AFTER VINCE’S FIRM protest about Julie not going into the rest home, she now walked along beside him, keeping up with his aggravated pace.
“Hey, it’s only fair,” she said.
“What? Why?” Vince paused, looking down at her in exasperation.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, because I say so?”
“Have you ever been to one of these places?” He opened one of the glass doors, ushering her inside. A blast of cool air and the unmistakable smell of old people hit him full force. His stomach knotted. Not actually a stench or offensive in any way, it was simply the smell of the dying—and it was something he hadn’t been able to get used to in the past five years.
Julie seemed unaware of the strange aroma as she nearly skipped alongside him like a kid on a fieldtrip. “No, this is my first time.”
Vince look
