So what I was afraid would happen did happen: Grandmother's friend died.  The receptionist said it was about a month ago, so assuming she was right, I saw her shortly before she passed, thank Buddha.

And I'm glad I did my usual stop for a drink of water and a shot of hand sanitizer before I went up.  That's when the receptionist, who dutifully jotted down my information, took a look at her roster of residents and didn't see Grandmother's friend.  She stopped me and called someone who confirmed she had died.  If I had just bolted up to the third floor and her room, I would have either been stopped by one of the orderlies who would break the news to me or stepped into her room and not see her.  None of these options are good; I knew that the only way I would know she passed is by a stranger telling me she died when I drove down to her nursing home and thought/hoped I could see her.  But it's probably better not to go up there when there was no reason to.

I'm still numb, and I don't know how to process this.  But looking back on the last time I saw her last month (with help from the blog post I wrote about her), I think I now know why she held onto my hand for so long.  And knowing she died about a month later, I hope she didn't feel as though I was abandoning her.

RIP.