She cleared her throat, not wanting them to suspect she was every bit as concerned as they. “I suppose you’ve eaten, but I haven’t. Let’s go see what’s in the freezer. Gram usually has ice cream, so perhaps we can make sundaes.”
“Or milkshakes,” Kate Frye countered.
“That sounds good, too.” Vanessa was fairly sure the girl was simply trying for some feeling of normalcy. “And there’s probably popcorn, at least Gram used to always keep it on hand.”
They trooped up the steps, through the huge front doorway with its imposing fan-shaped glass at the top and a tall panel at each side, and entered the large hallway leading to the kitchen at the far left corner of the house.
Vanessa already knew the girls, for she’d been involved ever since Gram first spoke of opening her home to young women unable or unwilling to keep their babies, yet not choosing to abort them.
Keith’s wife, Andi, and her father had provided the grant money, but Vanessa did most of the leg-work necessary to bring it into being—and she was still amazed that her brilliant lawyer-mother, who usually seemed so cool and uncaring, had volunteered to handle all legal matters!
Kate had been the first to move in, recommended by the pastor of a church in a nearby city. Almost twenty, she was the oldest; the next, a year younger, was AnnaMae, whose parents wanted nothing more to do with her because of her “grievous sin.” Ricki, also 19, had been told she had to leave home if she didn’t agree to an abortion. Vanessa felt especially bad for Jana and Barbara, both 17 and still in high school.
As they took care of getting the food, Vanessa called Andi’s room in the obstetrics department. “I’m relieved you’re still at the hospital, Keith,” she began as her favorite cousin picked up the phone. “I’m at Gram’s. She fell in the kitchen, and we think her hip’s broken.”
“I’ll be right there!”
She recognized the apprehension in his voice, and shook her head, although he couldn’t see that, of course. “I have to stay with the girls, but the ambulance is on its way there, to the Emergency Room.”
“Who’s on this evening?”
“Rob Corland’s in charge. He handled things really well, I think. And Gram didn’t appear worried once she knew I’d stay overnight.”
“I’m sorry that’s necessary, Van.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
There was a slow exhalation before his next words. “I’ll go down to the ER right away, and stay with her through X rays and whatever they have to do.”
“Keith? You’ll let us know as soon as you find out anything?”
“Of course.”
The girls had waited for Vanessa to finish the call and join them. AnnaMae stopped Jana as she picked up her spoon to begin her vanilla ice cream island in its sea of chocolate syrup. “Shouldn’t we pray for Gram before we eat?”
There were nods and the sound of shuffling feet beneath the table as she added, “And remember, Gram says we’ve got to believe that God can heal, and that He wants us to keep praying, to keep talking to Him about everything.”
She turned toward Vanessa. “How about you praying out loud?”
Vanessa did precious little praying anymore—although she’d been desperately doing some within these past minutes. She figured she probably had little right to ask for anything, anyway, as her prayers had often been prompted by situations she might have avoided. “Why don’t you, AnnaMae, since it’s your idea?”
AnnaMae’s long, dark-brown hair slid forward over her shoulders as she bent her head. “Dear God, please take care of Gram. She’s such a good person and we love her a lot. I guess we should have tried harder to keep her from getting up on that chair, but she didn’t want any of us to get hurt.”
Vanessa heard what sounded like a choked sob on her right, and reached to squeeze Barb’s hand as AnnaMae continued, “We’d sure like You to make her hip not broken, God, but if it is, help it to not hurt too bad, and help it get fixed and heal real fast. Amen.” She did not look around, but picked up her spoon and moved it about in her dish before raising ice cream to her lips.
That was a prayer Vanessa could relate to, short and saying exactly what it was meant to.
She should have phoned Dad before eating, and Uncle Isaac, and Aunt Phyllis, so she finished quickly and made those calls. She found that Dad was away, not expected back until tomorrow, but Mother would try to contact him tonight. Uncle Isaac said he’d leave for the hospital immediately, and her aunt, already at the hospital as second shift nursing supervisor, would go check on Gram. In addition, Aunt Phyl would come to Gram’s the next morning, when Vanessa would need to leave for work.
Vanessa understood the girls’ wanting to stay up until they learned how Gram was making out, so she agreed. They watched two half-hour TV comedies before receiving Keith’s call.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long, but her hip is broken, as we thought. She’s in Room 417, and has had pain medication. Her heart, blood pressure and everything else are good, thank God, and Dr. Rosemont, the orthopedic surgeon, hopes to operate in a day or two.”
“I hope he can!” Vanessa passed on this information to the anxious girls, then asked if he’d be staying much longer.
“No, Gram’s getting drowsy, probably from the medicine, but I’ll stop again in the morning on my way to work, after I check in with Andi and our adorable little Katherine.”
She could almost hear the smile in his voice. This was the way it was supposed to be when you loved someone, wasn’t it? “Sleep well, Keith. And kiss your daughter for me when you see her.”
“Sure will, Van. With pleasure!”
Vanessa rolled over to push in the alarm button ten minutes before it was set to ring, and was ready for the day by the time Jana and Barb got downstairs, dressed for school. They’d said the night before that all they wanted for breakfast was fruit, hot chocolate and cornflakes, so she had that waiting for them on the kitchen table.
The other three were at the table by the time Aunt Phyllis Bastian arrived. “I stopped to see Mom and talked with one of her nurses just before I left this morning. She had a fairly good night, considering everything.”
That didn’t satisfy Jana. “Does she still hurt so awful much?”
“Quite a bit, I’m afraid.” Her smile was somewhat rueful. “But she made me promise before I left that I’d tell everyone she’s doing just fine!”
Barb’s hazel eyes were round with worry. “You mean—she’s not?”
“She’s doing well for someone her age.” Phyl’s arm slid around the girl’s shoulders. “And you know Gram, she’s convinced everything will work out okay.”
Barb looked even more upset. “She is going to be all right, isn’t she?”
“Sure, she is.” Vanessa picked up her small purse and keys. “I must get to work. How about my dropping you and Jana off at school on my way?”
They grabbed their books and ran out ahead of her, as she’d hoped they would, and she was in her office within a few minutes of dropping them at school. Time flew with in-house matters to be taken care of immediately, then fax, e-mail, and phone messages to be answered.
She hardly glanced at a clock until Keith called around one-thirty to tell her Gram’s surgery was scheduled for the following morning. Vanessa wanted to let Rob know—actually, she wanted to hear his reassuring voice—but the funeral home’s answering machine gave the very proper message recorded by his partner stating that the service