Rainshadow Road(45)

Staying still, Lucy tried to evaluate the catalog of hurts in her body. The right side was scraped and burning, and there was a dull pain in her shoulder, and she had a killer of a headache. The worst by far, however, was her right leg and foot, which felt like they had been set on fire.

The woman leaned over her. “An ambulance is coming. Is there someone I can call for you?”

Her teeth were chattering. The more she tried to make the tremors stop, the worse they became. She was cold, icy trickles of sweat collecting beneath her clothes. Salty metallic smells of dust and blood were thick in her nose.

“Slow down, slow down,” the man said, while Lucy panted for air in shallow breaths. “Eyes are dilated.”

“Shock.” The woman’s voice seemed to be coming from a great distance, followed by a peppering of static.

A name came to Lucy. Justine. The effort to collect syllables was like collecting leaves in a storm. She heard shuddering sounds coming from her lips. Was the name clear enough?

“Okay,” the man said in a soothing tone. “Don’t try to talk.”

There were more sounds, vehicles pulling to the side of the road, the flash of lights, the red gleam of an EMS quick-response vehicle. Voices. Questions. The faltering awareness of unfamiliar hands on her body, an oxygen mask strapped over her mouth and nose, the sting of an IV needle. And then everything slipped away, and she went spinning out into nothingness.





Twelve



Consciousness came back to Lucy in a puzzle that had to be assembled before she could make sense of anything. Smells of latex, tape, isopropyl alchohol. Sounds of voices, the rattling wheels of a cart or gurney, a telephone ringing, the composed blips of a vital signs monitor. She was disconcerted by the discovery that she was talking like an actress whose lines had been badly dubbed in a movie, syllables not quite matching up.

She was dressed in a thin cotton hospital gown that she had no memory of changing into. An IV needle had been inserted at the top of her hand and taped into place. Every time an ER tech or nurse came into the little curtained-off area, the rollers on the ceiling runners made a whisking sound, like eggs being beaten in a metal bowl.

Her right leg and ankle had been immobilized in a splint. Vague recollections of examinations and X-rays came to her. Even though she knew how lucky she was, how much worse the accident could have been, depression rolled over her in a smothering blanket. As she turned her head to the side, the pillow beneath her head gave a plasticky crackle. A tear runneled down her cheek, absorbed by the pillowcase.

“Here.” The nurse handed her a tissue. “That’s normal after an accident,” she said as Lucy blotted her eyes. “You’ll probably be doing that on and off for the next few days.”

“Thank you.” Lucy gripped the tissue in her palm. “Can you tell me what’s wrong with my leg?”

“The doctor’s reviewing the X-rays right now. He’ll be in to talk to you soon.” The woman smiled, her face kind. “In the meantime, you’ve got a visitor.” She whisked the curtain aside and stopped short as she confronted someone. “Oh! You were supposed to wait in that room.”

“I need to see her right now,” came Justine’s brisk voice.

A feeble grin came to Lucy’s face.

Justine swept in like a fresh breeze, her dark ponytail swinging, her presence vital in the cold sterility of the hospital surroundings. The relief of having her friend there brought a sting of tears to Lucy’s eyes.

“Lucy … sweetie…” Justine came to her, carefully straightening the loop of the IV tubing. “My God. I’m afraid to hug you. How bad is it? Anything broken?”

“The doctor’s coming in soon.” She reached for Justine’s hand, words coming out in a tumble. “I was riding my bike and I got sideswiped. The car was swerving like it was a drunk driver. I think it was a woman. I don’t know why she didn’t stop. I don’t know where my bike is, or my bag or phone—”

“Slow down.” Justine gripped her hand. “It wasn’t a drunk driver, it was an old lady. She thought she’d hit a branch, but she stopped a little ways up the road and came back. She was so upset when she realized what had happened, the couple who found you thought she was having a heart attack.”

“Poor woman,” Lucy murmured.

“Your bag and phone are here. The bike’s toast.”

“It’s a vintage Schwinn,” Lucy said mournfully. “From the sixties. All the original parts.”

“A bike can be replaced. You can’t.”

“You were sweet to come here,” Lucy said. “I know how busy you are.”