Starring Me (21 page)

Her ma, a registered nurse working at a hospital for more than thirty years, was immediately in medical mode.

“Yes, Ma, I have it elevated and iced.” Kara cradled the phone between her jaw and shoulder. “Hang on.”

Kara knelt by Flora’s leg. “I’m going to have to poke around a little.” Pushing the speaker button on her phone, Kara handed it to Flora. “Okay, Ma. I’m here. It’s purple.”

“Where?” Ma asked.

“Right by the ankle bone.”

Ma’s voice crackled over the cell phone. “All right. It could be a break or just a sprain. Touch around the ankle, Kara. Gently.”

Kara barely touched Flora’s skin when the older woman sucked in a deep breath.

“I’m sorry.” Kara pulled her hand back.

“No, no.” Sweat was beginning to bead up on Flora’s forehead. “I’m sorry.”

“That was very painful?” Ma asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Flora said. “But it isn’t Kara’s fault. I’m afraid I just don’t do well with pain.”

“Oh, honey, none of us likes pain,” Ma said. “You just relax. Tenderness and bruising, huh? How about swelling? Kara, compare Flora’s injured ankle with the other one.”

Kara moved around the chair to look at Flora’s left foot. “Oh wow. That right ankle is a whole lot bigger than her left.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“She’s a little lady, Ma. Not much body fat. Her ankle bone on the left foot really sticks out. Like a mountain. The ankle bone on the right looks more like a little hill.”

“That’s not good,” Ma said. “She definitely needs to get checked out. You got someone there who can take you to the doctor?”

“We have a driver,” Kara said. “But I don’t know how to reach him. Flora?”

“No.” Flora straightened herself in the chair. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need to go to the doctor.”

“Yes, you do,” Ma and Kara said in unison.

“The sooner you get this taken care of, the sooner you’ll be up and around,” Kara said.

“All right.” Flora sighed. “The driver’s name is Harold, and his number is on the pad of paper in the drawer next to the silverware.”

Kara called Harold, hanging up right as Sophie came in the kitchen.

“What happened to you?” Sophie barely glanced at Flora before opening the refrigerator.

“She’s hurt.” Kara folded her arms, watching with disgust as Sophie opened the fruit and vegetable drawers in her search for the perfect snack.

With a bright red apple in her hand, Sophie walked out. “Hope you feel better.”

Kara looked around. A couple more girls were by the pool.
There’s a sliding glass door right there
.
Why aren’t they helping? And the girls in the living room are just watching a movie. I know they can hear us. I can’t believe this
.

“I’m sorry, Flora.”

Jillian walked in as Kara replaced Flora’s ice.

“Oh no.” Jillian stopped. “What happened?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Flora said, her head down.

“She hurt her ankle,” Kara said. “I called Harold, the driver. He’s on his way.”

Jillian knelt to look at Flora’s ankle. “That looks terrible, Flora. Have you taken anything? I have some ibuprofen in my room.”

“Normally, I try to avoid medication,” Flora said. “But I might make an exception. Just for today.”

Harold rang the doorbell just a few minutes later.

“Jillian, can you help me get Flora to the van?”

“Of course. I’m coming with you. She takes such good care of us. I wouldn’t leave her when she is in need.”

“All right, then,” Kara said. “Let’s get you out to the van, Flora. Don’t put pressure on that ankle, okay?”

The girls helped Flora into the van, and Jillian buckled the small woman’s seat belt.

“I can do that,” she said.

“I know.” Jillian smiled. “But I don’t want you to have to strain yourself.”

“I hate to be such a bother.” Flora looked at her ankle, propped between the two front seats on a cooler.

“You’re not a bother.” Jillian put her hand on Flora’s arm. “I’m going to be praying that you get better soon.”

“That’s the best medicine you could give me.” Flora settled in as the van took off. “We have a few minutes. Why don’t you tell me about how you came to know Jesus, Jillian?”

“What?” Jillian looked at Flora.

“You told me you are a believer. I’ve been looking forward to hearing your testimony.”

“Oh, my testimony.” Jillian relaxed. “Yes. I’d love to share that with you. I was raised in church. Both my parents are very good people. They taught me to obey the Bible.”

“Wonderful,” Flora said. “What church do you attend? ”

“W-well, it’s in San Diego,” Jillian stammered. “I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”

“You’d be surprised. I have traveled quite a bit. San Diego is one of my favorite cities.”

“Oh, well, it’s a small church. Um, Central Christian.”

“You’re right,” Flora said. “Never heard of it. But I’ll look it up next time I’m there.”

“Flora.” Kara leaned toward the older woman. “What did you do before you were our housemother?”

“This is Jillian’s time to talk.” Flora patted Kara’s knee. “We can talk about me later.”

“I was wondering the same thing.” Jillian spoke quickly. “We know you traveled. And you know so much about books. What else?”

“One more question for you, Jillian, then we can talk about me. All right?”

Jillian gave a slow nod.

“Tell me something wonderful Jesus has done for you.”

Jillian’s face turned white. “Something wonderful? ”

“Yes.” Flora smiled. “There are so many things, I know. But tell me just one. I love hearing how he is working in the lives of other believers.”

Jillian looked up. “Jesus, um, he got me an audition on this show. Out of the thousands of girls who tried out, he helped me to get chosen.”

“And why do you think he allowed that?”

“I don’t know.” Jillian shrugged. “Because he knows how much I want this, I guess.”

“All good and perfect gifts come from above.” Flora nodded, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. “That is true.”

“Okay, ladies.” Harold leaned back. “We’re here. Are you okay on your own? Some of the girls want me to take them to the outlet stores this afternoon. You can just call me when the little lady is all patched up.”

“Sure, Harold,” Jillian said.

The emergency room smelled like sweat and Pine-Sol, and Kara put a hand to her nose to keep from gagging. Her other arm supported Flora. Jillian was on the other side of the injured woman, and the pair managed to get Flora into a brown plastic chair, with another chair set in front of her for her leg.

“Wait there,” Kara said. “I’ll get you signed in. Do you have your insurance card?”

“Yes, let me just find it.” Flora tried to bend down and reach for her purse, but the pain on her face reflected how difficult that was.

“I’ll get it.” Jillian lifted the large woven purse into Flora’s lap.

Kara walked to the front desk and wrote Flora’s name on the sign-in sheet, handing over Flora’s insurance card and ID.
I can’t believe I’m at the hospital for the second time in two hours. Too bad Chad has already checked out. I sure wouldn’t mind popping in to see him again
.

“So, about how long will the wait be?” Kara asked when the receptionist finished making copies.

“Half an hour or so.”

Kara walked back to Jillian and Flora.“The receptionist said half an hour. In ER time, that means about two hours.”

“You seem quite at home here.” Flora took the insurance card from Kara’s hand.

“Oh yes,” Kara said. “Emergency rooms were my second home growing up. I’ve broken two bones, had stitches three times, and I’ve had two concussions.”

Jillian looked at her. “Daredevil?”

“That and just dumb.” Kara laughed. “When I was seven, I was totally into Tarzan, so I decided I’d make myself some vines like he had. I got rope and tied it to a tree in my backyard.”

“Oh dear,” Flora said, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, the rope was about eighty years old. I found it way in the back of the storage shed. I got a ladder and tied it to the tallest limb I could find, then I climbed up on the roof of my tree house.”

“Was that the concussion or broken bone?” Jillian leaned in.

“Actually, it was all three—broken leg, eleven stitches in the back of my head, and a concussion.”

“How terrifying for your poor mother.”

“She says she used her nursing skills on me more than she did with all the other kids combined.”

“That sounds very much like a boy I know,” Flora said.

“Really?” Kara asked. “Who?”

“A friend.” Flora cocked her head to the side. “He grew up on a—well, a farm of sorts. His parents would go looking for him, and he’d be out climbing trees or swimming across lakes. He only had a couple trips to the ER, but that was just from luck, not because he was careful.”

“Sounds like we would get along well.” Kara laughed.

“Oh, I daresay you would get along splendidly.”

“All right.” Kara scooted her chair closer to Flora. “We’ve got time, and you have no excuses. Tell us who you really are.”

“I am Flora Lopez.” She sat up straight.

“And what did you do before you came here?”

“I work as an assistant to a business owner.”

“What kind of business?” Kara probed.

Flora shook her finger. “The kind that prefers to stay anonymous.”

“The mob?” Kara jumped up.

“No, no.”

“CIA?”

“You have a very active imagination, Kara.” Flora shook her head and motioned for Kara to sit back down. “Just a business.”

“But you said you’ve traveled all over,” Jillian said.

“I have.” Flora smiled. “I am a single woman, and I use my extra money and vacation time to see the world.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It is quite enjoyable.” Flora nodded.

“Flora Lopez,” a nurse called from the door.

Jillian and Kara helped Flora to an examining room. A few minutes later, the doctor pulled the curtain and stopped short. “Flora. Nice to see you again.”

“Again?” Kara looked from the doctor to Flora.

“We’re old friends.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“Plenty of times,” the doctor said. “In fact, Ch—”

Flora waved her hands to stop the doctor. “No, no. Um, girls, I do believe I am fine where I am. Would you mind going back to the waiting room while Dr. Smith completes his examination?”

Kara noted the blush on Flora’s cheek and winked at Jillian. “Sure, Flora. No problem.”

The doctor shut the curtain and Kara stood still, trying to listen to their conversation.

“Kara,” Jillian whispered. “Don’t eavesdrop. That’s rude.”

“It isn’t eavesdropping,” Kara whispered back. “It’s spying.”

A nurse stopped to look at the girls and they made their way quickly back to the waiting room.

“Don’t you want to know the story behind those two? ” Kara asked when the two were seated in the smelly waiting room once again.

“Only if Flora wants to tell us.”

“But she doesn’t,” Kara said. “Which makes me even more curious.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Jillian picked up a magazine from the table beside her.

“Then why send us out?”

“Maybe she had to come in here before for something embarrassing, and she doesn’t want us to know about it?”

“Or”—Kara pushed Jillian’s magazine down—“Dr. Smith and Flora had a romance long ago. He left to pursue his dreams of practicing medicine among the sick and dying in Africa and she stayed here, working like a slave for the Mafia. He tried to get her to come along, but she refused. She couldn’t or the people she worked for would kill him. She loved him too much for that, so she sacrificed her happiness for his life. That’s why she’s never married. She’s never gotten over her first love.”

“You really have an active imagination, you know that? ” Jillian opened the magazine to an article about Chad Beacon.

“I saw him this morning. Right here.” Kara pointed to the picture. “He got pounced on by a fan, and I came to check on him.”

“Right.” Jillian looked at the magazine cover. “Was Prince William there too?”

“I’m being serious,” Kara said, but Jillian kept reading, obviously not interested in conversing with her.

Kara pulled her book from her purse.
Jane believes me, don’t you, Jane?
She returned to the world of
Northanger Abbey
.

Kara looked up half an hour later to see Flora hobble out on crutches, Dr. Smith behind her.

“You girls need to make sure she stays off that foot for a while, all right?” the doctor told Jillian and Kara.

“Yes, sir.” Kara smiled. “But that won’t be easy.”