CHAPTER II

The Retirement Home is located on the side of the Mountain Upper Side, directly adjacent to the forests and mountains. Upper Side is the quietest side of Mountain Side city. The Retirement Home itself is a cluster area consisting of twenty houses lined up facing each others, painted in pastel colors. Each house has two or three people who live together, all of them seniors. You could say that the Retirement Home is a luxurious nursing home. Residing in this area is not cheap, most of the residents have big savings or have children with above average income. In the front side, there is a checkpoint for visitors. Nearby, there is a rather large clinic and an office of the Chief Superintendent.

Josh leads the way as he enters the Chief Superintendent’s office. He wears an identification card that reads "Employee", while Aidan's reads "Visitor". Josh approaches the reception desk.

"Hi Judy, is Miss Wilde inside? Yesterday, she asked me to find a replacement for Matt." Josh points at Aidan over his shoulder.

Judy takes a look at Aidan from behind the desk. Her gaze openly assesses the teenager. Being looked at like that makes Aidan stand awkwardly. He lowers his head, avoiding eye contact with Judy.

After making Aidan feels awkward, Judy looks back at Josh, "You wait." She nods at towards the chair in the lobby.

"Miss Wilde has some business at the clinic, soon she will be back."

Shortly thereafter, Miss Wilde shows up. Judy calls her out and points at Josh and Aidan. Miss Wilde nods and walks to where the two young men wait.

Josh gets up, sprucing his jacket.

"Mr. Dawson, we talk inside." Miss Wilde leads the two of them to her office.

Miss Wilde is a neat woman. The office is well-organized, similar to her conservative and formal way of dressing. She invites Josh and Aidan to sit across the table. Miss Wilde sits perfectly upright, cupping her hands on the table. "All right, Mr. Dawson, what can I do for you?"

Josh swallows hard, trying to sound as professional as possible. "Miss Wilde, introduce my friend, Aidan Reid. Err…, the last time you asked me to find someone to replace Matt. This friend of mine, Aidan, Err ... I think you can hire him as a replacement for Matt."

Miss Wilde looks at Aidan, judging the personality of the teenager by his appearance. "Mr. Reid, are you willing to work here? I just want to make it clear. Sometimes these senior community members have melancholy feelings. That makes them trust others, too easily. Especially, to young people like you. Maybe you remind them of their grandchildren or children or themselves when they were young. I do not want my employees to take advantage of such conditions, nor will I tolerate if you abuse the trust of the Retirement Home residents. Naturally, we respect and look after these seniors. I hope you can understand that, Mr. Reid."

"I do." While sitting and listening to Miss Wilde's, Aidan thinks it is just logical that the woman is not married, maybe the men who had approached her felt intimidated by her presence, because that is what Aidan feels right now.

"Good, as it is Mr. Dawson recommendation, I will not doubt your abilities. When can you start working?"

"Next week, I think..." Somehow Aidan feels compelled to ask for Miss Wilde's approval of his decision.

Miss Wilde nods. "Very good. In that case, we can discuss matters of work rules, salaries, and all those kinds of things."