Deep in the Heart

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The tune took Kate back years, to church camp and the memory of the voices of two hundred high school kids lifted in song. “‘Whisper a prayer at noon,’” she sang back.

“See? You remember.”

How could she forget? The song reminded her of a time she believed God answered prayers. Why had God seemed so close, so present in her life when she was young? How had she lost Him? Well, she hadn’t so much lost God as misplaced Him beneath priorities that no longer seemed so important.

The door to Abby’s room opened. “You can come in,” the orderly said as he left.

Rob held out the bouquet. “Do you want to take these in?”

“No, she’d like to see you.” She pushed the door open and looked inside. Abby lay on the bed closer to the hall. Her right arm was strapped securely across her chest, which would probably make sleeping difficult.

She was pale. With her eyes closed, Abby’s long lashes showed as a dark fringe against her chalky cheeks. Kate moved silently across the few feet that separated the door from the bed. She put her hand on her sister’s left shoulder and whispered, “How are you doing?”

Abby’s eyes opened a slit at the same time her jaw clenched. “Hurt,” she muttered. “What did you think?”

“Did they give you something for pain?”

She closed her eyes and nodded.

“Abby, Rob’s here. Would you like to see him?”

Abby nodded again.

After he entered, Rob placed the flowers on the bedside table then moved next to Abby’s bed. “How’re you doing, slugger?”

Slugger? She couldn’t imagine anyone calling Abby that.

“Okay.” She sighed. “Groggy.”

“I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

Abby nodded only a moment before her eyes closed.

As they moved toward the door, Kate whispered, “Thanks for coming.”

“If I can help you, call.”

After Rob left and with Abby sleeping, Kate headed toward the hospital cafeteria. As she ate her salad, she wondered if Rob remembered what else had happened at church camp or if he’d buried those memories, replaced them with newer ones.

But she’d never forget that it was there on the banks of Silver Lake she’d received her first kiss and fallen in love with Rob.

Did he remember that? Probably not, because she’d left him, he’d married Junie and thoughts of their lives together had replaced the earlier ones. Maybe it was Kate who hadn’t moved on, who was filled with recollections of their years together.

After lunch, the afternoon turned into a boring few hours as Abby slept. At four, Kate stood. “I’m going home to check on Brooke.”

As she walked past the nurses’ station, the head nurse said, “Miss Wallace?”

Kate stopped. “Yes?”

“The physical therapist will be here at eight in the morning to get your sister started on a few exercises.”

“But she just had surgery.”

“It’s better to start right away. Can you be here? You’ll need to help her with the exercises when she goes home.”

“Of course.”

A few hours later, after Kate took Brooke to see her mother, they grabbed a pizza. The child devoured her two-thirds and ran off to do homework while Kate again took her glass of tea to the back porch.

Kate leaned back in the chair and studied the sky while Coco patroled the yard. Without the competing light of a city, the stars shone so much more brightly here. She lifted her head to allow the breeze to cool her cheeks, a breeze that carried the fresh scent of lilac bushes and recently mowed grass from the yard across the fence.

From the Dkanys’ porch came the sound of a show tune. They’d always joked about whether Trixie or Paul had control of the radio dial. She liked oldies; he preferred country.

Surrounded by the familiar sounds and scents and the chirping of locusts, she was filled with peace. “Thank you, Lord,” she whispered, words which caused her to wonder how she’d been able to pray like that, so easily as if she were used to thanking God.

And how could she feel at home and at rest in a place she’d longed to escape nearly half a lifetime ago? She should be bored, but she wasn’t. She should long for the excitement of a life of running from one reception to another, from a meeting with this official to an interview with the press corp., but she wasn’t. She actually liked sitting alone in the backyard of her childhood home.

Why?

Finding no answers to her questions, she stood and called Coco.

“Come on.” She whistled. The cocker woofed then ambled toward her and sat at the edge of the porch, front paw on the step.

As she picked up Coco and put her on the porch she thought how handy it would be if there were some way Coco could get up on the porch by herself. Maybe some small steps or a lift. As if she could afford either.

Maybe she could put together some steps that would be easier for Coco to climb with rocks and scrap lumber. Rob probably had old wood at a construction site. Although she used to work in the wood shop with her father, putting such a project together was beyond her meager ability now. Besides, how would she get large enough rocks and how could she move them?

No, that wouldn’t work, but if she could build a sloping platform or maybe a ramp…

A ramp. Exactly!

After all, she was going to be here at least four more weeks. During that time, Coco needed to be able to get on the porch by herself.

A ramp would work. But who could she find to build it? Did Rob still like to work with his hands or was he too busy with his practice? She hated to ask him, even though he’d told her to call on him. It felt unsettling to be around him because, well, there was that attraction she couldn’t deny and didn’t want to feel. Being close to him was uncomfortable, which was absolutely absurd. They’d both gone on with their lives successfully.

The whole attraction thing bothered her for many reasons, not the least of which was because she’d just arrived home from a terrible change in her life, an experience which had taught her she couldn’t trust anyone, which had left her wounded and friendless. This was not the time to find any man interesting, especially not Rob.

On top of that, she realized her reaction wasn’t to Rob as the young man she’d been in love with. No, she saw him as the older, more mature and very different Rob. The whole awareness of Rob as a man made her slightly unbalanced and decidedly confused. She, who had dealt with high-ranking politicians, interviewed senators and governors and faced hostile reporters, was flustered being around Rob, whom she’d known all her life. How foolish was that?

But if she didn’t ask Rob, she couldn’t think of anyone else. Would someone at the church be able to help? They’d been awfully nice, but building a ramp for a dog would seem foolish to most people.

No, she’d have to continue to pick Coco up and put her on the porch and hope the cocker didn’t hurt herself trying to do that herself.

Didn’t some company manufacture portable ramps? If they did, she could handle that on her own. Just open it and leave it there while they were in Silver Lake, then fold it up and take it wherever they went.

She’d think about it, but first she’d better get inside and get ready for bed. This had been an early morning. Tomorrow she’d also need to get up early to get Brooke off to school before she headed to the hospital for the PT appointment.

With a yawn, she stretched and turned toward the house. The cocker followed her inside and into Kate’s bedroom. Or, as Coco probably considered it, the room she allowed her person to share.

Chapter Four

Bluebonnets covered the hills with a light purple haze, a shade somewhere between blue and lavender, which could seldom be caught in a photo or description. The sight filled Kate with amazing joy to be home.

Kate had started for the hospital a little earlier than necessary so she could catch the shimmer of the last trace of dew as the petals caught the sunlight. Although the wildflowers were not at their glorious peak, in a few more days the flowers would grow thick along the verge of the road and paint every inch of pasture with their vibrant beauty.

For a moment she pulled off the road to revel at the colorful scene before she stepped on the gas. Abby wouldn’t appreciate her arriving late because she’d been gawking at wildflowers.

After she entered Abby’s room ten minutes later, Roger Davis, the physical therapist, explained the process. “The idea of physical therapy is to teach the body that it’s okay for the joints to move.”

Abby lay flat, arms in the air to accept the cane the physical therapist placed in her hands.

“Don’t force the movement.” The therapist watched his patient before he turned to Kate and said, “You’ll have to make sure she does all six of these exercises five times a day.” He passed Kate several pieces of paper stapled together.

“I can do them myself,” Abby grumbled.

The expected response. Kate knew her sister wouldn’t take kindly to having her younger sister help her. Not in any way.

“You’ll also have to help Mrs. Granger with dressing, showering and getting out of bed,” Roger said.

“I can handle all of those for myself,” Abby repeated.

The therapist turned toward Abby. “Mrs. Granger, if you use that shoulder before it’s healed or don’t complete the PT, you may need surgery again.”

For a moment, Abby shut her eyes. After what looked like an intense internal struggle, she said, “All right,” in a voice that expressed grudging acceptance of the therapist’s warning.

“For the next exercise, you’ll need a pulley attached to a door and a rope with handles.” He handed Kate a diagram.

Kate studied the picture. “I’ll go to the hardware store and look for these.” She put all the information in her purse. “So, four to six weeks for recovery?”

“That’s pushing it a little.” The therapist picked up his clipboard. “More like six to eight. The injury was more complex than the surgeon expected.”

Six to eight? Well, okay. What difference did a few weeks make? Maybe with a few extra days, she’d know where she’d end up after her sister’s recovery.

By ten-thirty, Abby had received her physical therapy, prescriptions and discharge orders with a doctor’s appointment set for a week later. Over her continued protests, she’d been helped into a wheelchair and pushed by an orderly to the front door while Kate brought her car around.

On the trip home, Abby leaned back against the car seat holding her firmly immobilized right arm. Her clenched lips and pallor showed how much the surgery and the physical therapy had worn her out.