“Oh my God, how awful. Did you go to the hospital? Why didn't you call me?”
“I know how busy you are at work. I didn't want to bother you. I called Harry, but I couldn't get through. He was in a meeting.”
“He still is,” Olympia said, obviously distressed over her mother-in-law's accident, and that she hadn't been there to help. “You should have called me, Frieda.” She hated the thought of the older woman negotiating the emergency room alone.
“They put me in an ambulance and took me to NYU.” It had been quite an adventure, and she had been there all afternoon.
“Are you in a cast?” Olympia was horrified. What had happened to Frieda was far worse than Max's chicken pox, Ginny's cough, or her cold.
“Up to my knee.”
“How did you get home?”
“I'm not.”
“You're not ? Where are you?” The story was getting worse by the minute.
“I'm still at the hospital. They didn't want me to go home alone. I'll be on crutches for a few weeks. I'm just lucky I didn't break a hip.”
“Oh my God! Frieda! I'm coming to get you. You can stay here with us.”
“I don't want to be a burden. I'll be fine tomorrow. And I'm still coming to the ball!”
“Of course you are. We'll get you a wheelchair,” Olympia said, suddenly thinking of the logistics of getting her there. Nothing in life was easy, particularly at this time of year.
“I'll walk,” Frieda said staunchly, although they had already told her that she wouldn't be able to put weight on her left foot for several weeks. She was going to have to hop around, with the crutches. But she was still determined not to be a problem for anyone. As always, she was sure she could manage on her own.
“You can stay here tonight. You've had chicken pox, right?”
“I think so. I'm not worried about that.” Olympia knew that for elderly people, exposure to chicken pox could sometimes result in shingles. But they couldn't leave her alone at home. She might fall and break something else. She had to stay with them. “I don't want to bother you and the children,” Frieda said, and as Olympia listened, she realized they must have given her something for the pain.
“You're not a bother, and there's no reason for you to stay there. Will they let you leave tonight?”
“I think so,” Frieda said vaguely.
“I'll call and ask the nurse, and call you back.” Olympia took down the details of her room number, the section of the hospital she was in, and the nurses' station that was nearest to her. Although she had obviously been sedated, she was remarkably coherent, and kept apologizing for being a pain in the neck. “You're not,” Olympia assured her, and hung up. She tried calling Harry at the office, but his private line was on voicemail, and his secretary had left. It was after eight o'clock.
She called the hospital, and they assured her that Mrs. Rubinstein was doing fine, they had only kept her there for the night so she wouldn't be alone at home. They had given her Vicodin for the considerable pain she was in, but there was no medical reason why she couldn't leave. For a woman her age, she was in remarkably good health, and had been fully coherent when she came in. The nurse on duty said she was a dear. Olympia agreed, and then called the sitter and asked her if she could come back for an hour. Fortunately, she lived nearby, and twenty minutes later she was back. Olympia had told her what had happened, and while she waited for the sitter, she turned the den on the main floor into a bedroom for Frieda. It had a bathroom, TV, and a pull-out bed, as they occasionally used it as a guest room. For as long as was necessary, Frieda could stay with them. She was sure it would be what Harry wanted, too. By eight-thirty, she was out the door, and an hour later they were back. Harry was still out.
She settled Frieda comfortably in the den-turned-guest-room, brought her something to eat, turned on the TV, fluffed up her pillows, took her to the bathroom, supporting most of her weight as she navigated the crutches, and settled her into bed. By ten o'clock, Olympia was upstairs in her own room, when Harry came home. He walked into their bedroom, looking exhausted. He had had an incredibly difficult day, with a case that had attracted national press, a headache he and the other judges involved didn't need.
“Who's in the den?” He assumed it was one of Charlie's friends. They used the room for overflow when all the kids were home. It was the only guest room they had.
“Your mother,” Olympia said, blowing her nose for the thousandth time. After negotiating the blizzard again, her cold had gotten markedly worse.
“My mother? What's she doing here?” He looked confused.
“She broke her ankle. They took her to NYU in an ambulance, and she didn't even call me. I just picked her up half an hour ago.”
“Are you serious?” He looked stunned.
“I am.” She blew her nose yet again. “She can't stay at her place alone. She's in a cast and on crutches. I think she should stay here for a while.”
Harry smiled lovingly at his wife. Olympia never let him down. “Is she awake?”
“She was a few minutes ago, but she's pretty looped on the stuff they gave her for the pain. Poor thing, it must have hurt like hell. I told her to call us on the intercom if she needs to, and not to try and go to the bathroom by herself. You know her. She'll be cooking us all breakfast in the morning. We're going to have to tie her to the bed.”
“I'll go down and check on her,” he said, looking concerned, and then turned to look at Olympia again as he headed out the door. “I love you. Thank you for being so good to her.”
Olympia smiled back at him. “She's the only mom we've got.”
“You're the best wife in the world.”
He was back ten minutes later, impressed by the size of his mother's cast, and the crutches lying next to her bed. She had already been sound asleep. “I turned off the TV, and left a light on for her. She's dead to the world. That's some cast.”
“They said it was a nasty break. She's right. She's lucky it wasn't her hip. If you can call this luck. How was your day?”
“Only slightly better than hers. The press are driving us nuts on this case. You sound like shit. How do you feel?”
“Like I sound. I hope Charlie gets home in this weather. I'm really going to need his help this week.”
Harry looked instantly apologetic. “I'm so sorry I can't take a day off. I just can't right now.”
“I know,” she said mournfully. “Me too. I'm up to my ass in alligators at the office. Margaret took the week off. Her mother had a mastectomy.”
“Jesus, is anyone around here still on their feet?”
“Thank God you are.” They had chicken pox, broken ankles, colds. She just hoped Veronica stayed healthy, and Ginny got healthy, for the ball on Saturday. “If you want to sleep in Charlie's room tonight, it's okay. I don't want you to catch this cold or flu, or whatever it is. It's miserable.”
“Don't be silly. I'm not afraid of you. I never get sick.”
“Shhh!” she said, putting a finger to her lips. “Don't say that!” He laughed at her, took a shower, and was in bed with her half an hour later. She was still blowing and coughing, and had just checked on Max. He was sound asleep.
“It looks like you're going to be running an infirmary here this week,” Harry said as he snuggled up next to her, and put his arms around her. She had her back to him, so she didn't breathe on him, and it was comforting feeling him next to her.
“I'm sorry about your mom. That was rotten luck for her.”
“She's lucky to have you, Ollie…so am I… don't think I don't appreciate all you do for her. You're an amazing woman.”
“Thank you,” she said, as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. “You're not so bad yourself.”
“I'll try and come home early tomorrow,” he promised. She nodded, and within seconds, was fast asleep.