"Get the phone, will you, Dear?"
"Sure, Ma. No problem." Josh grabbed the phone and
rolled across the couch until he settled, head on the pillow and feet up
in the air. "Hello, whoever you are. You've reached Josh Allenson
and family. Talk to me."
"Quit your clowning, Josh. Just find out who it is."
His mother had been drying dishes in the kitchen but came to the
door of the living room.
"What? How did it happen? When? Is she in the
hospital? How long will she be there?" Josh had straightened out on
the couch and cast a desperate look at his mother. He mouthed
the words, "Miss Ingersoll," and then looked down again. "Right.
So she'll be okay? Are you sure, Doc? Okay. Thanks. I mean, thanks
a lot, Doc Levine. Yeah, thanks for letting us know." Josh hung
up the phone and rolled off the couch.
"Josh? Is she okay? That was Dr. Levine. What did he say?"
"Hold on, Mom. She's okay. Miss Ingersoll's back in
the hospital, but he thinks she'll be fine." He felt himself rock back
on his heels and he reached out for the edge of the doorway.
His mother was inches away.
"Steady yourself, Josh. Let's sit down and you can tell
me what the doctor said." She put a hand under his elbow and led
him back to the couch. When she released her hold he fell slowly
against the cushions.
"He said she fell, probably last night. And she
couldn't move. She fell down the stairs and lay at the bottom of the stairs
all night. All night, Ma!"
Sarah put her hand on her son's forearm. "It's all
right, Josh. Doc Levine thinks she'll be fine. What else did he say?"
"She spent the night at the bottom of the stairs. He
thinks she may have just gone to sleep. Her leg hurt her too much
to move."
"Is it broken? Old people break easy."
"No. No, he said that all they can find is bruises. A
bad bruise on her hip that's quite painful, but nothing broken.
She should be up and around in a day or two."
"She's very lucky. Who found her?"
"That's the thing. That's what's so bad. No one found
her. No one was there to help her. She lay at the bottom of the stairs
all night. She said she thought her hip was broken and she didn't
want to make it any worse. So she waited. Doc thinks she probably
fell asleep, and when she woke up, about five o'clock this morning,
she dragged herself to the phone and called Dr. Levine. Get this,
Ma. She got his answering service, so she left a message for him to
call her back. Told them to just have him call when he had a
free minute."
"She's a tough old lady."
"She's crazy. She's lucky she sounded so weak and out of
it that they called Levine right away. That's crazy to not even be
able to ask for help when you need it."
"Then I guess lots of us are pretty crazy. It's a hard thing
to do, ask for help, even if you're being ripped apart inside,
you know."
"Yeah, but Miss Ingersoll thought her leg was
broken. That's hurt, and that needs help."
"Well, Dr. Levine called her back, and now everything
is going to be okay." Sarah squeezed her son's arm and let him
go. She moved back on the couch and watched his face. Every
muscle was taut. His lips were moving silently, searching for words.
"The thing is, Ma. . . . The thing is, I should have
been there. I should have found her. Or kept her from falling. Or. . . .
I don't know what, but if I'd been there, if I'd stopped by last
night, this wouldn't have happened."
"No, Josh." His mother reached out and touched him
again. "It's not your fault, Josh. There's nothing you could have done.
She fell late at night. You were probably asleep. Don't blame
yourself." She patted his arm.
"I found her last month. Dr. Levine said she could have
died if I hadn't found her when I did. He said I saved her life.
And suppose I had stopped by on the way to school this morning."
"She's an adult, Josh. Adults take care of themselves.
Sure, it's nice to have friends, but the bottom line is, we take care
of ourselves."
"You don't. Gramps does lots of stuff for you. And
Gran doesn't. You take care of her all the time. And I don't. Sure,
I'm still a kid, but you take care of me all the time. I'd starve if
it weren't for you."
"Teenage boys find food. Always. And Miss Ingersoll
has other people to help her. I see her a couple of times a week.
Ms. Parsons sees her all the time. And she's got other friends.
People we don't even know about. Look at how surprised we were
when Dr. Levine showed up. But it turns out that he's an old friend
of hers. He'd do anything for her. And there are lots of other
people around just like that. You don't need to worry."
"But suppose I go away to Detroit? Suppose I leave
this town, and then there's no one to mow her lawn, or get her
groceries, or sit and drink her horrible apple juice and listen to her
stories. What would she do?"
"She'd find someone else, Josh. That's what we all do.
We find someone else to fill the needs we have. That's how life works."
"Just like that? Kapow. I leave, someone else fills my
spot. What am I? Nothing?"
"Wait a minute. You're moving too fast here. We're
not talking about taking care of Miss Ingersoll anymore, are we?
We're talking about Detroit. You still haven't made up your mind,
have you?"
"I think I have. Miss Ingersoll needs me. Cindy wants me
to stay here. She says we'll get an apartment in Newmarket. Is that
all right with you? And you want me here. And Gramps. And
Gran. Ain't nobody wants me to leave. So it's settled."
"Josh. Josh, I think all those people want you to do what
is best for you. We all love you very much, and want you to do
the best thing. But you know what? Maybe the best thing is to not
stay with us. Maybe you are more important than any of us. Maybe
you have an opportunity that. . . ." Her words faltered, and
Josh grabbed her hand.
"Ma. Look, Ma. You want me here too. That's why
you're crying now. So don't worry. I'm going to stay here. I might
even live at home, if you think the apartment isn't such a good idea.
Ma. Ma, it's going to be all right."
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