This morning Dear Hubby called Liberty Nursing and Rehab, he spoke to the head honcho about sending me in to pick up the remaining money in his Mother’s account there and she told him it would be ready when I arrived.  I didn’t want to go back there.  Oh, whom do I think I’m kidding?  I couldn’t wait to go back and raise some hell. 

     I went into Liberty Nursing and Rehab/HCR Manor Care all set to pick up the money and, knowing them, expecting the worst.  I found out I was right.  I told the receptionist who I was and why I was there.  She told me to take a seat and she’d have someone come to talk to me directly.  Soon afterwards, Al showed up.  Al told me, he didn’t have a check ready and that he’d mail one to us.

      “Well, now aren’t you precious.  No, you won’t mail us a check.  You’ll get yourself back to your little office and you will cut a check NOW.”

      “But, I’m busy doing payroll.”

     “You have my deepest sympathies.  However, I was told to come in and pick up the money and I’m not leaving here without it.  How about this, why don’t you call your supervisor?”

     “You want to talk to my supervisor?”

     “Was I speaking in Latin?  Did you misunderstand me?  Let me say it again, nice and slow, so you can understand.  G e t   y o u r   s u p e r v i s o r   o u t   h e r e.”

     Al disappeared.

     His supervisor arrived a bit out of breath and tried to explain that Al was busy doing payroll checks, and did I really want him to stop what he was doing to cut a check for us?

     “Yes I do and yes, you will.  I don’t care what he’s busy doing.  I was told to come and get the money from my Mother-in-law’s account.  I’m here and I’m not leaving without it.”  Then I went on to say, “I’m a freelance writer, and this won’t be pretty.”  (I didn’t mention that I was a mystery writer.)

      She scurried away.

      I sat in the lobby putting pen to paper while eavesdropping on conversations around me.  I can’t help it I’m a writer.  I do believe that when I flipped over my third page of the legal pad and began to write on the fourth the receptionist was getting quite nervous.  On the other hand, could her nervousness have been caused by my making a point of reading the identification badges of every person who walked by?

      About twenty minutes later, Al appeared with a check.  It was for a mere $42.02.  Which for many people wouldn’t be a big deal, but for us, what it came down to was the principle of the thing.  It also felt real good to make them jump through my hoops.

      As you can guess, there’s another Doggoned book in here somewhere and Linnie will be in the thick of it.  I just need to think of the right title….