returned to her bedside.
"Don't be silly, Butterfly. You couldn't help it,"
Crystal said.
"I'm going to get it. I just know I'm going to get
it," Raven worried. "What'll we do if I can't work? It
will take us forever to earn our money back!" "Let's not worry about things until we have to," Crystal advised. "We've got enough problems
right now without thinking up more."
And that was the truth.
We had a very busy dinner that night and could
have used Butterfly's help. Danny popped in almost
an hour after the rush had begun. He started to bus
some tables and then disappeared in the back when
two friends of his arrived. Raven said she thought
they were smoking dope. She had gone to the
stockroom for Charlie and observed them through the
partially opened rear door.
"Don't tell Patsy," I said. "Not now."
Whenever we had a lull in activity, Crystal left
to check on Butterfly. The second time, she returned
to tell me her fever was nearly 103.
"If it doesn't break in an hour or so, Brooke, I
think we ought to take her to the hospital. I'm afraid I
might not be right. Maybe she's having a reaction to
some virus, or something she ate."
Raven and I looked at each other. Disaster was
looming. The hands of the clock ticked us closer to it
every minute. Working hard was the only way not to
dwell on it. Finally, business slowed and the last few
customers began to think about leaving. That was
when Danny reappeared.