Blood Red

to grab a bite to eat together, he said, “Good idea. I’ll sit inside with your friend. You take your time.”

Lauren thanked him, noticing a heavy gold chain around his neck. “Crucifix?” she asked.

“Uh—yeah, actually.” He drew it out from beneath his collar. “A gift from my missus. I always wear it. I like yours, too.”

“So you are wearing Mark’s cross,” Heidi teased.

Lauren offered her a vague smile and thanked the officer.

In the cafeteria, they discovered that the hospital offered a pretty decent salad bar. They filled their plates, then sat down at a table.

“I really am sorry that your party has gone south. Mostly, I’m worried about Deanna, though,” Lauren said.

“Oh, don’t worry. I think that not being able to party hearty has been a good thing. I’ve had time to think about what I’m doing,” Heidi said lightly.

“What do you mean?” Lauren asked.

Heidi shrugged. “I’ve been rethinking the entire marriage thing,” she said.

Lauren, with a small wedge of lettuce halfway to her lips, froze. “What?” she said in astonishment.

“Marriage. I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Heidi, your wedding is two weeks away.”

“I know.” Heidi, unconcerned, adjusted her napkin on her lap.

“Heidi, you love Barry.”

“Well, of course, I love him.”

“Then…?”

“I’ve just been thinking. I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“But you were so certain.”

“There you go. Things change.”

“Have you talked to him? Did you two get into an argument or something?” Lauren asked, perplexed.

“No, I wouldn’t dream of fighting with him over the phone, and anyway, we don’t have fights. Disagreements now and then, but no big fights.”

“Have you talked to him at all?”

“Not since yesterday.”

“Then what…?”

”I’m just not sure I’m really ready for marriage.” She flushed, staring at Lauren. “If you must know, it’s occurred to me that I’m not entirely positive I’m ready for a sexually monogamous life.”

Lauren just stared at her blankly. “Uh…well….”

“We don’t need to discuss it,” Heidi snapped.

“Okay.”

Heidi set her fork down. “I’m not really hungry after all. Since you’re here now, I think I’ll head out. I’ll go and make sure that we didn’t leave anything at the old place and check out the new one. Okay?”

Heidi wasn’t really asking; she was leaving. That was that.

“Okay.”

Lauren wasn’t sure that Heidi even heard her. She was already walking out.

Lauren discovered that she wasn’t hungry herself and felt a sudden urge to get back to Deanna as quickly as possible.

She rushed back upstairs.

The friendly officer was still in the room. He blushed when she caught him reading Heidi’s bridal magazine.

“Some really pretty pictures in there,” he said. “My wife and I eloped to Vegas. Sometimes I think I cheated her out of a real wedding.”

“How long have you been married?”

“Twenty-six years.”

“I guess she was happy with what she got, then,” Lauren assured him.

He smiled. A happy man. Feeling that maybe the world would be all right, Lauren took a seat at the foot of Deanna’s bed.

The officer remained with her, and she never even noticed herself dozing off, but. the next she knew, he was nudging her and telling her that the shift was changing.

She woke, blinked and realized it was twilight.

Lauren wasn’t sure if she would really have left Heidi alone at the hospital all night in her determination to find