Keepers of the Underworld

Chapter 1

Dee and Sephi arrived at the Spring Haven Hospice Center on Monday morning, ready for the day. Dee pulled their black SUV into his designated parking space and shut off the engine. Sephi sighed from the passenger seat, making him turn to look at her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No. Nothing is wrong. Quite the contrary. I feel calm and like we are where we belong," Sephi replied as she cupped his cheek in her hand.

"Good. That is the way I want you to feel," Dee told her as he smoothed her hair, which was in a tight bun. "Come, my queen. I will walk you to the nurses' station before I go to my office."

Dee got out of the vehicle and went to the passenger side. He took his briefcase from the backseat before opening Sephi's door and helping her out. Dee would make any excuse to dote on his wife. Dee chuckled as he stole a kiss from her before closing the door, and the pair walked hand in hand to the nurses' station.

Dee kissed her before saying, "I will come find you for lunch. I can't have you wasting away because you are so focused on patients that you forget to eat." He turned to the staff behind the desks and said, "I'm Dee Pappas. I'm the new attorney for the center. If anyone has any questions or concerns regarding their family members, please send them to me without hesitation."

"You can count on that," one of the nurses said with a grin.

"Ladies, have a good day. Sephi, I love you, and I will see you at lunch," Dee said. He gave her a peck on the cheek before turning and walking down the hallway to his office.

Sephi was smiling as he watched him walk away. He wouldn't say it, but he was as excited about working at the hospice center as she was. He was dressed to impress in her favorite navy blue suit that showed his broad shoulders and magnificent V-shaped torso. His hair was pulled back into a low bun, and his beard was perfectly groomed. She turned around to see the nurse who had spoken to Dee standing so she could also watch him walk out of sight.

"Mmmm," the nurse groaned. "I know he is your husband, but that man is a Greek god."

"That he is. Maybe you will get lucky and find one of your own," Sephi laughed.

"Oh, I have one at home. But, after twenty-three years together, mine is more like one of those guys who is half goat and half human than a god," the nurse laughed.

"A satyr?" Sephi asked as she thought about the satyrs who assisted in doling out the punishment in the underworld.

"Yes! One of those guys. Don't get me wrong. I love my Reginald with all my heart, and I would not trade him for the world. But I will admit, I would not be disappointed if he looked like that man," the nurse grinned. "I'm Roxanne, by the way. You can call me Roxy."

"As you heard, I'm Sephi."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce the rest of today's gang. From left to right, we have Becky, Lisa, Holly, and Katie," Roxy said as each woman raised their hand as their name was called.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Sephi said with a smile.

"Alright, that's it for the pleasantries for now. Come and have a seat, and I will go over some of our current residents with you. For the most part, we have a good group. We only have a few residents with family members who like to drive us up the wall. One of them is Travis. He was moved here from his care facility. He is in a vegetative state following a car accident and is having a substantial decline, much faster than was expected," Roxy explained.

"Tell her the full story," Becky said. "He was running from the police after he committed an assault and crashed, killing multiple people, including an entire family, on their way to see a movie."

"That's horrible, but that doesn't change that he is one of our residents," Sephi said, gauging the response.

"That's true," Roxy agreed. "However, his family is one of those who likes to be a thorn in our sides. The man is dying, but not fast enough for the family. After meeting them, there is no wonder why he acted the way he did."

"It sounds like he did not stand a chance if his family is like that," Sephi said.

"You're not wrong about that," Roxy said. "We have two new patients coming in later today or early tomorrow. Your husband will be handling all the legal stuff before it is finalized. I don't know all the details, but one is a little girl with a brain tumor, and the other is an older man with heart failure. Can you handle working with the girl? I have had nurses who have difficulty with children that come through here."

"I will be fine with it. I have helped many children over the years," Sephi assured her.

"OK. If you change your mind, let me know. I will switch her to someone else or take her if it becomes a problem."

Sephi nodded as she thought of the many thousands of children she had guided over the years. It was never easy, but it was necessary. If she did it herself, she knew they were in good hands, not that she doubted the staff's abilities. Sephi felt that children were special and they needed extra care.

Roxy sighed and continued, "Next, we have Betty. We all call her Grandma Betty. She and her family are all sweethearts. She has breast cancer that has spread throughout her body. Then there is Cora. She is lovely but has dementia that is progressing rapidly. She has days when she is noncommunicative and nonmobile, which are becoming more frequent. Two months ago, when she arrived, she was almost always alert and oriented. Now, it is rare. That is how fast things are moving with her."

"I think I can handle them," Sephi grinned.

"Good! Because it is time for rounds. When we're done, I'll give you the rundown of the other residents," Roxy said as she stood.

"That sounds good to me," Sephi said.

She followed Roxy down the hall to the east wing. Sephi had liked how the building always felt light and airy. It had many windows, which, on nice days, were opened to let in fresh air. There were multiple waiting areas for families to use when they needed them. The day she and Dee were interviewed, there were two birthday parties in the common areas. Seeing families spending time with their loved ones had made her smile.

Roxy knocked on one of the doors and called out, "Miss Cora? Are you ready for us this morning?"

Roxy pushed the door open, and Sephi followed her in. In the bed lay a woman in her seventies. She was thin with long gray hair that was splayed across her pillow. She turned to look at Roxy and Sephi. Her face wore confusion as her dark brown eyes searched their faces for something to recognize.

"How are you doing this morning, Miss Cora?" Roxy asked.

Cora did not answer. Her eyes were pinned on Sephi. Her brow was furrowed as she stared at the new nurse.

"Miss Cora? Are you alright?" Roxy asked the elderly woman. She sighed and turned to Sephi. "This might be a bad day for her. If it is, she won't be able to communicate."

"I understand," Sephi replied.

The two women quickly went to work assessing Cora and preparing her for the day. They cleaned her and helped her dress before her breakfast was brought to her. When her tray arrived, the aide helped Cora eat while Roxy and Sephi moved on to the next patient.

"Sephi, why was she looking at you like that? Do you know her?" Roxy asked as she stopped in the hallway.

"Not that I know of. Why?" Sephi asked.

"The only time I have seen Cora give someone that look was when it was someone she knew but did not remember that day. You might not know her, but she thinks she knows you," Roxy told her.

"I don't remember ever meeting her before today. Maybe I look like a friend she had years ago."

"That could be. Let's go see Travis. If any of his family is here, this could get pretty spirited. Travis does not have a do-not-resuscitate order. His family insists that we remove all life support from him, including his feeding tube. Of course, we can't do that without a court order, but they don't seem to care. One of his cousins has been banned from this facility. Travis had a temporary nasal gastric feeding tube for a while. That numskull tried to pull it out."

"Was his cousin at least a medical professional of some kind?" Sephi asked in astonishment.

"Nope!" Roxy chuckled. "The guy is a plumber. He said there wasn't any difference between pulling that feeding tube and snaking out a drain. The whole family is like that, so get ready if they are here, and be warned, they usually are."

Roxy knocked on the door and was met with a shout. Roxy and Sephi both shrugged as they looked at each other. Neither understood what was said, but they knew it had not come from their patient. Roxy pushed the door open and led the way into the room.

"Who are you?" blurted out a man sitting in a chair across the room as he sneered at Sephi.

"My name is Sephi. I'm a new nurse here," she answered politely.

"Figures. No one wants to stick around and do their job here," the man grumbled. "I bet it was that fat one who quit. She could barely get around the last time she was in here."

Roxy's face flushed with anger as she said, "That is Samantha. She is eight months pregnant with twins. She is on maternity leave."

"That's still no excuse for letting yourself go," the man said nonchalantly.

Sephi could feel the rage building in Roxy. She quickly went about her work and ignored the obnoxious man. That forced Roxy to follow suit and get to work.

"Travis, I'm Sephi. I'm your nurse today," Sephi told him as if he were any other patient. She watched his eyes closely to see them twitch toward her. The movement was so slight that she would have missed it if she had blinked.

"Why are you even bothering to tell him who you are?" a woman on the sofa asked. "It isn't like he even knows anyone is here. Travis is here because he is going to die, and the sooner, the better. This place is costing us a fortune and a waste of money on someone like him."

Sephi looked at her and asked, "And you are?"

"Rachelle! I'm Travis' mother," the woman spat.

"Rachelle, studies have shown that patients like Travis often hear what is said around them. While his care might be expensive, do you want what you have said today to be one of the last things he hears you say about him," Sephi asked calmly and coolly,

"It doesn't matter. Travis has always been a waste of space, and he knows it. I'm not saying anything now that he doesn't already know," Rachelle informed her.

"I see," Sephi replied.

Sephi began her assessment of Travis. She needed to focus on her patient and not his vile, disgusting family. As she worked, she saw a tear run from the corner of his eye. Sephi grabbed a tissue and wiped it. Once again, she saw the flicker of movement in his eyes, making her question if he could be alert mentally even though his body was failing.

Roxy and Sephi quickly finished and left the room. Travis' family had not said anything else after his mother's tirade. As they walked to the next room, Roxy had stayed silent about what had happened. Sephi could see it bothered the nurse, so she did not push her to speak.

"Alright, this is Grandma Betty's room. She is a sweetheart. I like to save seeing her until after I deal with Travis and his group. She is always a joy, and it helps counteract others. I think you are going to love her," Roxy said before she knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a soft, elderly feminine voice called out.

Roxy led Sephi into the room, saying, "Good morning, Grandma Betty. How are you today?"

"Good morning, Roxy. I'm doing well, all things considered," Betty told her.

Sephi smiled at the woman propped up in a sitting position in bed. She was wearing a magenta house coat. Her gray hair was short and curly, and she had glasses perched on the end of her nose. There was an open book, face down on the bed beside her.

"Betty, this is Sephi. She just came on board to take over for Samantha. Sam left us so she can stay home and take care of those twins when she has them," Roxy grinned as she went to work checking the woman's vital signs.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear," Betty said to Sephi.

Sephi smiled at her and said, "Likewise. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about you from Roxy, and I can tell the rest of the staff feels the same way."

"Oh, you flatter me, but that's OK," Betty giggled. "I don't mind a little flattery. At my age, it comes less and less."

"I don't believe that for a second. Someone as lovely as you, inside and out, must receive quite a few compliments," Sephi said.

"Well…maybe a few now and then," Betty said with a hearty laugh.

"Sephi's husband started working for us today, too. He's the new lawyer to help deal with all the legal stuff," Roxy told Betty before she said softly in the woman's ear. "And the man is gorgeous."

Sephi laughed, "He has, and he is. His name is Dee Pappas. He might stop by to see you sometime. He likes to check in with patients and families to check if they have any questions they might be hesitant to ask."

"Oh, that is so thoughtful. I have been in and out of a couple of these places over the years. That's what happens when you have stage 4 cancer that suddenly goes in and out of remission. I don't think I have ever once seen one of the legal eagles visit a patient or want to talk to the family," Betty said as she studied Sephi while she helped Roxy.

"Dee is not like most attorneys. He did not become one for money or prestige. He does it to help people when they are at their worst and does what he can to help the families," Sephi explained.

"He's a good man, and I can tell you are a good woman. It will be a pleasure to have you as a nurse, Sephi," Betty said as her eyes sparkled.

"I am thrilled to have you as a patient. I can tell that everything Roxy said about you is true," Sephi said.

"Of course it is! I would never lie to you on your first day. It will take at least a week or two before I start that," Roxy teased. "Sorry to rush out, Betty, but we have to get on with things. If you need anything, just hit the button. I might even send Sephi with it since it looks like you have taken a shine to each other."

Betty chuckled and waved to them as they left her room, "See you later."

When they were outside the room, and the door was closed, Sephi asked, "Roxy, do you mind if I take a five-minute break?"

"May I ask why, or is it of a personal nature?" Roxy questioned.

"I want to ask Dee if he can look at Travis' paperwork. Something feels very wrong, especially after what his mother said."

Roxy grinned, "Go and don't count it as a break. That is work to ensure our patients have the best care possible." Roxy paused and looked to make sure the hallway was empty. "Off the record, thank you because something is off with this whole situation."

Sephi nodded her agreement before she hurried toward Dee's office. She could not shake the feeling that things were not as they appeared. The family was appalling, and Travis's tears did not seem coincidental. Hopefully, Dee could use his connections in the human world and the underworld to discover the truth.