fine at home. We’ve got the special bed for you. We’re going to keep you downstairs, in the den. I’ll make up the sofa bed, and we’ll camp there until you’re able to move about.”
Christina nodded. “I guess that’s okay.”
“It’ll be like a slumber party every night,” Anna said, trying to cheer her up.
“What about school? I’m supposed to start high school next week!”
Finally, Anna thought. This is what was upsetting her so much. If she were in the hospital, maybe somehow that made a difference to her, and if her friends knew that she’d missed the first day of high school through no fault of her own, it wouldn’t be so bad when she was able to go to school. Unsure if this was so, she truly hadn’t given much thought about Christina’s schooling the past twenty-four hours. Starting high school in the middle of the term, which is most likely when she’d be able to walk again, would be horrifying for anyone. It didn’t matter that she’d gone to school with most of the same kids since second grade. High school was different.
Anna remembered when her mother died her senior year. All once-in-a-lifetime activities that were normal for a high-school senior had come and gone without any of the excitement she’d dreamed of when she’d been a freshman. Elizabeth’s family had tried to make her senior year as normal as possible, she remembered, but without her mother, it hadn’t been the same.
“I’ll make arrangements for a tutor, sweetie. I know this must be the worst possible time for you, but we’ll work it out. I’ll see if Tiffany can hang out, make sure you’re current on all the freshman gossip. I’ll take care of everything else, I promise.” She would; however, she couldn’t do anything about her daughter’s midterm entry.
“Whatever,” Christina said, relaxing into the pillow, the medication taking effect.
There was a knock on the door, and two men entered the room with a gurney with all kinds of hooks and fasteners, ready to transport them home. Thank God, Anna thought.
“I take it this young lady is ready to break outta this place,” said the younger of the two men.
Christina offered a silly smile, drifting in and out of a drug-induced haze as they maneuvered her onto the gurney.
“I’ll meet you at the house,” Mandy said, “You, too. kiddo.” She tapped the metal pole on the gurney.
“Thank you, Mandy. For everything, and especially that trip to the drugstore.” She half smiled. “At least I don’t have you know to worry about now.”
“Enough. Let’s get out of here.”
Forty-five minutes later, the ambulance drove through the gates, and, much to Anna’s amazement, Mr. Waffles stood waiting outside the gate. She stopped the car and scooped him inside, tears filling her eyes. “You had us worried,” she said. He appeared fine, though she’d check him out as soon as they were inside. “I know someone who’s going to be thrilled to see you.” Grateful that Mr. Waffles decided to grace them with his presence, she knew he would cheer Christina through her recovery. She didn’t need to know he’d disappeared.
It seemed a lifetime ago since she’d taken that plate of ribs to Patrick.
Chapter 17
Three weeks later
Hands shaking, Anna hung up the phone. “Mona,” she called, and raced to the kitchen, where Mona was chopping onions on a cutting board. “Listen, something terrible has happened, to a friend,” she lied. “I need to leave for a couple hours. I need a humongous favor. Can you sit with Christina, help her with the bathroom if she needs to go?” It’d been three weeks since the accident, and Christina was just now able to get into the wheelchair and move about downstairs. Though getting her into the chair was difficult, they’d been managing.
Mandy was downstairs in the studio, working with the film crew. They were preparing for the first episode of the Thanksgiving holiday season. It was an easy one, for which she’d do voice-overs for the most part. She’d spent the morning putting together her annual Thanksgiving planner, how to organize recipes, a step-by-step plan to make the week prior to Thanksgiving easy and uncomplicated. She read through her viewer e-mail, spent a few minutes giving what she hoped was sound advice to one viewer concerned about the proper way to send out invitations by mail or e-mail. A no-brainer, but this is what made The Simple Life so successful. Anna enjoyed everything about her work, right down to the last-minute detail.
“You ain’t