A Good Yarn Page 0,86

I wasn't paying much attention but when she replaced the receiver and walked over to the table, where I sat with the class, I noticed the color had drained from her face.

Margaret placed her hand on my shoulder. "It's Mom," she managed to say. "We need to get to Swedish Hospital right away."

"What happened?" My heart was instantly in my throat.

"She collapsed - the neighbor found her on the patio. No one knows how long she was there."

I leaped up from the chair, ready to rush out, when I realized I had a store full of customers. Several women were browsing among the yarn displays and one was flipping through patterns. Not to mention my class...

"Go," Jacqueline insisted. "I'll mind the business until you get back. Just go."

"Can I do anything to help?" Elise asked.

"Me?" That was Bethanne.

"I can stay, too," Courtney said.

I was overwhelmed by gratitude for their kindness and compassion. "Thank you. Thank you all so much." These women were more than my customers and my students. They were my friends.

Margaret had her purse by the time I went to collect mine. When I came out of the office, Brad had just arrived with a delivery. He stood near the door.

"We have to leave," Margaret was telling him as she signed for the yarn. "It's Mom. She's been rushed to the hospital."

He looked at me, frowning with concern. "Is she going to be all right?"

"I don't know," I told him. "I don't know anything yet." I couldn't control my reaction, my need for comfort, for him. I reached out to Brad. I needed his arms around me one last time, for courage and strength. He seemed to understand that intuitively, and when I moved toward him, he drew me into his embrace.

"We have to go," Margaret said in a low voice.

He released me, and I thanked him wordlessly, then rushed out of the store.

The staff at Swedish was wonderful, although it took what seemed like hours before we were able to talk to anyone. I berated myself over and over for not being more available to my mother. She was never demanding of my time and grateful for whatever I gave her. I did visit two or three times a week, but clearly that wasn't enough.

Margaret saw her as often as she could, too. But Mom needed more than scattered visits from her two daughters. I was nearly choking on guilt and so, I suspected, was my sister.

Margaret hated being inside a hospital. It was because of the smell, she said, which immediately made her feel anxious. I'd spent practically my entire youth in one and had grown so accustomed to it that I no longer noticed. Margaret had a firm grip on my arm, and for once she was relying on me.

We were asked to wait in a sitting room until the doctor could update us on Mom's condition. The chairs were comfortable, and a television was on, playing a soap opera - ironically it was General Hospital. I didn't pay attention, didn't hear a single word. My mind whirled with guilt and fear and recriminations. I was certain I'd failed my mother and that everything was somehow my fault.

A physician appeared and, as if our movements were synchronized, Margaret and I stood simultaneously.

The doctor came straight to the point. "Your mother is in serious condition. She's in a diabetic coma."

This was a shock to both of us.

"We've got her stabilized and I expect her insulin levels to even out, but this is a disease that is not to be taken lightly."

"No one in the family is diabetic," Margaret said. "We had no idea Mom could come down with this."

"She lives alone?"

We both nodded.

Again the physician was straightforward. "Well, I'd suggest you investigate placing her in assisted living."

He wanted us to take our mother out of the only home she'd known for the last fifty years. I didn't know if I could do that - but I realized we had no choice.

CHAPTER 30

ELISE BEAUMONT

The house was quiet when the light tap sounded at Elise's bedroom door. She was waiting for Maverick. She was so in love with this man that she'd lost all sense of propriety. She knew what he was, knew it to the very depths of her heart, but now - just like all those years ago - it didn't seem to matter.

The knock came, and she opened her door to let him in. He pulled her into his arms and they kissed. They'd