The next morning after breakfast Nathan asked me to take a drive with him.

"There's somebody I need you to meet." The twinkle in his eyes made it clear he wanted to surprise me with this introduction.

Excited, I rushed to get ready and met him out front. The driver, who I had since learned was named Jerry, opened the door and smiled at me. Nathan climbed in behind me.

"Do you ever just drive yourself?" I fastened my seatbelt and turned to face him on the soft leather seat.

"Of course, but honestly, I rarely go anywhere around here. I work, and I travel for work, but mostly I just like staying on the estate. There's certainly always something to do there."

He rubbed his chin with one hand thoughtfully. He hadn't bothered to shave this morning because he said he knew I loved his stubble. I smiled as I watched him. He was very sexy with his scruff.

"You know, we can get you a car of your own if you want, but Jerry is always available to you, too. I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner on the estate."

"I have my license, but at college I took the bus everywhere. A car was just too expensive to maintain. I had an old car in high school, but I sold it when I went off to school. If Jerry's game to drive me, I don't see the point in getting another car."

"We should switch your license over to Mississippi in case you get the urge to go somewhere on your own, but I have to confess I would rather you let Jerry drive. He can keep an eye on you; act as your security when you go places." Nathan seemed very serious as he spoke, but I thought he was joking.

I laughed. "From the little I've seen Mississippi seems a bit sleepy. How much trouble can I get into?"

"You'd be surprised." Nathan's tone was dry. "You now belong to an immensely wealthy family, Darby. We need to take reasonable precautions and be alert at all times. Sometimes people who look like friends are actually enemies."

I hadn't thought of it that way. I mulled his words over as we made our way through the small town. Maybe he wasn’t joking about my security after all. I stared out of the car window, lost in my thoughts. My mind drifted back to Lawson Jackson. Was he just one example of potential situations I should be concerned about? Was there more my husband wasn’t telling me?

I put my troubled thoughts to rest, and focused on the scenery. It was early October. Back home, we would be in the middle of fall, and thinking about how soon the first snow would arrive. Here, it was still in the nineties and very dry. More and more, the topic of conversation when visitors came to the estate was the drought and the worry that it would never rain again.

Soon, we were pulling up in front of an upscale-looking nursing home. It was all brick with a large porch out front. White rocking chairs lined the broad porch, and the landscaping was neat and well maintained. It reminded me of Peacock Alley in a miniature version, but this had been built relatively recently.

I turned to Nathan.

“A nursing home? Why are we here?”

"I wanted to introduce you to my grandmother. It seems like the proper thing to do, to introduce my new bride to all of my family members, but let me warn you. She is ninety-two, and has dementia. I’m sure you can imagine how stressful that is for me."

He sighed, sounding tired. "I guess I'm just checking a box with this introduction. You know, of course I’m going to introduce my new wife to my grandmother, even if she doesn’t remember this visit later. But maybe today will be a good day for her. It is impossible to tell in advance, but usually, mornings are her best time. I have a need to show you off."

I smiled and stepped out of the car into the heat. "I can't wait to meet her." I took his hand and squeezed it before letting it go as we walked into the building.

The inside of the nursing home was bright, cheerful, and scrubbed clean. All the staff wore friendly smiles as they greeted us. The floors were a tile that mimicked hardwood, there were crown moldings, high ceilings, and plush rugs scattered everywhere. This place reeked of money.

I distinctly remembered my grandfather living in a home years ago, and it hadn't looked like this. It had green linoleum tiles that were peeling and cracked, and the employees had always looked hurried and overworked. I had always been reluctant to visit as a child because it wasn't a happy place. In fact, I had nightmares after one particularly memorable visit. This place was much better for sure.

However, there was no disguising that this was an institution. Underneath the clean scents of disinfectant and air freshener, there was the unmistakable smell of human waste, and behind the piped-in classical music, there were sounds of the confused mutterings of the elderly.

I could tell the place made Nathan sad. His face fell as he took in his surroundings, and I grabbed his hand again to offer some comfort. This time I didn’t let it go.

"We kept her at the estate as long as we could, of course, with private nurses and around the clock care. After she started wandering, we knew it wasn't safe anymore to do that. We couldn't take the chance that she would disappear on all that wild acreage if somebody turned their head at just the wrong moment."

He sighed, weary. "I found this place, and we liked it because it was at least close to home. I donated money to renovate and update the facilities, and I think they take good care of her and all the residents. It's the best we can do in a terribly difficult situation."

After we presented identification and signed in, the attendant at the desk buzzed us in through heavy glass doors. There were several distinct layers of security, and I imagined these measures were intended to keep the residents safely in, as much as to keep intruders out. A guard sat behind the desk attendant, keeping a careful eye on everyone in the hallway.

We headed down a short hallway to the very end. Nathan knocked softly on a light oak door, and after a beat, we walked right on in.

The room was large and brightly lit from a just-right combination of natural and artificial light. There was a comfortable sitting area with a TV and a door to a private bath in the corner. It looked like a luxurious hotel room, with just the hospital bed to give away its real purpose.

A frail, impeccably dressed woman with thin, white hair perched on a sofa. She was beautiful. Despite her advanced age, her hair had been curled carefully, and she was wearing makeup. I noticed her perfect posture, back straight, and feet together on the floor. Her purse was at her side as if she was ready to head out the door. That made me smile a little.

The only problem I could see at first glance was that she was giving hell to a young nurse.

“Come on, Mrs. Randolph. We go through this every morning. I just need you to take your medicine because it will make you feel so much better.” The nurse smiled as she spoke.

“I don’t like those pills. They stick in my throat. Damn horse pills. If you like them so much, then you take them.” Her voice was strong and definite.

Smiling with warm affection, Nathan strode forward. "Gee Jay, why are you giving Maria so much trouble today?"

She seemed to recognize him by the way her faded blue eyes lit up, and it didn't take long for him to convince her to take the medicine. I got the impression they had played this scene out before.

“I don’t want to take these pills. She’s always bringing me some damn pill. Why doesn’t she ever bring me a shot of whiskey instead?” She tapped her toes on the floor.

Nathan laughed and took the tiny white cup of medication from the nurse. “Here. Take your ‘damn pills’ and maybe next time I will bring you some whiskey.”

The old lady acquiesced and swallowed the pills without any apparent problem at all. The nurse stepped back, and sat down on a chair by the door.

Nathan hugged his grandmother and looked back at me. "This is my Grandma Joyce. That was a little much for me to try to say when I was a toddler, so she became Gee Jay. Grandma, this is my new wife, Darby."

Touched by the image of a baby Nate struggling to say grandma, I stepped closer and held out my hand, smiling.

Grandma Joyce turned faded blue eyes on me. "Savannah? Is that you?"

Awkward. My smile dropped, and so did my hand.

I sat down across from his grandmother, so she could see me clearly and resolved not to take her asking for Savannah personally.

Regrouping, I smiled again before I spoke. “No, I’m Darby. We’ve never met before, but Nathan and I recently got married. I’m so very excited to meet you.”

“Where’s Savannah? She’s Nathan’s wife.”

I looked at Nathan for help.

"No, Gee Jay, this is Darby. We just got married. Savannah died last year in that boating accident."

Nathan was very patient, but I could tell he was frustrated on my behalf.

In the middle of this confusion, I looked up and could see the nurse clearly checking my husband out. She was preening a little, trying to get his attention, and I’m sure I caught her looking at Nathan’s ass when he bent over to hug his grandmother again.

Despite my frustration that the ghost of Savannah had followed me to the nursing home, I wanted to laugh at the transparent attraction the nurse had for Nathan. I didn't blame her one bit. I had been equally star-struck when I first met him, and this woman was no better than I was.

"I really want to see Savannah. Why don't you ever bring Savannah around to visit? Why, Nathan?" She started getting increasingly agitated, and kicked a small silver tray on the coffee table with her foot, sending its contents crashing to the floor. "I want Savannah!"

I flinched at the unexpected noise. Why is it that the old can seem weak and frail, but when they want, their voices are so strident and insistent? Nathan and the nurse tried to calm her down.

“Now Mrs. Joyce. We’ve talked about Savannah’s accident many times. She can’t come to visit you.” The nurse tried to soothe the old lady while Nathan shook out a crocheted blanket and draped it over her lap.

Sensing I was the problem, I stepped away, and started looking at framed photos by her bed. I smiled at one of a much younger Nathan and skipped over pictures of people I didn't know.

One photo, in particular, caught my eye. It was a dark-haired woman on a small sailboat. She was smiling and laughing, standing on the deck, the picture of sophistication. It was Savannah, for sure. I recognized her from my Google search back when I first met Nathan.

I glanced back at Nathan’s grandmother to see if she was watching me. She was engrossed in Nathan’s attentions, and ignored what I was doing.

I picked up the picture for a closer look and saw the name of the boat – Attends Mon Retour. French, I guess. Fancy. I put it down and rejoined the group.

I stood there, afraid to speak. I didn’t want his grandmother calling me Savannah again. The nurse looked at me in sympathy. "This isn't her best day, I'm afraid. Maybe it would be better if you two came back another time?"

Nathan sighed and took me by the hand. He leaned down to kiss his grandmother goodbye on the cheek, and defeated, we left the room. I could still hear her calling for her precious Savannah all the way down the hall.

Despite my vow not to take this personally, my mind wouldn't stop examining the situation. Nathan's grandmother was sick, and could not help getting confused. I understood the horrors and sadness that came with dementia. But it made me take a closer look at my own future. What if Nathan and I had long, happy lives together? But, at the end of his life, imagine he got dementia like his grandmother and started calling for Savannah, too? I shivered in fear. Sometimes my marriage felt like a horror movie.

While we waited for the attendant to open the door for our exit, I found myself sniffing the air, searching for traces of jasmine and lily, but here at least, I was free from that obnoxious perfume. I much preferred the depressing nursing home smells to Savannah's signature scent.