Olivia (Logan 5)

He laughed again, but this time with a deeper, darker sound.

When the dance ended, he escorted me back to my table.

"I was getting jealous," Samuel said. "You two looked too good out there."

"Just let yourself go, Samuel. Relax more and you'll look good, too," Nelson advised him. He winked, thanked me for the dance and returned to his fiancee.

We had come to the party thinking we would steal the glitter and glamour, riding the wave of social acceptance, but at the moment, I felt as though I was sinking. A rush of sadness washed through my very being. The sky was still a soft blue with only scattered clouds, but the chill in my bones told me a storm was just beyond the horizon.

"I think I'd better go home, Samuel," I said. "I'm worried about Mother."

"Oh, certainly," he said. "This is about over anyway."

All the way home Samuel bragged about how his friends and acquaintances congratulated him on our engagement.

"Every one of them thought we were a perfect match, Olivia. We're going to do great things together."

He rambled on and on, but I didn't hear much. My mind was on Nelson and our intimate moments on the dance floor. What had he seen in my eyes? How had it affected him? Would we always be close friends?

"Well?" Samuel asked.

"What?"

"I just asked you when you thought I should come by tomorrow to take you to see the house and the property. I'll have the architect there if you like."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was in deep thought about Mother. You should call me about ten and I'll let you know how things are," I said.

"Fine. I can't wait for you to see it, Olivia. Your father's seen it, you know. He thinks it's a spectacular piece of property."

"You took him to see the house and land already?"

"Well, not exactly to see our property. I took him to see the historic house when I was

contemplating the purchase. I respect his business sense," Samuel quickly explained.

I was still suspicious of all this, but before I could say or ask anything else, we turned in to my driveway and I saw the ambulance parked in front of the house.

"Oh no!" I cried. "I knew something was wrong."

Samuel drove up quickly and parked. I jumped out of the car and hurried to the front door. I stopped in the entryway and looked up to see the paramedics carrying Mother on a stretcher down the stairs with Daddy trailing behind and the nurse behind him. Mother didn't look conscious.

"What happened?" I cried.

"I think she's fallen into a coma,

" the nurse said. "We're getting her to the hospital."

"Doctor Covington will meet us there," Daddy said. "I can drive both of you," Samuel offered.

"No, no. I'm fine. You can do me a favor, however," Daddy told him.

"What?"

"Belinda. I called and told her we'd be by to pick her up, but she's in the opposite direction. Do you know where Thomas Hughes' house is?"

"I'll find it," Samuel said. "I'll go by and bring her over to the hospital. I'm sorry," he said watching them load Mother into the ambulance.

Daddy and I went directly to his car and Samuel drove off to get Belinda. They arrived before Doctor Covington had come out to the lobby to confer with us. Belinda always kept her eyes fixed forward on me or Daddy when she was in the hospital. She only glanced furtively at anything else- around her as if she believed looking at nurses and doctors, patients and machines might make her sick, too.