Jody had ceased to struggle for breath. Her limbs had relaxed and now were limp. She rolled her eyes from side to side as though trying to orient herself. Dr. Mallory wiped saliva from Jody’s chin with a Kleenex from her own purse.
“You had a seizure, but it’s over.”
“Mama? Are you all right?” Janellen clasped her hand.
“She’ll be groggy for several minutes,” Dr. Mallory said. “That will pass.”
“Let me through. What are y’all gawking at? Don’t you have anything better to do? Get the hell away from here.”
Key plowed through the crowd of spectators. They parted for him. Ollie stepped forward. “You must have been close to have gotten here so fast.”
“Thanks for calling me, Ollie. Clear these people out, will you?”
“Yes, sir!” Ollie barely stopped himself from saluting. Key Tackett had that effect on people. “Okay, everybody. You heard Mr. Tackett. Clear this area.”
“Key! Thank heaven!” Janellen cried. “Mama had a seizure.”
“Jody?”
“Don’t le’ ’er touch me.”
He knelt beside his mother, but his piercing eyes were on the doctor. “What’s the matter with her?”
“Just as your sister said, she had a seizure. Serious and scary, but not fatal.”
Key bent over his mother. “They’ve called an ambulance for you, Jody,” he said in a low, reassuring voice. “It’ll be here soon. Hang in there.”
“Ge’ ’er away from me. Don’ want ’er to touch me.”
Her speech was slurred, but her message was clear.
“Dr. Mallory saved your life, Mama,” Janellen said gently.
Jody tried to sit up but couldn’t. She fixed a murderous stare on Dr. Mallory. Although she couldn’t articulate her animosity, it was effectively conveyed.
Key made a swift motion with his head. “Take off, Doc. She doesn’t want you near her. You’re only making matters worse.”
Janellen said, “Key, if she hadn’t known what to do.”
“But—” the doctor interrupted.
“You heard me,” he barked. “Get out of her sight.”
They glared at each other for what seemed to Ollie a long time, as if there was a lot more there than the eye could see. Eventually Dr. Mallory came to her feet. She was visibly shaken and her voice was unsteady. “Your mother is gravely ill and needs immediate medical attention.”
“Not from you.”
Even though the words weren’t directed at him, Ollie quailed at Tackett’s fierce expression and bone-chilling tone.
“Thank you, Dr. Mallory,” Janellen said quietly. “We’ll see that Mama gets the medical care she needs.”
Her services having been flatly rejected, she turned her back on the Tacketts and moved down the aisle toward the onlookers. They parted for her as they had for Key. She didn’t return to her cart of groceries but headed straight for the exit.
Ollie watched her leave, his respect for her increasing. She had a lot of class. She hadn’t slunk past the bystanders but had walked tall and proud. Neither the Tacketts nor the gawkers had daunted her. He resolved to personally deliver her groceries to her once this crisis was over.
The wail of a siren was heard outside and moments later paramedics rushed into the store. Mrs. Tackett was transported by gurney to the waiting ambulance, which sped away. Key and Janellen roared after it in his yellow Lincoln.
Long after all the instant tea in aisle 4 had been swept up and the shelves straightened, store customers lingered to discuss what they’d seen and heard, and the drama was recreated for new arrivals who had missed it. The seriousness of Jody Tackett’s condition was speculated upon. Some said she was too mean to die and would live to be one hundred. Others surmised that she was only a breath away from death. Some wondered out loud about the future of Tackett Oil. Would Jody’s death, whenever it occurred, also mean the end of the oil company, or would Key stop his globe-hopping and stay in Eden Pass to manage it, or was Miss Janellen strong and savvy enough to seize control? Opinions varied widely.