At ten-thirty, the double oak doors opened wide as Veronica raced into the meeting room.
“Sorry, flat tire.” she said while taking her seat at the far end of the long rectangular table. “Shall we get started?” The silence she received caused her to take a look around. Apparently she was not the only one to have trouble getting to the meeting on time. “Where’s Tommy?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been calling him ever since I got off the phone with you and there’s no answer at any of his numbers,” Susan replied. Seated just to the right of her older sister, the head of Cartwright Insurance could never be mistaken for Veronica. Susan had, thanks to hours with a stylist, flaming red hair permed into large curls that swarmed about her head and on down to her shoulders. Though married for thirteen years to a successful lawyer, she refused to give up her family name, deciding that the stature it provided was far better than the common name of Smith. Unlike Veronica, who outside of light nail polish could only rarely be coerced into wearing the slightest amount of makeup, Susan believed wholeheartedly that it enhanced her features and thus spent two hours every morning applying everything from base to blush to mascara.
“Did you try his beeper?” It was a stupid question but Ronnie still had to ask. Over the last few months, her youngest sibling had become increasingly difficult to get hold of and his attentiveness at meetings left plenty to be desired. Looking at her watch, she decided not to wait for the wayward sibling any longer. “Fine, we’re running late enough, let’s just get started.” She opened her portfolio and pulled out the first report. One by one they went around the room, ten different Cartwrights or relations of Cartwrights explaining how their particular division was doing and what their plans were for the next month. Most of the words sailed past Veronica, who nodded occasionally but paid hardly any attention. Her mind was several miles away, wondering what Rose was doing, how she was feeling, and how Delores Bickering fit into the young woman’s life.
It was quarter past twelve when the doors opened to reveal a sandy haired man, looking disheveled and rumpled. “Sorry,” he mumbled, slinking over to his chair. “Power outage, alarm didn’t go off.”
“I suppose you didn’t have a clean suit either?” Veronica said disapprovingly. The various cousins and relatives surrounding the table looked from the black-haired woman to Tommy and back again, fully expecting a battle. The young man, however, pretended not to notice his oldest sister’s comment.
“Did I miss anything important?”
“No, of course not,” her tone barely betrayed her annoyance at him. “I was just getting ready to go over the figures for your latest project.”
“I’d say we’re in pretty good shape, all things considered,” he replied. Ten pairs of eyes flew back to Veronica.
“And just what things would you like me to consider in light of the figures I’m looking at?” She pulled out the computer-generated report and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. “Sales are off almost thirty percent over last year and expenses are through the roof.”
“I can’t help it if the contractors raised their prices. Inflation, you know,” he shot back angrily. Veronica didn’t miss the bloodshot eyes or the way Tommy kept looking at his watch.
“Inflation has nothing to do with this. According to these figures, over fifty housing units should be completed. As of last week, only twenty were finished. What the hell is going on, Tommy?”
“I’m on top of it, all right?” he shot back angrily, his fist striking the marble tabletop with enough force to shake the water glass in front of him. Silence filled the room as everyone waited for Veronica to react. Instead she turned her attention to Frank.
“I hear you got the variance you wanted. When’s the ground-breaking?” For the rest of the meeting, the black-haired woman refused to look at her angry brother, and vice-versa. Tommy left the instant the meeting was over, only adding to the speculations and comments by the relatives.
“Ronnie, what’s going on with him?” Susan had pulled the executive aside, concern clearly written on her face. “He’s been so strange lately, so angry. You don’t think he’s doing drugs, do you?”
“I don’t know what I think, Sis, I just know that something is wrong.” She glanced at her watch.
“I need to be somewhere.”
“Yeah, what’s going on with you? What’s with this Grayson person?” Her younger sister’s natural curiosity for gossip, particularly whenever it concerned anyone in the family, was showing through.
“Nothing, just someone I met and decided to hire. Did you take care of that insurance?” As she was talking, Veronica was heading toward the door.
“Of course. It’s on my list of things to do today.” Susan replied casually.
“No. It has to be done right away. And don’t forget to backdate it to the beginning of the month. It’s very important.” She gripped her younger sister’s upper arm to stress her point.
“I’ll do it the instant I get back to my office. Really, Ronnie, you’d think it was a life or death situation.”
“Just make sure it’s done today, Susan. Fax the confirmations to me at home.” Veronica walked out to the elegant hallway and pressed the down button for the elevator. She stepped in only to have her younger sister stick her arm out to keep the doors from shutting.
“Hey, I almost forgot to ask. What’d you get Mom for Christmas?”
“I’ve got to go, Susan.” She pressed the button and waited expectantly.
“You mean you haven’t gotten her anything yet? Christmas is only twenty days away.”
“That’s twenty days that I have to pick something out. Don’t worry about it. Mom will have an appropriate gift from me. Come on, Susan. I need to get going here.” She pushed her sister’s arm out of the way of the doors.
“Just don’t forget to be at Mom’s next Friday for dinner. You promised.”
The Jeep wound its way up Madison Avenue just as a light snow began to fall. Veronica remembered her promise to bring a Trivial Pursuit game with her but the darkening clouds and the late hour made her decide to forgo a trip to the mall to pick one up in favor of getting to the hospital before it got too much later.
She walked through the open door to Rose’s room only to find the bed empty, an orderly changing the sheets. “Where’s Miss Grayson?”
“X-ray. They’ll be bringing her back in a few minutes,” the burly man replied, tucking the last corner in. She went to the chair in the nearby corner and sat down to wait for the young woman’s return.
Fifteen minutes went by before Rose was wheeled back into her room. The first thing Veronica noticed were the fresh tears that streamed down the sides of the injured woman’s face. The two orderlies were as careful as they could be with their patient but Rose still cried out in pain when they switched her from the gurney back to her bed.
“Hey, how’ya feeling?” the tall woman asked softly, pulling the stiff plastic chair closer to the bed.