Caroline rushed to his side. She turned back as they
headed for the elevator.
"Can you stay with the girls a little longer?" she
asked us.
"Yes, of course," I said.
We watched her disappear with her husband
and the orderly in the elevator and then we sat with
Raven and Butterfly and entertained Denise and little
Sophie.
The rain began again. We didn't notice it until
the wind started blowing it against the windows. The
girls, tired from their emotional ordeal, had fallen
asleep, Sophie, the little one, with her head in Raven's
lap. We were all somewhat exhausted and groggy.
Butterfly dozed on and off and Raven lay back with
her eyes closed, her fingers clamped on her forehead. Only Crystal made productive use of the time
catching up on past issues of Time magazine. None of us took much note of the two
policemen who stood by the nurse's desk talking
softly, but when the elevator doors opened and
Caroline appeared, the nurse nodded at her and the
policemen approached her. They spoke for a moment
and then they walked over to us.
"Thanks for waiting, girls, and taking care of
Denise and Sophie. The nurse upstairs was kind
enough to call the sheriff's department for me because
I can't drive that R.V. and we have to get to a motel.
Officer Donald will take you back to your car. I don't
know how I can thank you. Can you give me your
address," she asked Crystal, "so I can send you
something later?"