“Can I call his room?” Judith asked.
“No,” Margie replied. “There’s no phone. Tomorrow, perhaps. Time is the best healer.” Again, her expression changed, radiating joy. “I must dash. My
brother-in-law has just gotten the most amazing
news. I must be with him.”
Margie fairly flew out of the room.
268
Mary Daheim
“Damn!” Judith breathed. “I know I should be elated
that Joe’s better, but I wanted so much to see him. I
wonder if Margie’s right about the no-visitors rule?”
“It makes sense, in a way,” Renie said. “After all,
he’s just turned the corner and he probably has to stay
completely quiet.”
“I guess.” Judith heaved a big sigh, then turned to
Renie. “Goodness, I hadn’t thought about it until now,
but how are Joe and I going to manage when we both
get discharged? Neither of us will be in any shape to
help the other, let alone take charge of the B&B. I can’t
expect the Rankerses to keep pitching in.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Renie cautioned. “If
things get really desperate, won’t the state B&B association help you out?”
“Yes,” Judith answered slowly, “they have backup
personnel. But I’d hate to avail myself of it. Besides,
I’d go nuts watching somebody else run Hillside
Manor.”
“Relax,” Rene urged. “We’ve got other things to
worry about. Like our recovery. And Joe’s. Not to
mention Bill’s mental state.”
“Did he mention the Chihuahuas this morning?” Judith inquired, trying to stop fussing.
“No,” Renie said. “He was too involved with the car
disaster and the Randall kids.” She paused, gazing out
the window. “Hey—the icicles are dripping. Maybe
it’s finally beginning to thaw.”
“It’s certainly sunny enough,” Judith said, then gave
a start as a loud whirring noise could be heard from
somewhere. “What’s that? I don’t recognize it as a routine hospital sound.”
The whirring grew louder, making Renie wince. “I
don’t know. I think it’s coming from outside,” she said,
SUTURE SELF
269
her voice rising to be heard over the noise as she got
out of bed and went to the window. “Good grief!” she
cried. “It’s a helicopter! It looks as if it’s going to land
on the roof!”
“An emergency, I’ll bet,” Judith shouted. “Someone
has been flown in from an outlying site.”
“What?” Renie watched as the copter disappeared
from her view. The whirring died down a bit. “Did you
say an emergency?”
