Home Ice (20 page)

As they walked through the sliding doors, Ben reached over and took Ally’s hand in his. Walking up to the Admissions desk, he gave her hand a little squeeze as the smell of hospital surrounded their senses.

“May I help you,” the frazzled lady behind the counter asked. The phone at her desk rang non stop, the switchboard flashing with little green lights. She had dark, ratty hair and was wearing oversized glasses which resembled those of Ugly Betty.

“Yes,” Ally spoke as clearly as she could. “I’m here for Kay Monroe. She checked in a little while ago.” Her voice didn’t sound like her own.

“Emergency Room 14,” Ben added.

Ugly Betty tapped at her keyboard and without looking up said, “Go through the door to your left and down the hall.” She buzzed them into the ER wing and went back to talking into her headset.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Ally looked up at Ben thankfully.

She was used to dealing with everything alone and it was nice to have Ben’s strong presence. And his warm hand holding hers. Leading her down the dreary hospital hallway to find Gram. Dear sweet Gram.

“She’s gonna be okay, Ally.”

The ‘rooms’ in the ER were little more than curtained off stalls. Every time a nurse walked by, the curtains swirled and swayed. The billowy curtains were an exact replica of what was happening inside Ally’s stomach.

The hospital staff wore a variety of brown, green and maroon scrubs. No cats and dogs playing poker here.

Ben and Ally found the curtain with the number 14 posted above it. Ally braced herself before stepping into Gram’s room.

Everything behind the curtain was tan. The floor, counters, cabinets. Drab, blah, uck. The curtained room was small and there was only one chair. Ben tried to stand off to the side to be out of the way, but his size made it difficult. Ben hated hospitals. But, then again, who didn’t? Just being there conjured up thoughts of injury, pain and broken bones. All of the most dreaded elements in his profession.

Gram looked small and fragile lying on the paper-covered exam table. She was pale, more so than usual, the blue veins in her arms snaked under her translucent skin. One arm was bandaged. Ally pushed back the tears she felt waiting behind her eyes. This was not the time to breakdown.

“Gram.” She hurried to the side of the bed, her voice barely a whisper.

Gram fluttered opened her eyes. “Allison, dear.” Frown lines creased her face. “I told Ruby not to bother you at your special party.”

“Gram, I care more about you than some stupid party.” Ally patted her hand, mindful not to touch the IV in her arm. “What happened?”

Just then, Ruby burst into the room like a breath of fresh air. She was balancing a tray of coffees. “What happened? I’ll tell you what happened. Ann-Margret and her twinkle toes here thought she didn’t need to wait for my help.” Ruby set down the tray of coffees and rested a hand on her plump hip.

Gram shook her head and glared at Ruby. “I thought I could get into the tub on my own. I’m not a child, you know.” She searched Ally’s eyes. “But I lost my footing and fell and sprained my arm.”

Ruby handed a coffee each to Ben and Ally and chimed in, “She was also dehydrated, so they hooked her up to get some fluids. They already took x-rays and the doctor is coming back with some more bandaging.”

It was really warm in the hospital and Ally wanted to take her coat off, but remembered her costume underneath. Some other time she would have to laugh at the irony of it.

“You gave us quite a scare, Gram,” Ally said.

“It’s just a sprain, Allison. Nothing is broken.” Gram looked over at Ben who was thinking small in the corner. “Oh, Benjamin. I’m so sorry you’re missing the party.”

“No problem, Gram,” he said soothingly. “There’ll be plenty more of them this year.” In the off-season, practically every day at Dom’s house was a party.

Just then, the curtain divider billowed and the doctor came in dressed in a white overcoat with maroon scrubs underneath. Despite the ER buzzing with activity, the staff worked quickly and efficiently. Gram was fitted with a new bandage and released in no time.

When Gram was settled in at home and after Ruby left, Ally collapsed onto the couch.

“I can’t take much more of this,” Ally let out a ragged breath.

Ben sat down next to her and wrapped her in his arms. “Everything’s okay now.”

“For now,” she said. “Every time I turn around something awful is happening to her…and I…I can’t…” her voice broke and Ben squeezed his arms around her tightly.

“Sshh. It’s going to be okay. It’s just a sprain, remember?”

“
This
time. Oh, Ben. What am I going to do? Next time…”

“You can’t worry about the future, sweetheart.” He stroked her hair. “I’m here to help, okay? Whatever you need.”

He felt her stifle a sob before she spoke. “But you have your own house. You don’t have to be here while I fall apart.”

“Ally,” he pulled slightly away from her so he could tilt her chin up with his thumb. “We’re going to get through this together. I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighed and snuggled into his chest. “What would I do without you?” she asked into his shirt. “Don’t answer that,” she said before he could answer.

Chapter Thirteen

Judith

It was Monday and Ally was preparing to leave the vet’s office for the day. She had cleaned and organized the supply room and was thinking about what to fix for dinner for Gram when Lynn came up behind her.

“It looks good in here, Ally,” Lynn said, surveying the room. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I noticed we’re getting low on e-collars.”

“Okay, I’ll order some.” Lynn made a mental note, but didn’t move from her spot in the doorway.

“Is everything okay?” Ally asked. She knew that look.

“Oh, yeah. Great. As a matter of fact, Doctor and I were thinking about going to the coast this weekend. For a week.”

“That sounds like a good idea. The two of you deserve a break.”

“We haven’t taken a vacation in ages!” Lynn clapped her hands in delight.

“Well, now is as good a time as any.”

“We’d have to close down the office for an extra day or so, of course. And as not to be a burden to you, we will provide you with a paid vacation.”

“Oh, Lynn. That’s very generous of you, but--”

“Now I won’t take no for an answer. You deserve a vacation just as much as the rest of us.”

Wow! A real vacation. Ally thought of all the things she would do with a whole week of vacation. And all the things she wouldn’t do. No commute, no alarm clock. This couldn’t have happened at a better time. A whole extra week with Ben and Gram was more than she could have asked for.

When Ally got home, she was beaming. “I have good news,” she told Gram.

“Me too, Allison. You first.”

“The Kaufmanns are taking a vacation and closing down the office for an entire week.”

“That’s wonderful, dear.”

“It sure is. Oh, I’m so excited. Ben is at a baseball game with his agent tonight, so we are on our own for dinner.” Ally went over to the refrigerator and pulled leftovers out to reheat in the microwave. “I plan on camping out in front of the TV tonight. Now, what is your good news?”

“I talked to my sister Judith today.” Gram looked up from the new puzzle she was working on. It was a colorful field of red and yellow tulips in Holland.

Boom!
Ally felt her stomach sink down to her knees.

“I invited her to stay with us.”

Bang!

“For the weekend.”

Bam!

Ally lowered herself into a nearby chair. Just the mention of Judith’s name made her knees week. So much for a nice, relaxing evening. With the television mumbling in the background, Judith had been the last thing on Ally’s mind. As a matter of fact, she tried to never think of the vile woman at all.

“Now, dear,” Gram continued, “I know you two don’t get along, but I’m not getting any younger and I don’t know when I’ll get the opportunity to visit with her again.”

Ally let out a groan. “Gram, she hates me and she always has.” She sniveled and added, “Ugh, I can’t
stand
to be around her.” Ally dramatically swept her hand through the air. “Maybe I’ll go and stay with Izzy during the weekend she’ll be here.” It still wouldn’t be far enough away. She couldn’t stand the thought of being within a five hundred mile radius of that woman.

“Allison, you don’t have to let her run you out of your own home.”

“All she does is criticize me and everything I do.” Ally couldn’t help but whine at the thought of Judith. At Gram’s house. For an entire weekend.

Judith would sweep into town leaving a trail of Aquanet fumes and Virginia Slims smoke. She had giant frizzy hair that she teased into submission. She annoyingly tapped at everything with her long pointy Lee Press-On Nails. She would burst into a room like an explosion of tear gas, turning her pointy nose up at everything except for her Jean Nate
’
cologne spray. Judith scorned anyone and everyone except for Gram. She was brash and never gave Ally the credit she deserved for dedicating her life to the care and welfare of Gram. If this was what family was like, Ally was glad she didn’t have any besides her and Gram.

The fact that Gram and Judith both came from the same womb was astonishing. Two people could not be more opposite. Except maybe for Izzy and Ally. But they weren’t blood related. Ally pushed the thought from her mind and focused on an escape plan. New Zealand was nice this time of year, wasn’t it?

“She doesn’t mean to be hurtful, Allison.”

“Well, she is and I don’t need that. Especially from some crotchety old lady who only comes around once in a blue moon.”

“I’m sorry dear. But I
asked
her to come and she’s family and I’d like to see her one last time.” The finality in her voice chilled Ally to the bone.

“Don’t talk like that, Gram. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Ally reached over and caressed Gram’s hand. After Gram’s back-to-back hospital visits the month before, Ally had all but wrapped her grandmother in bubble wrap to protect her.

“I won’t be around forever. You’re young, dear, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Soon the day will come when I won’t be around to hold you back from your life. It’s waiting for you, you know.”

Ally knew the words were true but they still scared her to death. The room fell silent and they were left thinking about the future.

Later that night, Ben called Ally when he got home from the baseball game in San Francisco. Ally could tell he had a nice time and was in a good mood.

“How was your day?” he asked.

“Good then bad.”

“Can I come over?”

“No, I’m too miserable and depressed,” she grumbled.

“What’s wrong, Ally?”

“Gram’s sister Judith is coming in to town,” Ally said it like it was a death sentence. To her, it might as well have been.

“That sounds cool,” he replied, still feeling good from the game. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Ben, you’re obviously not paying attention,” Ally pouted into the phone. “The Wicked Witch of the East is coming and I need somewhere to hide out for the weekend.”

“How about Las Vegas?” he asked seriously, but Ally wasn’t buying it.

“
The
Las Vegas? As in sin city? Very funny, Ben, but I was thinking more along the lines of your place. Or a cave near Mt. August.”

“Seriously, I think you should rethink Vegas.” When she huffed into the phone, he continued. “It’s for the UNHL Awards. They’re in Las Vegas this year. How would you like to be my date and walk the red carpet with me?” he asked, hoping the last part would cheer her up.

“Are you kidding me? Wait a minute. You’re serious. There’s a red carpet involved?”

He could hear her go from pouting to perplexed in an instant. “Yes, I‘m serious. It’s kind of a huge deal in the world of the UNHL. Think of it as hockey’s Oscar night.”

“Wait. How long have you known about this?” Ally asked skeptically.

“Actually, I just found out today at the game. Jerrold, my agent, told me about it.”

“Are your Aunt and Uncle going too?”

“No. They’re going to be on a 14-day Alaskan cruise.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“Yeah. Nan’s had the trip booked for the past year, so they didn’t want to cancel. Coach isn’t nominated for anything this year anyway.”

“So, why are you going? Does the whole team get to go?” she asked eagerly, warming up to the idea of a weekend away with Ben.

“Well, they invited me because I’m nominated for an award.”

“That’s great! Which award?”

“The Lester Heart Memorial Trophy.”

“And what’s it for? Greatest Player in the League?”

She sounded sincere and he laughed. “Not exactly. It’s awarded to the player who best exhibits sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. Quite a mouthful, huh?”

In order to be considered for the Lester Heart Memorial Trophy, a player had to set a good example by staying calm and focused on the game and not taking cheap shots or playing dirty. The players nominated for the prestigious award were talented and classy and scored goals instead of taking penalties. Ben was honored by the nomination.

“You’re totally going to win it because you’re all of those things, Ben.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I’m up against two other really good players.”

“It doesn’t matter. Oh, I’m so proud of you!”

“So, will you go with me?”

“Wow. I’m going to need something to wear.” Ally immediately found herself switching into ‘Izzy mode’
.