Patiently Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Page B

last week,” said Tommie.
    Suddenly I remembered.
    “Lester!” I cried. “ He was talking with Jack Harrigan before he left.”
    “Kill him for us,” said Pamela.
    •••
    I felt the need to call home. I was going to give Lester a piece of my mind, for one thing, but what I really wanted was to hear Dad’s voice and find out how he was doing. I went to the office later that night and dialed. The phone rang so many times, I was afraid I’d get the answering machine, but then Dad picked it up.
    “Dad? Did I wake you?” I asked. “Did you go to bed early?”
    “Alice! No, I was just sitting out on the porch. How are you, honey?”
    “How are you, Dad? I’m really sorry about Sylvia’s sister.”
    “Well, so am I. It was a big disappointment for both of us, but there’s nothing to be done. Nancy’s seriously ill. Septicemia is a worrisome business, and we’re just hoping she pulls through okay.”
    “Can’t the doctors do something? Give her antibiotics?”
    “Well, of course. That’s what they’re doing. But it’s tricky. They have to figure out just what combination of drugs will work. Meanwhile, the infection can spread to the brain, the heart—almost anywhere.”
    “Oh, Dad. You’ve waited so long.”
    “I can wait a bit longer, I guess. Right now the important thing is Nancy’s health.”
    “Is Sylvia coming back to teach in the fall?”
    “Everything depends on Nancy. Sylvia’s already told the principal she probably won’t be here for the start of school. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
    We were both quiet for a few seconds. “I wish I was there,” I said finally.
    “Now, Alice, what could you do? You are exactly where you are supposed to be, and I hope you’re having a good time. Are you?”
    “Well, yes. I didn’t know that being an assistant counselor was so exhausting, though. I mean, I’m tired even when we don’t do anything physical. Just trying to keep the peace wears me out.”
    He laughed, and it was good to hear that familiar chuckle. “Kids are a handful, all right,” he said. “I can remember times you and Lester about drove me up the wall.”
    “Not recently, I hope.”
    “Not too recently, no.”
    “Has anyone asked about me? Called or anything?”
    I could almost hear Dad’s brain working at being tactful. Playing it safe. Trying to decipher what I was really asking.
    “I think most of your friends know you’re away, hon,” he said. “There aren’t any phone messages. I don’t know about e-mail. Everything going okaythere at camp? You and Gwen hitting it off as cabin mates?”
    “Gwen’s wonderful,” I said. “Pamela and Elizabeth are in separate cabins, thank goodness, because they both like the same guy—there are a lot of cute boys here—but other than that, we’re doing okay.” I didn’t want to get into the nude swimming bit.
    “Well, you’ll be home in another week, right?” he said. “Call when you get in. I don’t know who will pick you up, but somebody will drive over.”
    “Dad? Have you heard from Sylvia since she left?” I asked.
    “Oh, yes. She’s called twice—once after she got there and again from the hospital. Right now Nancy’s holding her own, but we won’t know anything much for a while. Sylvia’s where she needs to be too, Al. That’s life. We take things as they come.”
    He was saying all the right things, but how did he really feel?
    “I love you, Dad,” I said. “Rivers.”
    “I love you too, Al. Oceans.”
    I had a hard time falling asleep that night. I kept thinking about Pamela and Elizabeth. We’d been friends for a long time, and I didn’t want anything to come between the two of them. We’d come tocamp excited and looking forward to three weeks of fun together. It had been that and even more for Elizabeth, but I’m not sure about Pamela. And the letter from her mother sure didn’t help.
    I got up finally, and, throwing on my jacket, I slipped out of the cabin and made my way down the