Patricia Rockwell - Essie Cobb 03 - Valentined by Patricia Rockwell Read Free Book Online

envelope and peered at it.  As
Marjorie and Essie followed Opal’s eyes to the tiny, scratchy handwritten lines
on the envelope, Fay, who had been apparently sleeping in her wheelchair on the
far side of the table, reached across and grabbed the envelope from Opal’s
hands.
    “Fay!” cried Opal, “I was studying that!  Maybe I can figure
out the sender from the address.”
    Fay peered at the address on the envelope.  Then, placing it
in her lap, she set her coffee cup on its saucer, turned the switch on her
chair, and rolled around and down the center aisle of the dining hall.
    “Where’s she going?” exclaimed Marjorie.
    “How should I know?” replied Opal as the three women stared
at Fay’s retreating form in the distance, now nearing the entrance to the hall.
    “Well, wherever she’s headed,” declared Essie, “I’m
following her!  She’s got my envelope!”  Essie shoved her valentine into her
walker basket under the seat, rose as quickly as she was able, and rolled her
vehicle purposefully out of the dining hall.  Opal and Marjorie, not to be left
out, grabbed their walkers and joined in the chase.  The foursome appeared to be
an elderly railroad train with Fay the engine leading a line of cars behind
her.
    Fay zoomed into the lobby, through the family room, and
headed towards the far end of the family room where Happy Haven kept their one
computer.  This computer was provided for residents’ use, but few Happy
Haveners were computer literate or even interested in computing, so the little
machine stood vacant most of the time.  Fay was one of the few residents who
knew anything about computers, as Essie and her friends had discovered from
previous exploits.  They knew that Fay had worked as a research librarian and
could track down all sorts of information on the Internet.  Essie didn’t really
understand the Internet, but Fay had assisted her before in her efforts.  Essie
often wished that she could ask Fay about the Internet and how she knew what
she did, but Fay was silent about herself so Essie had learned to accept Fay
the way she was.
    The women followed Fay and when she arrived at the computer,
they gathered around her expecting her to perform some of her computing magic
as she had in the past.  Fay tucked herself in front of the computer.  Essie
grabbed the computer chair and sat down beside her.  Marjorie pulled over a
nearby chair and sat to Fay’s right.  Opal took a position directly behind
Fay.  All four women had a good view of the computer screen as Fay booted up
and logged onto the Internet. 
    “What’s she doing?” asked Marjorie.
    “I believe she’s going on the Internet,” replied Opal,
probably the second most computer savvy of the group.  Opal appeared to be able
to follow Fay’s doings, but she certainly would never be able to conduct such a
search herself.
    Fay picked up the envelope.  She quickly clicked a word at
the top of the screen that said “maps.”  Essie watched as the screen filled
with a large map of the United States.  Glancing from the envelope to the
screen, Fay typed in what appeared to be the return address on the envelope. 
The women observed what she wrote.
    “715 Tingleberry Lane, Boston, Massachusetts, 02106,” said
Essie.  “Is that what it looks like to you, Fay?”
    Fay nodded and then glanced from one woman to another.  She
hit one of the keys on the keyboard and the screen filled with a message that
read “no such address listed.”  Fay frowned and stared harder at the
handwritten address.
    “I don’t think it’s Tingleberry,” said Marjorie, grabbing
the envelope from Fay’s hands.  “I think that’s a ‘j’ not a ‘t’!”
    “No, it’s an ‘l’ I think,” offered Opal, pulling the
envelope from Marjorie’s hands and squinting at the lettering.
    Fay typed furiously and soon she had changed the address on
the screen to read ‘Jingleberry” and entered that with a punch of a key.  The
screen