Songs of Christmas (15 page)

“No one noticed,” he assured her. “It’s a lot to coordinate. I’m not even sure when I should stand up with the hymnal or sit down,” he added, making her laugh.

Amanda knew that accepting compliments was not easy for her, but his words made her feel good. “Thanks. I’ll be better next week.”

“More hot chocolate over here? More pancakes? Some coffee, maybe? It’s all you can eat.” Their waitress appeared, slinging two glass coffee canisters like a cowboy with six guns.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Amanda replied. “This hit the spot.”

“No more for me, thanks.” Gabriel’s phone buzzed, and he picked it up off the table. “Sorry, I have to check this.”

Amanda nodded. It usually didn’t bother her if someone she was with checked their phone. As long they weren’t staring at it all through the meal. And Gabriel had certainly given her plenty of attention—more than she was used to.

She wondered if a girlfriend was getting in touch with him. He was probably involved with someone. He had to have girls falling all over him.

“My brother, Taylor.” He slipped the phone in his jacket pocket. “He is actually getting in touch on time. Feeling a little guilty about nearly killing us with those snowballs, I guess.”

So it wasn’t a girlfriend, she thought, feeling relieved and a little silly. Well, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a girl someplace.

“He went over to a sports store and is coming back to town. I guess I’d better get going so he can pick me up.”

“That’s all right. I have to go, too.” Amanda was surprised to see the time. They’d been sitting there talking for over an hour.

The waitress had left the check and Gabe picked it up. “Why don’t we split it?” Amanda offered, reaching for her wallet. “We both ate the same thing.”

Gabe shook his head. “I invited you to lunch. It’s my treat . . . even though it was only pancakes.”

His tone implied the meal should have been much grander . . . or would be the next time. Would there be a next time? She hoped so. He was so attractive and so easy to talk to. Maybe she wouldn’t be in town that long, but it would be fun to hang out with him while she was. She hoped that confiding her plans hadn’t made him think twice about getting to know her better. Still, she didn’t regret being honest. She didn’t really know how to be anything else. Only time would tell if the admission had put him off.

They left the diner and stood on the sidewalk a moment. Gabriel spotted his truck a little farther down Main Street and waved to his brother.

“Well, it’s coming back in one piece, so I guess I should be thankful.” He turned to Amanda. “This was fun. I hope you’ll get caught in the cross fire of one of our snowball fights again sometime.”

“Well, I’m going to practice my aim, just in case.”

“As long as you’re on my team, that’s fine with me.” He laughed at her, then leaned over and quickly kissed her cheek. “See you,” he said as the truck pulled up.

She felt surprised by his quick, casual kiss, and practically light-headed. “Good-bye, Gabriel,” she said finally.

He was already climbing into the truck, making his brother move over so he could drive. He turned and waved to her, then pulled away.

Amanda stood in front of the diner a moment, getting her bearings. Of all the things she had anticipated happening today, this impromptu date was not one of them. Her mother sometimes said the surprises in life usually turn out better than anything you plan. That was certainly true this morning.

Amanda wondered when she would see Gabriel again. He might not be back in church on Monday. But she knew she would see him soon, and that thought made her smile as she walked back toward the harbor. Everything looked so fresh and new today, covered with the glistening snow. This had turned out to be a good day, that was for sure. Better than she’d ever expected.

* * *

“ARE YOU PURPOSELY TRYING TO DRIVE ME CRAZY?” LILLIAN SWEPT
into Ezra’s room just as Estrella was leaving. She practically knocked the nurse down, but didn’t bother to apologize. Or even make eye contact. Ezra wasn’t surprised. She had barely said a civil word to the poor woman since Estrella had arrived. It had been four days now.

Ezra was waiting for Lillian to get tired of this battle and gracefully retreat. But she showed no signs of backing down.

“Drive you crazy? What did I do now?” he asked innocently, though he knew he was not the target of her ire—not really. “It’s amazing how much trouble a man can get into, lying sick in bed all day. I positively amaze myself.”

Her eyes narrowed as she stood at the end of his bed. “Don’t be cute, Ezra. It doesn’t suit you.”

“Point taken. But I still don’t understand the problem.”

“You know very well what I mean,” she insisted. She walked across the room and sat down heavily in the armchair. “I heard the both of you in here, chattering away. Couldn’t understand a word of it. Probably complaining about me, right?” She didn’t bother to wait for his answer. “You might as well have been planning a bank robbery for all I know. I’ve told you before, it’s very rude. And how am I supposed to oversee your care if I can’t understand what she’s doing to you? Can you answer me that? Why, these helpers could kill you, give you the wrong dose of medication or something. The buck stops here, Ezra,” she insisted, tapping her chest. “I can’t make sure she’s doing her job correctly if I need an interpreter.”

Ezra tilted his head back. He had been talking with Estrella in Spanish. That was it. Lillian didn’t like it. She felt left out. He understood that and had taken care not to do it when she was in the room. That was not polite, as she pointed out.

“I understand, dear . . . but when was this exactly? I didn’t see you in the room a few minutes ago. Are my eyes going on me, too?” he asked innocently. “Or were you standing by the doorway . . . eavesdropping?”

The color rose in her cheeks, and she sat up straight, looking quite offended.

“If you had made yourself known, we would have stopped speaking Spanish at once,” Ezra went on in a reasonable tone. “Estrella has offered to help me brush up on my Spanish, and I’ve offered to help her improve her English,” he explained.

“Really? Well, so far, it looks as if you’re getting the better end of that bargain. And I was not eavesdropping. How dare you accuse me of such a thing? I was about to come in and check on you when I heard you both in here, yammering away. I wanted to watch her, candidly. She’s still on probation, you know.”

So she was spying on Estrella, trying to gather some evidence to make a case against the young woman. That made sense. But he didn’t want to accuse Lillian of that. Not quite yet.

“Yes, I know. She’s been here almost a week. I have absolutely no complaints.”

“It’s hardly a week. She started Friday and it’s only Tuesday . . . that’s not even five full days. I’m not sure this is working out, Ezra. I’m not sure at all.”

Ezra sighed. They had agreed Estrella would work for a week before they decided if she would stay on. Ezra thought Lillian would have come around by now. The clock was ticking down.

There was just something she didn’t like about Estrella. Maybe because she couldn’t find anything precisely
not
to like about her, and couldn’t catch her doing anything wrong? That’s what was driving his wife crazy, he thought.

“Look, Lily,” he said, “I understand that all of this is terrible for you. I am so sorry to have gotten sick and put you in this position where you have to take care of me, where we need additional help in the house. I’m just glad we have someone here who can help, who has the medical training that I’m afraid I need right now.”

“Yes, well . . .” Lillian began, but before she could say more, Estrella returned with a tray of covered dishes and her medical kit.

“Time to check your vital signs, Dr. Ezra.” She took his wrist in one hand, found his pulse, and focused on her watch.

Lillian sat silently, watching. After a moment, Estrella marked his heart rate on her chart. “Eighty-five,” she said.

“A little fast,” he noted.

“Yes, it is,” Estrella agreed.

It had been lower in the morning, Ezra recalled. He would bet his pressure was higher, too, he thought as Estrella put the cuff around his arm. He had Lillian to thank for that—Lillian and her mood.

“What’s the pressure?” Lillian asked curtly as Estrella completed the test.

“One hundred forty over eighty,” she reported.

“That’s too high,” Lillian said. “You’re putting too much salt in his food. Maybe he needs a water pill . . . or some change in his medication.”

“I’ve been cooking salt-free for Dr. Ezra, Mrs. Elliot,” Estrella said politely. “And preparing only foods that are naturally low in sodium. I don’t think it could be that . . . and I don’t think he needs a medication change right now. But I will tell Dr. Newton what you said this afternoon when he calls.”

Dr. Newton called every day to check on Ezra’s condition and was due to visit at the end of the week. All of the visiting nurses had spoken to him, reporting Ezra’s pulse and blood pressure and other vital signs. Ezra knew that Estrella wasn’t trying to overstep her authority, but he could tell Lillian didn’t see it that way.

“I’ll speak to Dr. Newton myself,” Lillian insisted.

“Yes, of course you will,” Ezra chimed in. “I want to talk to him, too. But Estrella has to report her chart. You know that, Lily. They all do it,” he added.

Lillian pursed her lips, her eyes focused on Estrella, who had taken out an electronic thermometer and slipped a fresh cover on it.

“What are you doing with that thing?” Lillian asked.

“Taking his temperature,” Estrella said.

“He doesn’t have a fever,” Lillian huffed.

“The incision is still healing. It’s important to check and make sure there’s no infection,” Estrella said calmly. She had stuck the end of the instrument into Ezra’s ear a moment, and when it made a beeping sound, drew it out.

Ezra wasn’t used to the gadget and rubbed his ear. “Did that hurt your ear?” Lillian asked quickly, her tone laced with concern.

“No, dear, but it did tickle,” he replied honestly. He glanced at Estrella, trying not to smile, and could see she was doing the same. If they shared a laugh at Lillian’s expense, it would be like tossing oil on a flame.

Estrella concentrated on the thermometer. “Your temperature is ninety-seven point five. A little low, but nothing to be concerned about.”

“No fever, you mean. See, I told you. I can tell when he has a fever. I can just see it in his eyes,” Lillian insisted.

Estrella didn’t reply. She didn’t even react as she put her instruments away, Ezra noticed. She had a remarkable temperament. She was so centered, she didn’t let anyone throw her off balance, not even Lillian. Not so far, anyway.

She looked up and smiled at both of them. “It’s time for your show, Dr. Ezra. Would you like me to turn on the TV?”

Ezra was following a show on the History Channel about the US presidents. Lillian had been watching it with him. “I think it’s Ulysses S. Grant today, dear. Care to watch with me? It should be a good one.”

“In here? How utterly depressing. We’ll watch in the living room, like the healthy, able-bodied adults that we are. This TV is just for drifting off,” she insisted. “Has she been encouraging you to lie abed like a couch potato all day and watch TV?”

“No, not at all,” Ezra insisted. “What a thing to say.”

“Really?” Lillian looked as if she didn’t believe him. “The next thing you know, she’ll be feeding you through a straw,” she grumbled.

Ezra was about to argue that he was not particularly healthy, nor able-bodied. Having broken weight-bearing bones, he couldn’t be hopping up and down from the bed all day. Even in that infernal chair his wife had rented for him.

But I could be in a lot worse shape,
he reflected, and getting out of bed for a while was necessary for his recovery. Especially to keep his lungs clear and keep his metabolism moving. He knew that well enough. It was just the way Lillian put it that irked him.

Before he could say a word to counter her, she turned to Estrella. “Are you trying to weaken him even further?”

“Of course not, Mrs. Elliot. Dr. Ezra always watches his show in here,” Estrella replied.

“Since you’ve arrived, you mean. He needs to get out of bed and sit in his chair. You should know that better than I,” Lillian insisted.

Ezra had been out of his bed that morning while Lillian was upstairs doing her hair. That’s why he was tired now.

Estrella cast a questioning glance his way, but he waved his hand. “I think I will join Mrs. Elliot in the living room for a while, if you’ll be so kind as to fetch my crutches,” he said. “Maybe we’ll have a hand of gin rummy afterward, eh, Lily?”

He tried to catch his wife’s eye, hoping to soften her up. She was feeling displaced by this new helper and just needed some attention.

Lillian deigned to glance his way. “Maybe . . . if you’re not too tired and weak to hold up the cards,” she added in a sardonic tone.

“I shall gather my strength,” Ezra promised, but his wife did not smile at the jest. It was, Ezra realized, going to be an even more difficult recovery than he had expected.

* * *

THAT EVENING, EZRA WAS ALONE WHEN ESTRELLA CAME IN TO GIVE
him his nightly medications. Lillian had just left him, heading upstairs to bed. Flaring up all afternoon had worn her out, and she was ready to turn in a little earlier than usual.

“Here are your pills, Dr. Ezra. I spoke to Dr. Newton about your blood pressure spiking up today. He doesn’t want to change the medication dosage until he sees you tonight.”

“That makes sense.” Ezra held the three pills on his palm then tossed them back. Estrella quickly gave him a glass of water. “I think it was just a fluke,” he said after he had swallowed them down.
A fluke named Lillian Warwick Elliot,
he might have added.

Estrella nodded. “Yes, sir. Could be. But we need to watch it. I want to take your pressure again, if you don’t mind.”

Ezra offered his good arm. “Be my guest. I’m sure it’s gone down.”

Estrella wrapped the cuff and pumped it up, then watched the gauge.