I must say, the meals here aren’t very delectable. Still,
I’m not a fussy eater.”
Renie was filling the carton’s lid with chicken,
mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and baking powder biscuits. “Here, Mr. Mummy, pass this to
my cousin.”
“Delighted,” Mr. Mummy replied. “I thought it wise
to put the chicken delivery box inside something that
looked as if it belonged to the hospital. It worked out
just fine.”
“You’re a genius,” Renie said, offering a white box
filled with chicken to Mr. Mummy. “Take some.”
“Indeed, I will.” Mr. Mummy beamed at Renie.
“Sometimes I can hear you two from across the hall. It
sounds quite lively in here. You’ve had a lot of guests.”
“Not really,” Judith said, munching on corn. “I
SUTURE SELF
131
mean, only our husbands have been to see us. The others have sort of dropped in.”
“I see,” Mr. Mummy said. “Yes, even Mrs. Van
Boeck was in here briefly, am I not right?”
“Briefly,” Judith said with a nod.
“Such a spirited woman,” Mr. Mummy remarked,
biting into a juicy thigh. “Did you find her conversation invigorating?”
Judith hesitated. “Well . . . I suppose. She didn’t stay
long.”
“I hear she may run for mayor,” Mr. Mummy said.
“Our current mayor has had his problems lately.”
“Yes,” Judith said. “The step up from the city council would be a natural for Blanche Van Boeck.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t do a little campaigning
while she was in here,” Mr. Mummy said with a sly
look.
“Not really,” Judith said, remembering Blanche’s menacing attitude.
“It sounded to me,” Mr. Mummy said with a twinkle, “as if Mrs. Van Boeck and Dr. Garnett had quite an
argument. I don’t suppose she mentioned it to you.”
“She told him to buzz off,” Renie said, glancing down
at the particles of crisp chicken skin that had fallen onto
her sling and hospital gown. “Or words to that effect. I
gathered there was bad blood between them. You have to
wonder how Dr. Garnett and Dr. Van Boeck get along.”
“Well,” said Mr. Mummy, giving Renie a “May I?”
glance before taking a biscuit out of a box, “there
must be a rather intense rivalry there. That is, all doctors have big egos, and I assume Dr. Garnett may
sometimes resent Dr. Van Boeck’s decision-making.”
“So Dr. Garnett is ambitious?” Judith asked. “I
mean, he’d like to run Good Cheer?”
132
Mary Daheim
Mr. Mummy stretched out his leg with its walking
cast. “I have no idea. But he could be. I suspect he
