soft, protective cover on the car. She punched in a security code on the door lock. Once inside the vehicle, she pulled the ignition key from the glove box and fired the engine to life.
As the engine warmed, she pressed a button and the convertible top smoothly retracted into the rear of the vehicle. Even though it was completely dark, she removed a pair of sunglasses from the glove box and put them on. She leaned forward and thoughtfully selected a song on the CD player, then put the car in gear and pulled smoothly away from the curb. The convertible’s tires made crunching noises in the newly fallen snow.
Susan slumped down onto her Queen Anne sofa. She was not normally one to slump, but the three glasses of wine she had consumed aided her in her lack of decorum.
Her thoughts were no clearer for the wine, but they had been so unclear to begin with she didn’t see the harm.
The woman was gone. The patient who could not possibly be alive had gotten up, smashed through a two-inch thick glass window, and then just disappeared. The woman with the internal anatomy and blood profile of something from another planet had just casually exited both her hospital and her life.
Susan sighed, eyeing the remaining wine in the bottle. Mr. Earl circled her uncertainly, sensing her distress. He finally determined she needed him and leaped up onto her lap, purring. Susan stroked the cat, settling for the softness of his fur over the draw of the remaining wine, her thoughts distant from both.
She heard a commotion at the front door and then Jason came tearing around the corner. He was in mid-leap when he saw the glass of wine she was holding. He came to a screeching halt.
“Mom,” he said with disapproval, “you’re not supposed to have juice on the couch.”
Susan suppressed a smile as Neda rounded the corner behind him. The matron took in the wineglass and nearly empty wine bottle. “Here,” the older woman said, grasping the wine glass, “I’ll take that.”
With her hands free, Susan pulled Jason onto her lap. She hugged him tightly, wishing his warmth could wash away the disappointment and confusion inside her. Neda glanced at the few remaining drops in the wine bottle, then went to boil some coffee. It was not like the young doctor to drink in the middle of the afternoon.
Jason sensed her distress as well. “What’s wrong, mom?”
Susan sighed, “Oh, nothing, munchkin. I just had a long day at work.”
Jason’s countenance suddenly darkened. “The lady didn’t die, did she?”
Neda froze in the doorway at the young boy’s words, and Susan quickly responded. “Oh no. She didn’t die.” She stopped. Her inebriation made her want to disclose more than she normally would and she could not hide her disbelief. “She just left.”
Jason wrinkled his brow, but decided this was an appropriate outcome. He was still somewhat concerned. “Oh, okay. So she was all right then?”
Susan could picture the woman standing upright in the lab, her physique rivaled only by that of Michelangelo’s David. “Oh, I think she was quite all right.”
Neda listened quietly in the doorway. By the young doctor’s tone of voice, it was evident there was much she was not saying. She hurried to make the coffee.
CHAPTER 13
SUSAN STEPPED FROM HER CAR DOOR, wincing at the bite of the cold. It had been three months since the first snow of the season, and the weather had been frigid ever since. She shut the car door behind her and began moving carefully up the slippery walk towards the hospital doors. Although her proximity to the emergency room would lessen the danger of a fall, it would not make it any less painful, nor any less embarrassing.
Susan’s attention drifted away from her struggle to negotiate the slushy terrain. Three months, she thought to herself, three months since the golden-haired woman had disappeared. Ninety days, during which Susan Ryersons’s career had changed forever. The hospital doors slid
As the engine warmed, she pressed a button and the convertible top smoothly retracted into the rear of the vehicle. Even though it was completely dark, she removed a pair of sunglasses from the glove box and put them on. She leaned forward and thoughtfully selected a song on the CD player, then put the car in gear and pulled smoothly away from the curb. The convertible’s tires made crunching noises in the newly fallen snow.
Susan slumped down onto her Queen Anne sofa. She was not normally one to slump, but the three glasses of wine she had consumed aided her in her lack of decorum.
Her thoughts were no clearer for the wine, but they had been so unclear to begin with she didn’t see the harm.
The woman was gone. The patient who could not possibly be alive had gotten up, smashed through a two-inch thick glass window, and then just disappeared. The woman with the internal anatomy and blood profile of something from another planet had just casually exited both her hospital and her life.
Susan sighed, eyeing the remaining wine in the bottle. Mr. Earl circled her uncertainly, sensing her distress. He finally determined she needed him and leaped up onto her lap, purring. Susan stroked the cat, settling for the softness of his fur over the draw of the remaining wine, her thoughts distant from both.
She heard a commotion at the front door and then Jason came tearing around the corner. He was in mid-leap when he saw the glass of wine she was holding. He came to a screeching halt.
“Mom,” he said with disapproval, “you’re not supposed to have juice on the couch.”
Susan suppressed a smile as Neda rounded the corner behind him. The matron took in the wineglass and nearly empty wine bottle. “Here,” the older woman said, grasping the wine glass, “I’ll take that.”
With her hands free, Susan pulled Jason onto her lap. She hugged him tightly, wishing his warmth could wash away the disappointment and confusion inside her. Neda glanced at the few remaining drops in the wine bottle, then went to boil some coffee. It was not like the young doctor to drink in the middle of the afternoon.
Jason sensed her distress as well. “What’s wrong, mom?”
Susan sighed, “Oh, nothing, munchkin. I just had a long day at work.”
Jason’s countenance suddenly darkened. “The lady didn’t die, did she?”
Neda froze in the doorway at the young boy’s words, and Susan quickly responded. “Oh no. She didn’t die.” She stopped. Her inebriation made her want to disclose more than she normally would and she could not hide her disbelief. “She just left.”
Jason wrinkled his brow, but decided this was an appropriate outcome. He was still somewhat concerned. “Oh, okay. So she was all right then?”
Susan could picture the woman standing upright in the lab, her physique rivaled only by that of Michelangelo’s David. “Oh, I think she was quite all right.”
Neda listened quietly in the doorway. By the young doctor’s tone of voice, it was evident there was much she was not saying. She hurried to make the coffee.
CHAPTER 13
SUSAN STEPPED FROM HER CAR DOOR, wincing at the bite of the cold. It had been three months since the first snow of the season, and the weather had been frigid ever since. She shut the car door behind her and began moving carefully up the slippery walk towards the hospital doors. Although her proximity to the emergency room would lessen the danger of a fall, it would not make it any less painful, nor any less embarrassing.
Susan’s attention drifted away from her struggle to negotiate the slushy terrain. Three months, she thought to herself, three months since the golden-haired woman had disappeared. Ninety days, during which Susan Ryersons’s career had changed forever. The hospital doors slid
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