After he checked Josie’s IV tube, he righted the stand and spotted an old porcelain basin across the room. He stood up from the bed and walked over to retrieve it.
Minutes later, he’d filled the basin with iced water and gathered a few towels. He settled back beside the bed and dipped a towel into the water, wrung it out, and pressed it against her face.
She sighed softly in her sleep as if it was the very thing she needed.
The first seventy-two hours of detox were usually the hardest. He would do all he could to help her through it, even if it included being her punching bag.
When he finished cooling her off, he put everything away and retuned to the armchair. The rain continued outside. Instead of drifting off to sleep, he heard a light plopping sound.
He eased out of the chair again and quickly found the spot in the room where there was a small leak in the ceiling.
He rushed back downstairs and found a bucket to set under the drip. After a quick look through the house, he found two other places where he had to set pots.
Once he was through, he returned to the room and settled back into the armchair. But before he was able to close his eyes, Josie started up again.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 9
First thing Sunday morning, the rain finally stopped, and William found himself on the roof of the house. As a man who loved working with his hands, he found repairing the roof almost therapeutic.
Once he was through, he checked on his patient before heading back out to chop firewood. With him returning to work the next day, he now worried about the atmosphere at Keystone. The electricity and cable were still out, so he had no idea what was being reported on the news. At one point, his curiosity led him to sit on the car for news snippet, but he heard nothing. Because of that, he shied away from calling other colleagues to puck their brains on what was going on.
He also had the added worry of leaving Josie with Ecaterina. If her condition didn’t improve, there was no way he could leave her with a sixty-eight-year old woman.
The heavy exertion turned out to be just the stress reliever he needed. By the time he finished wielding a heavy ax and carrying the logs inside, he was ready for a hot shower and a nap.
The nap never came.
Instead he made mashed potatoes over a gas stove. The food would be soft enough for Josie to eat and easy on her stomach. From the cabinet, he retrieved a packet of instant apple cider and prepared that as well.
Josie remained curled in her favorite position with all the covers tucked beneath her.
He couldn’t help but smile as he moved over to the bed. He set down the tray and pressed a hand the bed. He set down the tray and pressed a hand against Josie’s forehead to check for a fever. It was against Josie’s forehead to check for a fever. It was still slightly elevated, but nothing life threatening. “Josie, I’m going to sit you up now,” he said, but he might as well be talking to a rag doll. Concerned, he checked the dilation of her eyes and again found nothing to be worried about. “Well, let’s see if I can get you to eat something.” He propped her up against the bed pillows and reached for the bowl.
He apportioned a small amount of potatoes onto a spoon, but couldn’t get Josie to eat. After about a half hour of coaxing, he gave up and put the food aside.
Two hours later, he tried again and still had no success.
As the day sped along, William struggled not to be alarmed by Josie’s behavior. It had been forty-two hours since he’d taken her from the institute, and by his calculations, she should be responding to the methadone and coming out of her fog.
With a frustrated sigh, he took the dishes back downstairs. He prepared himself another bowl of pasta and grabbed a warm beer from the fridge. He hoped the electricity would be back on before Ecatherina showed up Monday.
“Tomorrow,” he moaned. He would have to act as if nothing had happened. He frowned as he remembered Saturday’s news report. He really should try to call Hines again, but should he be worried? When he returned to work, would it be a trap?
He drew in a tired breath. He wasn’t at all comfortable with lying, but, at this point, what choice did he have?
He grabbed a second beer and after achieving a good buzz was able to set his fears aside.
The day passed with no violent outburst from Josie. It was close to midnight before he was able to get her to eat anything, and she was still unaware of her surroundings.
He tucked her hack into bed before he settled in for another night in the armchair. But he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop wondering what was going to happen when Josie finally woke up; when she was finally able to recognize him.
He imagined that she wouldn’t be too happy.
Lowering his gaze, he contemplated grabbing another beer. He needed something to numb his growing anxiety; not that it was entirely aimed at Josie, but more toward himself for letting her go in the first place.
As the night ticked on, William was content to listen to Josie’s steady breathing. Hours later, exhaustion finally claimed him. However, he didn’t sleep long before the sun’s early rays sliced through the blinds and warmed his face.
It was time to face the day. Time to return to the scene of the crime. He glanced at his Timex and saw he had less than an hour before Ecaterina arrived.
Standing, he stretched and popped his aching bones. A painful cramp lingered in his neck, but it was undoubtedly a direct result of his sleeping arrangement. He walked over to the bed. Josie was still out of it. How could he leave her like this? What would he tell Cat now?
“Okay. Pull yourself together,” he said. After giving himself a moment to think everything over, he realizing that he didn’t have a choice but to follow his original plan. He couldn’t call in sick, and he was pretty sure Josie’s violent episodes were over. Heck, at this rate, there was a good chance that she would still be knocked out when he returned.
Exhaling, he reached into the drawer for a new hypodermic needle, gave Josie her morning injection, and changed her IV bag.
Afterward, he rushed to get himself ready for work. While he dressed he wondered if he should change his story with Ecaterina. How much should her tell her? If she’d seen the news reports about Keystone, would she put two and two together?
A new wave of anxiety gripped him. He had expected Josie to be conscious by now, and he would have convinced her to play along with having a simple flu bug. Now, the only thing he could do was pray…pray that Josie slept until he returned from work. A loud knock on the front door jerked William from his private reverie. It was time. Another knock accompanied the visitor’s persistent ringing of the doorbell. William rushed down, peeked through the peephole, and smiled as he welcomed his long time friend and housekeeper into the house. “Good morning, Cat.”
“Morning.” She breezed through the door. “Traffic was crazy.” She peeled off her coat and tossed it up on a gold hook behind him. “So where is she?”
He closed the door. “She’s upstairs in the master bedroom. Sleeping.”
“It’s so nice of you to do this for your sister-in-law,” Cat said, and removed her scarf. “Then again, you’ve always been such a kind person. Are there any special instructions?”
“Yeah. Uh.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think where he wrote everything down. “I think it’s all upstairs. I’ll go get it. I need to finish changing anyway.” He walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “The electricity is out from the storm the other night. Is that going to be a problem?” “Nah. I’m a tough old bird. I can handle it. What happened to your head?” William touched the bruised above his eye. “Just me being clumsy.” He smiled. “I owe you big for doing this.” “Yeah. Yeah. Place a dozen roses on my grave when I’m gone, and we can call it square.” William smiled. “Tell you what, I’ll buy them sooner than that.” Even better.” She winked, then headed into the kitchen. “You better hurry up. You’re already running late.” He nodded and then rushed up the stairs. He was suddenly confident in his decision to ask Cat to watch Josie.”