When Veronica emerged from the restroom, ten minutes had slipped by unnoticed.
After sharing dinner with Whitney, a sudden longing to visit the nursing home swept over her. The familiar ache in her chest reminded her of Rose, alone in that sterile place with no memory of the people who loved her.
But the doctor's stern warning echoed in her mind. Familiar faces might trigger distressing episodes for Rose. The risk was too great.
She found herself parked outside the nursing home's gates, hands gripping the steering wheel as she stared at the building where her grandmother lived as a stranger to herself. After several minutes of internal struggle, she shifted into reverse and drove home without entering.
The silence of her apartment felt suffocating. She barricaded herself in her bedroom, drowning her thoughts in spreadsheets and financial projections. Numbers had always been her refuge when emotions threatened to overwhelm her.