By Design by J. A. Armstrong

familiar
wallpaper when Pearl left to start on lunch. Pearl smiled as she put the bread
away and went to set the sandwiches she had made on the table. She wondered if
Candace had any idea how lucky she was to find someone like Jameson Reid.
    “Jinx!”
Jameson yelled. A huge crash followed and Pearl dropped the sandwiches in her
hand in a mad dash toward the sound.
    ***
    “Jameson,”
Pearl called. “Jameson. Hang on, kiddo,” she said. She scurried to the front
door. “In there,” she pointed to the study. She watched as the paramedics
tended to the architect. “Oh, Jameson,” she sighed. She grabbed the phone in
the hallway and dialed Candace. “Voicemail. Figures. Candy…listen, I am on my
way to Mercy with Jameson. You need to call me on my cell phone as soon as you
get this. I have to go.”
    ***
    Pearl
paced in the emergency waiting room. She continually checked her phone. There
was no answer from Candace. Finally giving into her frustration, she called
Marianne.
    “Hello?”
Michelle answered the phone.
    “Shell;
is that you?” Pearl asked.
    “Yeah.
Hey, Grandma Pearl!”
    “Shell,
is your mother there?”
    “No.
Didn’t she call you?” Michelle asked.
    “Call
me? Why would she call me?”
    “She’s
on her way home,” Michelle explained. “She should be home in an hour or so, I
would think. Maybe sooner now.” Hearing the heavy sigh on the line Michelle
became unnerved. “Why? What’s wrong?”
    “It’s
Jameson,” Pearl said.
    “That’s
why she’s coming home,” Michelle said. “To talk to J.D.”
    “No,
Shell. I’m at the hospital with Jameson right now.”
    Marianne
came down the stairs and caught the terrified expression on her sister’s face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked her sister.
    Michelle
shook her head. “Is Jameson okay?” Michelle asked Pearl.
    “I
don’t know. I’ve been trying to call your mother for an hour. I can’t get any
answers here.”
    “What
happened?”
    “Mrs.
Johnson?” a woman’s voice called to Pearl.
    “Yes?”
    “Can
you come with me, please?” the nurse asked.
    Pearl
nodded. “I have to go Shell.”
    “Wait!
What about Jameson?”
    “I
don’t know. If your mother calls tell her we are at Mercy. I have to go. I’ll
call when I know anything,” she said and disconnected the call.
    Michelle
hung up the phone and covered her mouth. Tears were beginning to fill her eyes.
Marianne took the phone from her sister’s hand. “Shelley?”
    Michelle
shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “Something happened to Jameson. Pearl
is…she’s scared, Marianne; I could hear it.”
    “Grandma
Pearl doesn’t get scared,” Marianne said.
    “I
know,” Michelle said quietly.
    Marianne
hugged her sister. “It’ll be okay, Shell.”
    “I
hope so,” Michelle said. “I don’t think Mom could handle that.”
    “She
really loves this woman,” Marianne said more to herself than to her sister.
    “Yeah.
She really does.”
    ***
    Candace
thanked the agent and slid into her rental car. She put her hands on the
steering wheel and took a deep breath. She smiled, wondering if Jameson might
be at the house. “I guess I really should call Pearl,” she said. She grabbed
her phone and was stunned to see the number of missed calls. “What on earth?”
Just as she was about to listen to the messages the phone rang.
    “Shell?”
    “Mom?
Where are you?”
    “I
just got into the rental car; why? What is going on?” Candace asked.
    “Mom,”
Shell said as steadily as she could.
    “Michelle;
what?”
    Michelle
sighed nervously. “You need to go to Mercy.”
    “Mercy?
Mercy Hospital? Why?”
    “Grandma
Pearl is at…”
    “What
happened to Pearl?” Candace asked fearfully.
    Michelle
took a deep breath. “She’s fine, Mom….it’s…”
    “Why
is she at Mercy?”
    “Mom!”
Michelle called for her mother’s attention. “It’s not Grandma Pearl. She’s
there with J.D.” Candace’s heart stopped. “Mom?” Michelle called.