailed off . “ You can tell me . Whatever happens in assisted living stays in assisted living .” The slightest sign of a smile appeared on
Julie ’ s face . “ I don ’ t know — I guess , I guess I don ’ t feel like I ’ m going anywhere .” “ What do you mean ?” www . vtbar . org THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2017 31