It was seven o'clock in the morning as Page stood in her living room, trying to decide whether to go to bed, or go next door to pick up Andy at Jane Gilson's. She was bone tired, and desperately in need of sleep, but she knew that Andy needed her too, so she washed her face and combed her hair, and then listened to her messages on the phone machine in the kitchen. There were none from Brad, which suddenly made her furious. How could he do this now, with Allyson barely clinging to life? And what was wrong with Stephanie that she would let him?
Page went next door to pick Andy up then, and found him eating breakfast with Jane. The television was on, and Jane was making him fresh waffles, and singing.
“Lucky you!” Page said tiredly as she kissed the top of his head and smiled at Jane. Her friend saw then that the dark circles under her eyes had deepened.
“How's Allie?” Andy asked immediately, and Page hesitated for a moment. She had to fight back tears before she answered. Suddenly, she couldn't say the words. She had almost died that night, but thank God she hadn't. Jane saw her choke on her words and touched her shoulder as she went to get her a cup of coffee.
“She's okay,” she told Andy, and then turned to Jane and spoke softly while Andy helped himself to more waffles. “Things got kind of rough last night. Her brain swelled after the surgery, and she had a lot of trouble breathing.”
“Is she gonna die?” Andy's eyes looked huge as he listened, and Page shook her head. At least she hadn't died, and they were still praying she wasn't going to.
“I hope not.”
He was silent for a moment as he absorbed what she had said, and then he asked her another difficult question. “Where's Daddy? He never came for me last night.”
“I think he got tied up at the office, and you were sound asleep when he got home. He didn't want to wake you.”
“Oh.” Andy looked relieved. He had sensed their fighting the night before, and he didn't like it. Allie's accident had changed everything. Suddenly nothing seemed secure to him, and the people he loved were all frightened and upset and angry. “Can I see Allie today?”
“Not yet, sweetheart.” There was no way Page would let him see her. With no hair, her head and eyes wrapped in bandages, tubes and machines everywhere, and the smell of death and fear heavy around her. It was a terrifying sight for anyone, especially a child of seven. “When she's better. When she wakes up …” she said, fighting tears again. She had to turn away this time, so he wouldn't see, and Jane put an arm around her shoulders.
“You need sleep more than anything. Why don't you go to bed, and I'll take Andy to school today.” But Andy looked crestfallen at the suggestion. He had no idea how tired she was, or how frightening things were at the hospital. And he wanted his mother near him.
“I'm okay.” Page took a deep breath, and then a long sip of her coffee. “I'll be back in a few minutes, and I can go to bed then.” Page had already promised herself that she was going to go to bed until Trygve picked her up for the funeral. The hospital knew where to reach her if there was a problem. And she needed sleep desperately, she felt as though she couldn't walk another step. She had to fight to stay awake all the way to Ross Grammar School, and she drove home by inches. The moment she got back, she checked the phone machine again. Still no call from Brad. And it was too early to call him at the office.
It was hard to believe that he had dared to stay out all night, without even calling. But what would he have said? Sorry, I'm spending the night with my girlfriend. But it amazed her that things had gone so far in just a few days. Their whole married life, and their relationship, seemed to have crumbled.
Page was in bed by eight-fifteen, and although she tossed and turned in the daylight at first, thinking about Allyson and the terrors of the night before, by eight-thirty her body had overwhelmed her brain, and she was sound asleep in her bed with all her clothes on. She lay in a deep sleep until just past noon, when she was awakened by the persistent ringing of the phone. She leapt out of bed once she realized what it was, terrified that it was the hospital calling about Al-lie.
“Yes?” Her voice was barely a croak, but it wasn't the hospital. It was her mother.
“Good Lord, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?”
“No, Mother … I … I was sleeping.” There was so much to explain, and it would be so difficult to get it across to her mother.
“At noon? That's unusual. Are you pregnant?”
“No, I'm not. I was up late …” with your granddaughter, who almost died…. Suddenly, Page felt guilty for not calling her sooner.
“You never called me back over the weekend. You said you would.” She loved to complain, she relished the role of the injured party. She always claimed that Page neglected her, but the truth was she was much closer to Page's sister, Alexis. Page's older sister lived in New York, and spent a lot of time with their mother.
“I've been busy, Mom.” How did you even begin to say the words? She closed her eyes as she struggled with her own emotions. “Allyson had an accident Saturday night.”