"We're here to see Sabrina Vanderwerth," she told the receptionist.
"You'll need to sign in and fill out this form."
While Carlos signed them in, Toni quickly filled out the form, including Sabrina's name and ID number.
The receptionist checked the form against her records, the same records Toni had snuck a peek at the night before. "I'll need your IDs." She examined their driver's licenses, then filled out name tags for them.
"I'll hold your licenses here until you return and sign out." She handed them the clip-on name tags. "Wear these at all times. You cannot bring any personal items or food or drinks into the wards. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Toni was directed toward the guard, who went through her handbag, then patted her and Carlos down.
He unlocked the door. "Follow the sidewalk across the courtyard, then turn right to Ward Three."
As they crossed the courtyard, Toni looked around. Inside each building, another guard was posted. She shivered. The place was like a prison.
Carlos opened the door to Ward Three and followed her into a small foyer. The guard checked their name tags and took their request form, which he placed in a sliding metal box. It slid into a nurses' station, all enclosed in glass.
"Put your coats and personal items in these bins." The guard motioned to some plastic bins on a table.
While they filled the bins, a brawny male nurse entered the nursing station and examined their request form. "Come to the door," he spoke through an intercom.
There was a buzzing sound, then the metal door opened.
The male nurse motioned for them to enter. Toni noted his name tag said Bradley. And the hall smelled of disinfectant and despair.
"Are there visitors for me?" a young man asked as he shuffled toward them in corduroy house shoes. His Spider-Man pajamas were crumpled, and the red color had faded to pink.
"They're not here for you, Teddy," Bradley growled. "Go back to the men's room."
"Okay." Teddy ran a hand through his dark hair that had a streak dyed white down the middle, making him resemble a skunk. He shuffled back down the hall.
"This way." Bradley led them to the right. "Sabrina will be in the women's rec room. We keep the men and women separated except at mealtime. It's better that way since we get the occasional sex addict."
Toni winced.
"Here you are." Bradley motioned to an open area, then strode back down the hallway.
A female nurse sat behind a counter, watching everyone. In the middle of the plain white room, there were two tables, surrounded by orange plastic chairs. More plastic chairs lined the three walls. A television, mounted high in a corner, played an animated movie with the volume turned down low. The air was stuffy and warm. Stifling.
Two middle-aged women sat along the wall, across from the television, staring dumbly at it. One's hand kept twitching, and the other one's mouth drooped open. Their eyes looked dead. Toni's heart squeezed in her chest.
In the corner, a young female patient sat beside a male visitor, her husband perhaps? They were both quiet, as if they no longer knew what to say to each other.
Toni's heart was already breaking when she spotted Sabrina. She was wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a blue T-shirt. Her hair, usually a bouncy and shiny blonde, was dull and frizzy. She sat at a table, swinging her feet back and forth as she studied a magazine. Her sneakers flopped loosely on her feet. The shoelaces had been removed.
As Toni moved closer, she realized it wasn't a magazine Sabrina was looking at, but a coloring book. She flipped through the pages, then stopped at a page that hadn't been colored yet. She removed a broken pink crayon from a plastic bin and started to color.
This was the ace student at NYU who had made the dean's list for the past six semesters? Toni squeezed her eyes shut. I will not cry in front of her. I'll be strong.
"I could kill her uncle," Carlos whispered.
Toni took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. "Hi, Sabrina!"
Bri turned toward them, her face blank, then she blinked. "Toni! Carlos!" She stood. "You came to see me."
"Of course we did." Toni gave her a hug. "We've been worried about you."
"You're looking good, menina." Carlos hugged her, then sat across from her at the table.
Toni sat next to her. "How have you been?"
"I'm okay." Bri held up her arm to show them the blue plastic ID band around her wrist. "I got promoted to blue today. I'm so glad not to be yellow anymore."