myself.
“I’m just telling you what he said. I’m the only one sworn to obey.”
I lifted my head and gazed into Ray’s amused eyes. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
“No.”
But the twinkle in his eye said otherwise.
____
The next morning I phoned Dr. Albert. His receptionist said he didn’t have any openings this week and gave me the runaround. I insisted on speaking to him directly. She grudgingly took a message.
He called back within an hour. “Were you calling about your sister? I’m willing to make another appointment for her this week, but it would be better if you escort her. She didn’t show up this Wednesday.”
“She’s missing.” I rattled off the whole sordid tale, including all I knew about Maury Boor. “He’s not a patient of yours, is he?”
“I couldn’t tell you if he was.”
I got the feeling from his tone that Maury wasn’t a patient. “What do you think of his behavior, the roses and the stalking?”
“I’d say he’s desperate for attention.”
“Does that make him dangerous?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Ray and I have showed his picture around town. We don’t know where else to look.”
Dr. Albert changed topics. “I guess I misunderstood. Did you want an appointment for yourself?”
I explained about Danny and his father. Dr. Albert listened without interruption. He had a question when I finished.
“Did you talk with Social Services about making an appointment for him with me?”
“No.”
“You’ll need to call them first for authorization.”
“Really?”
“I’m afraid so.”
No way would I do that. A conversation with Social Services might get him labeled as a troubled child—if he wasn’t already—or, worse, removed from our home. Ray and I were still a safe haven for him. Besides, I kinda liked having him around. From all indications, Danny liked it here, too.
I hung up disappointed and frustrated. I only wanted to help Danny. Why did bureaucracy always mess things up?
Danny sat at the table, working on his assignments when I walked into the kitchen. I wondered if Ray had gotten him going this morning or if he’d taken the initiative himself. Either way, I was pleased.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
He didn’t look up. “Ray made eggs. Brown eggs.”
“How were they?”
“Okay.”
I poured a glass of juice and peeled the lid off a container of yogurt. I ate leaning against the sink. “How’s the homework coming along?”
“I’m almost done. I have to study for a geography test.” Danny glanced at the clock. “What time are we leaving for the shop?”
“In fifteen minutes.”
He nodded. His pencil moved more quickly over the page. Impressed, I left him alone to finish.
On the drive to work, Danny talked nonstop. Most of his sentences started with the words “You know what, Jolene?” and ended with something Cory had told him about cars. I even learned a few things. But once we reached the shop, I was delighted to hand him off to Cory. The constant conversation, after all my months of solitude, was a little more than I could take. He’d talked our ears off last night, too, while we unpacked the outdoor Christmas decorations and hung them up.
I went in my office and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief.
The phone ruined my peaceful retreat.
“Jolene? This is Maury Boor. Is this a bad time?”
A bad time? Was he nuts? “Maury, where’s Erica?”
“She’s here. She’s really … not well.”
Where had I heard that before? “What’s she doing?”
He lowered his voice to a whisper, “She’s curled up on the floor in the corner, sucking on her hair.”
“Call an ambulance, Maury. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t? If you love Erica, you have to do what’s right for her. You can’t help her. She needs medical attention.”
“She said she’d never speak to me again if I had her locked up.”
“Maury, she always says that. No one really wants to spend time in the psych center, but she needs to.”
“I can’t do it. Can you come?”
“Where are you?”
He gave me an address an hour outside of Wachobe, an apartment complex. He said they were in apartment 4B.
I hung up.
Should I call an ambulance to meet me there? They’d undoubtedly arrive and take her before I could make it. I might not get to see Erica for days if I did it that way, and I needed to see her, if only to verify with my own eyes that she would be all right. I decided no ambulance.
Should I call Ray? He’d want to question Maury, which might further aggravate Erica and the whole situation. The apartment complex wasn’t