"That's not true. Families pass their homes and property down."
He shrugged again. "That's my point. Rhona's time has come for this. What she does with it is her decision. It certainly has nothing to do with you. Go hook up with one of your relatives, meet some guy and have your own time."
"I don't desert people."
"Yeah, you do," he said. gulping the rest of his coffee. He poured more in the cup. 'We all do. I'll take this up to Rhona and see if I can get her engine started." He smiled at Echo again and left us.
In the wake of the silence he left behind. I thought Trevor -Washington was right. It was a bad. bad sign, that bird flying into the barn.
11 White Lies
. Doctor Battie was with Mrs. Westington when Echo and I arrived at the hospital. We had to wait in the lobby, but the moment he stepped out of the room. I leaped to my feet to talk to him in the corridor. He wrote same instructions for one of the nurses to carry out on Mrs. Westington and then turned to me. I didn't like the look on his face.
"I haven't been able to get that blood pressure down yet," he said. "I know she has a lot of tension, a lot on her mind, but we've got to get her calm and relaxed and I've got to get the right prescription. Don't say or do anything that would make her worry. okay?"
"I won't, but did she tell you her daughter has returned and what's happening?"
"A little. I know she's upset about it. Can you have... what's her name. Rhona?"
"Yes. Rhona."
"Rhona call me. They'll page me if she calls while I'm still making rounds in the hospital and I'll speak with her."
"Good," I said. although I wasn't optimistic about it doing any good. I think he saw it in my face.
"Let's just work on keeping her comfortable and calm. I need a few more days."
"Okay," I said.
He looked at Echo. "How is she doing with all this?"
"Not great." I said honestly.
"Well, it's a traumatic time and probably not the best time to get her enrolled in the school, but we should do it soon," he said. The way he emphasized soon put a chill in my heart.
"Yes, thank you," I said. He patted my arm and walked on to his next patient.
Echo looked to me for some information. I signed that the doctor said her grandmother was doing well, but he still needed some time to work on getting her the proper medicine. She nodded with relief. We lie to each other so much. I thought. A good deal of the time, we either tell half-truths to protect and insulate the other person or tell outright lies to avoid conflicts we know would be inevitable and hurt everyone. We even lie to ourselves for the very same reasons.
I took her into her grandmother's room. Mrs. Westington was sitting up and spooning some soup into her mouth. She put the spoon down quickly. "Did you bring me anything to eat?"
"No," I said, laughing, happy she had an appetite. "The doctor would be furious and he was right there in the hallway when we arrived."
"Fiddlesticks. Eating this food is making me sicker than anything you would have brought me from home. Taste this soup. I swear they use it as dishwater."
"There's probably not a grain of salt in it," I said.
"I never worried about what I ate and I made it this far in good health." She pouted a moment and then smiled at Echo. "How's my doll?" she asked her.
Echo rushed to her for a hug. She held on to her just a little too long.
Mrs. Westington looked at me sharply. "What happened at my home last night?"
I shook my head.
&
nbsp; "You want me to get it out of the child? I can do that," she threatened.