“How is he?” I asked.
“He’s a little groggy, but he’s okay now. He ate most of his breakfast, but only because I was there insisting. I told him it won’t do any of us any good if he gets himself sick, too.”
“That’s what Mother always tells me when I’m sick and I don’t want to eat.”
“Well, of course. That’s what a mother should say. He’s getting dressed.” She started to turn away.
“Has he called the doctor?”
“He has a call in to him. We’re waiting for the doctor to call back.”
“Did he say we might go to the hospital?”
“We’ll see. Just keep working,” she said, and left before I could ask any more questions.
I kept working, but I was on pins and needles waiting for Daddy. Finally, I heard him coming down the stairway. I rushed out of the living room. He still looked a little tired, but he was dressed as handsomely as ever. He smiled when he saw me standing there with a polishing cloth. Cassie came out of the kitchen quickly.
“How wonderful to see how you two pitch in to help. Thank you, girls.”
“Are we going to see Mother now, Daddy?”
He nodded.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go just yet,” Cassie said.
“I want to go,” I said firmly.
“So do I, but we also want to do what is best,” she told me.
“I’m afraid she’s not much better than she was when I left her last night. It’s understandable that she would be in a depressed state.”
“We can cheer her up, Daddy.”
“If she can see or hear us,” Cassie said.
“It can’t do any harm, and Semantha is right. It might help bring her around. I have a few calls to make,” he said, looking at his watch. “We’ll leave in twenty minutes or so.”
He went to his den office.
“Go wash up,” Cassie snapped at me. It wasn’t hard to see how irritated she was at my contradicting her. “You probably stink of polish and have dust all over you.”
I nodded and hurried to the stairway, avoiding her gaze. Close to a half-hour later, we got into Daddy’s car, Cassie up front and me in the back, which was usual whenever we went anywhere without Mother.
“When we get there,” Daddy began as we drove out our main gate, “try not to let her see how much you’re disappointed with what has happened. Talk about other things. If she starts talking, no matter what she says about the miscarriage, change the subject.”
“Well, you do have the gala opening next week,” Cassie said. “We can talk about that.”
“Yes. That’s smart,” Daddy said.
“Does Uncle Perry know about it all, Daddy?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. He was up there with me at the hospital before I came home yesterday. He practically flew from Lexington when I told him what had happened. Your uncle Perry is quite fond of your mother, and she of him.”
“Women are most comfortable with men who don’t present any sexual threat to them,” Cassie declared.
Daddy turned to her. I held my breath. Was he going to be angry that she had referred to Uncle Perry’s homosexuality? He didn’t look angry, however; he looked impressed.
“That might very well be true, Cassie. Very astute.”