Free God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein

she?” He shakes his head and smiles.
    â€œShe seems nice, I guess,” I say, already wondering if she’s asked him to tell me I should stop visiting Mr. Sands so much.
    â€œWell good, I’m glad you think so, because I’d like you to start spending some time with her when you’re here too.”
    â€œBut . . .” What? No! “Why?” I say as coolly as I can.
    â€œI’ve worked here quite a while now, Grace, and I’ve found that there are just a few illnesses that are harder to deal with than others. I think Lou Gehrig’s disease is one of them, not only because of the way it debilitates the sufferer, but because of the toll on the person’s family too. That’s why if I can find a way to make the care-giver’s life a little better, I try to.”
    â€œOkay . . . but why do you want me to visit with Mrs. Sands?”
    â€œBecause, Grace,” Jeff says, smiling and shaking his head, “I think you’d help make her life better.”
    â€œNo, but really, why?”
    â€œI am completely serious.” He laughs. “I’m sure she’d like your company and I think you’d be a real lifeline to her. That’s why I’m asking you to embrace the friction.”
    â€œ Huh ?” I recoil.
    â€œWarrior slang.” Jeff nods. “When a commanding officer tells his troops to ‘embrace the friction’ or ‘embrace the suck,’ he’s saying that he understands the situation he’s sending them into is tough, but he needs them to march forward and do their jobs anyway.”
    I bite my lip. Ordinarily, spending time with a resident who’s healthy and happy to take care of herself is the kind of assignment everyone here wants. Basically those are the people who don’t want you to do anything for them. They see it as a point of pride to do everything themselves, so you wind up doing way less than you’re supposed to. Play your cards right and they even bake stuff for you. But especially after my last conversation with Mr. Sands, I don’t want to be disloyal to him. I don’t want him to think I’m “cheating” on him. Especially not with his wife.
    â€œWell, when I met her she seemed like she was handling things pretty well. And I’ll bet she’s the kind of woman who has tons of friends around here. So I’m sure she wouldn’t want someone like me hanging around and bothering her.”
    â€œGrace, I think you’ll be able to give her a certain amount of comfort that no one else here can.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œGo to her, Grace, talk to her.”
    â€œAbout what?” I shrug with great exaggeration.
    Jeff gives one of his easy smiles. “About anything you want. Whatever feels right. Okay?”
    â€œI’m not sure—”
    â€œI’m not asking you to clean bedpans, Grace.” And with that, Jeff rises and points me to the door. “I think you’ll find Mrs. Sands in her unit on Jane Lane right now. You know, you’re earning some serious karma points here.”
    â€œGreat,” I say as I leave the office wondering if she knows that her husband had slipped me an envelope of pills. “I’m sure I can use them.”

    I walk out of the main building of Hanover House and head for the cottages. There’s definitely a different feeling around these little places than in the main building. They’re built to look like bungalows, and they’d be a cool place to live—if only they weren’t on the grounds of a retirement community. I look up to the sky, which is a beautiful shade of blue and full of cotton-ball clouds. “What is the point to this? And what exactly am I supposed to do here?” Though I asked Jeff similar questions, I wasn’t satisfied (or happy) with his answers. And even though no further response seems to be coming, I still can’t help asking another: “ Why