smoke spiraling out of chimneys and soft lights behind windows warding off the winter gloom.
“This is lovely,” Judith said. “It’s the first real snow
of the season. Last year we didn’t get more than a couple of dustings.”
“It cuts down on our visitors,” said Renie, who had
followed Judith and Corinne down the hall. “Which is
good. I don’t like playing hostess when I’m recovering
from surgery.”
The door to the staff lounge opened and a red-faced
Dr. Van Boeck came storming out. When he spotted
the cousins and Corinne Appleby, he stopped in his
tracks, adjusted his white coat, and forced a smile.
“Enjoying the weather?” he remarked in his deep
SUTURE SELF
177
voice. “Very nice, as long as you’re inside.” Van Boeck
nodded and continued on his way.
“Is he upset?” Judith asked of Corinne.
“I couldn’t say,” Corinne answered, her freckled
face masking any emotion. “Doctors are always under
such stress, especially these days.”
Judith didn’t comment, but resumed looking out the
window. As far as she could tell, there were at least a
dozen or more cars in the parking lot, almost all of
them buried under several inches of snow, except for
an SUV that probably had four-wheel drive.
“We should head back,” Corinne said. “You don’t
want to sit up for too long the first time out. I’m going
off duty now, but Heather will get you up again this afternoon.”
“Okay,” Judith said, feeling proud of herself for
making progress. “By the way—have you had a problem with theft at Good Cheer?”
“Theft?” Corinne looked mystified. “No. The sisters are very, very careful about the people they hire.
Plus, they pay better wages to the nonprofessional
staff than most hospitals do. Why do you ask?”
“Oh—just curious,” Judith replied. “You hear stories
about hospitals and nursing homes having problems
with stealing. Plus, we were told not to bring any valuables to Good Cheer.”
“That’s for insurance purposes,” Corinne responded
as she turned the wheelchair around. “The only thing
that goes missing around here are lunches from the staff
refrigerators, occasional boxes of Band-Aids, and,
lately, some of the surgical instruments. They started
disappearing before Christmas, and Dr. Van Boeck said
that maybe somebody wanted to use them to carve the
Christmas goose.”
178
Mary Daheim
At that moment, Dr. Garnett came out of the staff
lounge. He looked tense, Judith thought, and wondered
if he and Van Boeck had had a row.
“Good morning, Doctor,” Judith said with a big
