Maddie’s new companions were gunmetal silver with wide cuffs above the elbows, which she knew would help stabilize her. Rafe had used the same type when he’d sprained his ankle playing hockey on the frog pond near their home. He, however, also had a mild concussion, which she expected wasn’t likely from falling down a pillow of a dune.
“And for the next two or three days,” the doctor was saying, “keep your foot elevated above your heart as often as possible.”
Good grief, she thought.What have I done to myself?When she’d asked the doctor how it had been possible that she’d broken a bone by falling where she had, he’d said, “We have no idea.” Which hadn’t been terribly helpful, but at least he’d been honest.
Honesty was always the best route to take, no matter the situation. It was an unpleasant reminder of what Maddie had to do next.
“I need to call my son,” she said abruptly. “And my father.”
And there it was. Sooner or later, she was going to have to tell them the truth about where she was and what had happened. She was going to have to admit that she’d inherited Grandma Nancy’s estate, though she wouldn’t yet tell them everything—every dollar—it entailed. She doubted they’d be able to absorb the details if she spewed it all out at once. Especially her father, who was now going to have to come up with a good reason why he’d lied to her about Grandma dying when Maddie was ten. If he had lied back then.
Then Evelyn asked, “Would you like to call them now? I can step outside; I’m sure these nice people will give you privacy.” She spoke as if she had any authority over the nurse or the doctor who still stood there, holding the crutches.
“You’ll excuse me, then,” the doctor said. “I’ll see you next week.” He handed the crutches to the nurse and exited.
Maddie told Evelyn the phone calls could wait until they got to her house. “But I have one request,” she said. “Could we detour to the cottage so I can pick up a few things?”
Evelyn seemed pleased that her houseguest was going to go with her willingly. “Only if you tell me where to find what you need and wait in the car until I collect everything. And by the way, did you ever find the key to that padlock?”
Maddie laughed, because she no longer cared about what might or might not be stashed in the mysterious outbuilding. While sitting in the sand before the ambulance arrived, she’d made the decision to sort through the papers, but that was all. A salvage company could come and haul away the rest.
Then the nurse showed her the proper way to use the crutches, and soon after that an orderly arrived with a wheelchair for her departure. Evelyn took charge of the crutches, and they went on their way.
Chapter 8
Maddie and Evelyn shared one of the premade meals and the salad she’d picked up at Cronig’s. With the exception of the ice cream and a few unexciting things in the freezer, Evelyn had collected the perishables as well as a couple of changes of clothes for Maddie, who’d also requested her laptop in case she was inspired to work on the outline for her article.
After dinner, she called Rafe and told him where she was.
“Mom . . . ,” he said after a short pause, “I thought you were in Boston. Why the heck are you on Martha’s Vineyard? Are you alone or is that a secret, too?”
He must have thought she was with a man. A boyfriend, if that word still applied when someone was over forty. She took a cautious breath. “I’m not alone, Rafe. I have friends here.” She did not, however, specify that she had friends therenow, people she hadn’t met until the past couple of days. She looked around the guest room in the Morgans’ Chilmark home, at the tall windows that nearly touched a cream-colored hand-carved cornice. She admired the view from the bed where she lay, her legs out straight, her right one elevated above her heart, as the doctor had instructed. She gazed past the ivory floor-length draperies, out to the bountiful meadow, then decided that she hadn’t outright lied to Rafe because it appeared that, yes, indeed, she now had three friends on the island. Not counting CiCi.
“I came here for the funeral of a relative I hadn’t seen in years.”
“You went to Martha’s Vineyard for a funeral? I didn’t think you had any relatives left there. Were they on vacation? Did they live in Boston? Did you go there first?”
Maddie realized that even stretching the truth could be confusing to both the bearer and the listener. “It’s too complicated to get into on the phone. I promise I’ll tell you all about it when I see you. Can you possibly get here? We could have a few days together before you go back to school.”
“Does Grandpa know where you are?”
She paused. “Not yet. And I want to wait until I get home to tell him. So please don’t tell him, okay?”
“Sure. But how long will you be there?” Her son pressed for answers.
So she said there was a minor glitch in her schedule. She confessed about her broken foot. She didn’t mention that she’d done it while exploring the dunes across from Menemsha Harbor. He might ask too many questions she didn’t want to answer. Yet.
“Geez, Mom. I can’t believe you broke it.”
“It’s fine, honey. I didn’t need surgery. But they did give me a clumsy cast and a couple of crutches like the kind you had when you sprained your ankle playing hockey. Remember when you did that?”
“I was nine, Mom. And I was down the street from our house, not on an island where I hardly knew anybody.”
“Well, my situation really isn’t much different. It’s just a small twist in my otherwise boring life. At least it’s summer, and this is a great place to be. Which is why I’d love it if you could get here. And right now, I’m not able to drive home because, unfortunately, it’s my right foot. The one that works the gas pedal.” She hoped he’d see some humor in that and make up a joke about it. But he didn’t.
“Do you have to stay there until the cast comes off?”
“I hope not. Right now, the plan is for me to see the doctor again next week.” Maybe she should at least give the ortho man a chance. Especially if Rafe could come and she could tell him about her grandmother when they were together right there on the island, where Maddie’s memories of Grandma Nancy had been formed. He’d like that. “By then, the doctor should be able to tell how my foot’s healing. So I’ll be here until then.”
