The Way of Women (28 page)

“Going to be months before they can dredge the Columbia, let alone the Cowlitz. Those rivers still so hot the fish’ve jumped up on the banks to cool off.”

Jenn looked up at him in surprise. Was Frank McKenzie always this
friendly with this waitress? Of course, she did know him by name, so he must come in here a lot.
Now, why can he be pleasant with her and such a bear with a sore paw at me?
Jenn schooled her face to keep any such thoughts inside where they belonged. Frank meant nothing more to her than an old friend, and sometimes she wondered if her memories hadn’t happened to someone else.
Be fair
, she told herself.
He has taken you into some places you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. I know, and he’s been through about the worst any human can endure but …

A hand waved in front of her face. “You still in there, squirt?”

His voice had softened, and was that concern she saw in his eyes?

“Frank, how do you deal with all this, like yesterday?”

“At the morgue?”

She nodded and lifted the carafe to refill his cup.

“Thanks.” He studied the coffee, as if seeking knowledge. “That was a bad one. We couldn’t show her, but that corpse was so cooked from the heat of the river that we had parts of it in separate body bags. That we could find. Someone saw the head and shoulder, called us, and we dug it out.” He scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “And you wonder why I hit the bottle sometimes. Lord, Jenn, I …” He took a slug of coffee. “That poor woman, little girl so sick, and now this. I don’t know. After all this is over, I might just get another job.”

Her hand ached to touch his. As if separated from her body and with a mind of its own, it inched across the table and stroked the base of his thumb, then curled around his wrist.

“Here you go, folks.” Rosie set their plates in front of them. “Get you anything else?”

Jenn shook her head. “No, thanks.” The heat of her hand surprised her. “Mom said if I saw you to let her know when you can come for dinner.”

“I wish I knew.” He basted his hash browns with ketchup and held the bottle up.

“No, thanks. I like my food naked.”

His arched eyebrow brought heat to her neck. “Frank McKenzie, keep your mind on your meal. That’s just a figure of speech.”

“Not from around here. That the kind of thing you learned in New York.” He put a slur on the name of the city.

“The city was good to me.”
For a while
, she finished the sentence silently.

His snort more than conveyed his opinion.

She ate a few bites in silence, listening to the discussion going on in the booth behind her.

“Well, look who’s here.” A familiar voice brought her back to the moment. “The ice queen herself.”

“Gee, Sergeant, how nice to see you.”

Frank swallowed a chuckle. “Ross, how’s it goin’? Got enough to keep you busy?”

“McKenzie, you heard the latest report on that sediment dam?”

“Seems to me they ought to see if they can siphon off some of the pressure.”

“As if we could get up there without getting someone else killed, let alone any machinery in. You been up in any of the choppers?”

“No. I leave that for the rescue boys. I got enough to keep me at a dead gallop without tryin’ to do someone else’s job.”

Mitch turned back to Jenn. “I haven’t forgotten my promise to take you up again, soon as I can get in the air.”

Jenn rolled her eyes at the black look on Frank’s face. “Sure, thanks, Mitch.”

“Good to see you.” Mitch nodded to each of them and left.

“You really would go up with him?”

“Frank McKenzie, I’d go up with the devil himself if he would take me closer to the mountain.”

Frank threw some bills on the table and stood at the same time, grabbing his hat. His mutter included some words he had castigated her for using back when she was a teenager.

Guess he thinks I’m adult enough to hear them now
. Her thought made her roll her lips to hide the grin. She grabbed her backpack and followed him out the door that he didn’t bother to hold for her. Some things never changed.

M
AY
21, 1980

C
offee’s hot!” The raucous cry of the parrot worked like reveille.

“Coffee’s hot!”

Katheryn lay in her cot, listening to the sounds of the shelter around her. At least the baby had cried only briefly during the night. Perhaps the young mother was coping better, or someone else had taken charge for the peace of those sleeping. Whichever, it was one small thing to be thankful for. Nevertheless, the nightmares that she’d ridden during the darkest hours still galloped in her mind. The ride started with watching David and Brian make camp under the whispering fir trees. They’d gone fishing and caught enough trout for dinner. Sunday morning they’d fished again as the sun was rising to cast a yellow glow through the majestic trees, catching glints thrown by the cascading creek. So many times she’d been getting the fire ready to fry the fish in cornmeal and bacon grease. Nothing tasted better in the world. But the world turned dark, the blast, the heat, the fires, hot gases that sucked out life, and floods, and …

She sniffed the welcome fragrance of coffee brewing. Adolf was right. She reached for her wrapper and, sitting, shoved her hands in the sleeves.

Another day, more waiting. How easy it would be, if she were at home, to crawl back under the covers and sleep.

Except for the horrible dreams.

Making her way to the rest room and shower, bag in hand, she returned the greetings of those around her, waved to Attie, and waited only a minute before a shower was available.

She’d just turned off the water and reached for her towel when a scream made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention.

The woman screamed again, more a shriek this time, and Katheryn could hear the sound of running feet. People shouting.

Hair streaming wet, she grabbed her wrapper and thrust her wet arms back in the sleeves. Did they need to evacuate the building? Had the mountain blown again? Her heart triple-hammered against the walls of her chest.

Along with several others in like stages of dishabille, she burst through the doors, only to see some folks standing on tables, others nearly collapsing in laughter as two boys, a little girl, and three men were scrambling about on the floor.

“What in the world?”

“Careful, don’t hurt him.”

“They’re just frightened.”

“Easy now, throw my hat over him.”

“Got one. Use the hat again.”

One boy stood up, something hidden in his closed hands to his chest.

Katheryn, one hand clutching her wrapper closed at the neck, asked, “What is going on?”

“My gerbils got loose, and we couldn’t find them.” The boy held out his cupped hands. “You want to see Snitch?”

“No, that’s all right.” While Katheryn had no fear of fuzzy critters, right now an introduction to the perpetrator of pure fright didn’t appeal.

“Hope you catch the other one, too.” She returned to brush her teeth and finish dressing, chuckling to herself. A shame Jenn hadn’t been here to catch some pictures of life in the shelter. Surely Snitch and Adolf should be included in her collection.

Sometime later, after another futile call home again, she walked into the hospital to see how Mellie and Lissa had fared through the night.

All dressed, Lissa sat in her mother’s lap, alternately eating a Popsicle and pointing out pictures in a book Mellie was holding for her. She waved her Popsicle at Katheryn, smiled, and stuck the purple end back in her mouth.

“See my new shirt?” She pointed to her chest. “Pink.”

“Is this the same child we … ah … helped?” Subdued would have been a far more appropriate choice of words, Katheryn knew, but not as polite a term. Besides, hopefully, Lissa didn’t remember the fight to hold her down for the transfusion.

“Amazing, isn’t it? New blood is a miracle.” Mellie kissed her daughter’s cheek. “We’ll be ready to leave as soon as the nurse returns with the paperwork.”

“Have you seen Mr. Johnson yet?”

“No, but I talked to him on the phone. Since he’s on the regular floor, he said they’ve had him up and walking, so he is far better.”

“I’ll stay with Lissa if you want to go see him.” Mellie looked like she’d had a decent night’s rest too, some color back in her face.

“You look so much better.”

“The doctor came back and gave me a sedative. I slept in that chair bed. Jenn stayed the night, but she left early this morning. Didn’t realize how tired I was, I guess.” Sadness darkened her eyes again. “So much I need to do, and I don’t know where to begin.”

“There’s a man downstairs asking about you,” the nurse said when she walked back in the room. “He’s from a timber company. You want me to tell him to come on up?”

Talk about Bambi in the headlights
. Katheryn gave Mellie a reassuring look. “Is that the company your husband worked for?”

Mellie nodded. “I don’t—I mean—what would he …?”

“Lissa and I could go down to the playroom so you would have some privacy to talk here. Would you like that, sweetie?” The nurse smiled down at the little girl.

Lissa looked up to her mother for permission and, at her nod, slid to the floor.

The nurse took her hand. “I’ll let him know where you are.”

“Thank you.”

“You want me to stay with you?” Katheryn asked.

“Yes, please.” Moment by moment Mellie melted back into the chair, as if hiding. She laced her fingers till they whitened.

“My advice is, if he asks you to sign anything, tell him you cannot do that right now.”

“Why? I mean …?” Her face screwed up like a little girl’s.

“Just to be wise and give us time to read anything over carefully.” Katheryn leaned against the metal bed. “My father taught me that we need to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents.”

“I … I don’t get it.”

“I’ll explain later. But don’t sign, okay?”

“Okay.” Mellie rubbed her forehead. “I … I can’t do this. Harv …”

Katheryn was sure she could read her mind. Total fear and panic because she depended completely on her husband.

“Mrs. Sedor?” The man removed his hat, showing a silver fringe of hair framing a shiny dome. His face bore the weathered look of a man accustomed to the out-of-doors.

Mellie nodded but remained as far back in the chair as she could disappear.

“I’m Harold Buckmaster, supervisor for A-1 Logging.” He held his hat close to his chest, as if wishing he could hide within or at least behind it. “The company your husband, Harvey Sedor, worked for?”

Another nod.

Come on, Mellie, don’t act like you’re terrified of him, after all he … But she is terrified. She’s shaking like a leaf. Lord, how do I help her?

“I … I want to offer you my, our condolences. Your husband was a good worker, a good truck driver.”

“He … he loved trucks.” Mellie’s whisper brought a lump to Katheryn’s throat. Past tense.
Was. Loved
. Would that be the way she referred to David from now on?

“I want you to know that we will pay your husband’s medical insurance for three months. There will be papers for you to sign and all, but I just wanted you to know that we will pay all the funeral expenses, too. I wish I, we could do more.”

Mellie stared down at her numb fingers. A single tear tracked down her cheek. The silence in the room magnified the noises in the hall. He shuffled his feet.

“Thank you, Mr. Buckmaster.” Katheryn stepped forward and took the card he held out.

“I have the home address and phone. We’ll be in contact.” He turned back to Mellie. “I hope your little girl gets better real quick.” He fled the room.

“Thank you.” Mellie leaned her head back. “I don’t know how I can do all this. I just don’t know.”

“Well, all we have to do right now is get Lissa checked out of the hospital. I’m sure you want to go see Mr. Johnson.”

“I want to go home, but I want Harv to be there.”

Yeah, I want my husband to be there too
.

“We had a good time, didn’t we, honey?” The nurse and Lissa wandered back into the room.

“I put the bunny puzzle back together.” Lissa leaned on the arm of her mother’s chair. “Can we go home now?”

“Soon as the discharge papers are ready.” The nurse patted Lissa’s head. “I’ll be back with those in just a minute.”

They got Lissa checked out and took the elevator to the medical floor.

“Hey, look at that. You’re walking on your own. How’s my favorite girl?” From the chair in the corner, Mr. Johnson held out one arm, the other still connected to an IV.

“I got blood again.” Lissa’s voice had the air of one used to medical procedures. “A doctor with a funny red nose got it in.” Standing in the circle of his arm, she looked up at her mother. “Where’s my red nose?”

“In the bag.” Mellie patted Mr. Johnson’s shoulder. “You’re looking a hundred percent better than when I saw you.”

“Feel that much better too. They’re saying I could go home if I had someone there, but since I don’t, I’m going to have to go to a convalescent home for a few days.”

“You could stay with us.”