Her Sister's Child

“They tried, but I’ve got clean clothes coming…” she glanced at her wristwatch, which was still smeared with mud, and wiped the face “…any minute now.” She started to lean on the counter but thought better of leaving a residue for this woman to contend with. “Can you tell me where Cameron Birch is, please?”

The woman pointed to a set of double doors. “In there. Exam room eight if he’s not down for tests. I’ll have to buzz you in.” Julia squished her way along the row of curtained-off areas until she found Cameron’s and peeked around the drape.

He roused, slowly lifting his eyelids. “Hey. Come in.”

She moved to the side of his bed and stood looking down at him. Trying not to reveal her shock, she glossed over the dark purple bruise that had formed on his forehead and the scratches on his face and arms. Plus, he had a cumbersome half cast secured to his wrist. “So, when are they springing you?” she said.

“Not until tomorrow, maybe early afternoon.”

“And what have they poked and prodded tonight?”

“I’ve had an EKG, a chest X-ray, a CAT scan. All I’ve heard about is my wrist X-rays, and the paramedic was right. The orthopedic surgeon thinks about two hours of surgery in the morning ought to do the trick. And then I’ll have a network of miniature antennae sticking out of my arm for six weeks.”

“Well, look at the bright side. You might not have to invest in a satellite dish to keep up with Grey’s Anatomy.”

He smiled. “And there’s one more silver lining to this cloud. My handwriting’s never been any good, and now I have an excuse.”

His offhand comment took her back ten years. She remembered her surprise at discovering this minor flaw in the otherwise seemingly perfect professor. His comments on her assignments had been practically illegible, and when each paper was returned, she’d spend several minutes trying to decipher his scratch marks.

“…for the bandages on your hands?”

His voice returned her to the present. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“Your hands? Why are they bandaged?”

“A couple of giant-sized splinters mostly, from some inhospitable oak trees in the ravine.” When she saw the concern on his face, she added, “Nothing I haven’t experienced many times in the past.”

He released a long breath and shook his head. “Geez, Julia, when I think about what you did, what almost happened down there…”

She held up her hand. “Don’t go in that gully again, Cameron. It’s over, happy ending and all.”

“But there has to be a way I can thank you.”

She smiled. “You did. Ten years ago. You gave me an A.”

“You earned an A.” He pushed himself up with his good elbow, the movement obviously causing him pain. He tried to be cavalier about it with a forced grin. “I might have cracked ribs, too. But, anyway, about showing my appreciation, I may have to thank you twice since I have to ask one more favor.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll need a ride to my grandfather’s place when they let me go.”

His request dumbfounded her in light of his injuries. “You’re not thinking of staying alone on top of the mountain while you heal, are you?”

He shrugged his shoulder, then winced. “Sure. I’ll manage.” He must have sensed the doubt in her eyes, because he added, “I need some time on that mountain, Julia. I’ve planned it for months. I’ve taken a sabbatical from the university.” He drew his lips into a determined line, pulling in a deep breath. “I think Whisper Mountain will heal me, broken bones and all.”

She wondered what he meant by “and all,” and decided that maybe it was Cameron’s spirit that needed mending. She stood. “Okay, I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon.” She jotted a phone number on a pad by his bed. “Just call the store when you’re ready.”

JULIA COULDN’T STOP thinking about Cameron. Restless and impatient, she strode to the automatic doors of the waiting room, stepped into the cool night air, came back, then sat in three different chairs while staring at CNN on the television. Mostly she wondered what could have gone wrong in Cameron’s life that made him admit to needing this time on the mountain.

She thought about her own life, as well, and the months before she’d finally seen a doctor. She’d never been able to identify one isolated problem that had eventually sent her to him for help. She’d only known that something hadn’t been right in her life, and she wasn’t successfully dealing with it. A major part of her downward slide had been the breakup of a five-year relationship. She’d believed that Kevin had been the one. She’d pinned her hopes on him. Her future, her friendships and her weekends. They’d been inseparable for at least three years, one rarely seen without the other, two like-minded souls content to imagine a lifetime together.

Until suddenly she was the only one imagining.

When she’d lightheartedly brought up the subject of making their relationship permanent and legal, he’d found nothing funny about it. Nor anything remotely serious.

Julia looked up at the clock in the waiting room. 10:15 p.m. Had her mother forgotten about her? It was too late now to bring Katie out. Julia walked to the wall of windows and stared at the near empty parking lot. And her thoughts returned once more to Cameron.

Had he been the one to initiate divorce proceedings with his wife? Had she disappointed him, or had it been the other way around? Had the breakup been amiable? Julia supposed some could be, between two rational people who decided that ending a relationship would result in improved lives for both.

She recalled the day she’d gotten the prescription for antidepressants. Kevin wasn’t the only reason she’d seen a doctor. There had been problems at work, frantic calls from her mother, no calls from her sister. And nearly everyone Julia knew in Manhattan was on some kind of antistress medication. Pills were the big city quick fix that many people relied on.

Headlights veered from the main road and traveled up the drive to the hospital entrance, saving Julia from a potential bout with her conscience. She watched the approaching car closely, hoping to identify it as her mother’s dependable old Ford. “Thank goodness,” she said, when Cora pulled up to the drop-off area, and she went outside to meet her.

Cora got out, handed over a bundle of clothes, stared at Julia’s hands and gasped. “Oh, my heavens, Julia.”

“It’s nothing, Mama. The hospital staff overreacted. I can remove these bandages in the morning.” Too tired to control her impatience, she asked, “Where have you been?” She looked down at her soiled garments. “I feel like I’ve been wearing this stuff for weeks.”

Cora frowned and Julia felt bad. She didn’t mean to take her foul mood out on her mother. She considered going inside to a restroom to change clothes but decided she wouldn’t bother now. “Did you lose power at the cabin?”

“No, but I had to make arrangements for Katie,” Cora explained. “The time just got away from me, and I didn’t want to make her come along this late.”

Julia put the clothes in the backseat and did the best she could to dust dried particles of mud from her jeans. “I’ll just wear these home now.” Once in the car, Julia asked her mother “So what did you do with Katie?”

“I put her to bed and called Rosalie. She was happy to watch her while I came for you.”

Julia made a mental note to thank the neighbor who also helped out at the store during the busy season.

“Unfortunately, Rosie had to pick up her supper dishes first,” Cora said. “She was running late because the TV kept showing bits about the accident.”

Julia settled into the seat and closed her eyes. All at once her bones felt as if they were melting into little puddles around her. She rested her head back and said, “Oh.”

“You were on television. That lady reporter talked about what happened and they showed you.” Cora pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “I wish they’d let you go in and comb your hair first.”

“Yeah, that would have been nice,” Julia said absently, knowing a comb wouldn’t have helped much.

“So how is Cameron?” Cora asked.

Julia looked over at her mother. “Pretty banged up. He’s having surgery on his wrist tomorrow morning. Tonight, he mostly had tests.”

Cora nodded with understanding. “They do that these days. Make sure the ticker’s working right, your blood pressure’s normal, all that stuff, before you go under the knife. I suppose it’s good they take such care.”

Through Julia’s haze of exhaustion, Cora’s voice seemed to drone on in another dimension. “I suppose,” she said.

“I guess he’s going back to Raleigh now that he’s had the accident.”

“Actually, no. He’s asked me to pick him up tomorrow and take him to his grandfather’s place.”

Cora looked at Julia and quickly returned her attention to the road. “He’s staying up there?”