Ellie was having a hard time processing how much Edna had changed. Her blond hair was brown with grease. Her lips were slightly parted as she stared vacantly, revealing black gaps between her remaining teeth.

“I know you,” Edna finally said. It was hard to tell whether some part of her actually recalled Ellie, or if she had learned how to fake it in response to cues.

“What brought you in today?” Ellie asked, focusing the question on Hank.

“She did,” Hank declared. “I went to the CVS, gone maybe fifteen minutes, tops. I told her, we’ll get breakfast when I get home. But I do a double take as I pass our bank. She’s in there with the teller, and I see there’s a problem. She’s upset.” Hank mimicked the body language, waving his arms around animatedly. “I go in, and apparently she tried to withdraw twenty thousand dollars, which we don’t exactly have sitting around like jellybeans. Then she asked the teller, ‘Well, how much do we have?’ and says, fine, she’ll take that instead. When I got there, they were explaining she needed permission from the other person on the account—namely, me.”

Edna was still glaring at them, arms crossed. “You’re not my boss,” she pronounced.

“As you can see, she’s not a happy camper. She marched straight here, saying she was going to have me arrested for stealing her money and kidnapping her in the apartment. I figured she’d calm down and forget the whole thing by the time we got here. But no. This she can focus on.”

Ellie placed an arm gently around Edna’s shoulder. “You don’t really think Hank is stealing anything from you, right? Or kidnapping?”

“But he won’t let me go where I want. I’m a grown woman.”

Hank lowered his voice. “Early on, when things were—clearer—we talked about her wishes. She wants to stay in the apartment, with me, as long as possible. I shouldn’t have gone to the pharmacy alone.”

“He told me I’m not allowed to go to the bank anymore, but it’s my money.”

“She’s still able to go places like the coffee shop and deli. It’s habit for her. Familiar. But I told her yesterday there were two places she absolutely shouldn’t go alone: to the bank and to the Logans’ apartment on the fourth floor. They’re our closest friends in the building, but they don’t always lock their door, and they don’t need Edna walking in and out of their home at all hours. As for the bank, God knows what would have happened if they had allowed her to withdraw all our money. She could’ve thrown it in the corner trash, for all I know.”

He was speaking more quickly and loudly with each new phrase. Ellie placed her hand gently on his forearm.