“No. He’ll just give me more pills. I don’t want to take any more pills.”
“I’ll make a note of that for him,” Frankie assured her and tried to keep her calm until the ambulance arrived. “Now I’m going to call Abby and let her know what’s going on. No argument,” Frankie said when the EMTs wheeled in the gurney.
“Can I go with her?” Myra asked. “I don’t want her to be alone.”
“Yes, please,” Alice whispered, looking far more uneasy than Frankie was comfortable with.
Frankie had planned to go herself, but it was clear both Myra and Alice needed this. “Of course.” She pulled one of the EMTs aside and filled them in on Alice’s medical situation, including her list of medications, and Myra’s going with her.
As they loaded Alice into the ambulance, all of her fellow Cocoon Club members stood on the front porch, the strained silence hurting Frankie’s heart. “She’s going to be okay,” Frankie told them as the ambulance took off down the street, siren blaring once more.
“We should have paid better attention,” Marty muttered. “Dang night pills knock me out. I didn’t hear a thing, and I was right next door.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” Frankie told them and, with Ezzie’s help, ushered them back into the house. “None of you can. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened—”
“We should all be with her,” Delilah said as Ezzie retrieved the tea tray from the kitchen to bring into the living room. “We made a promise to each other. That none of us would be alone.”
“She’s not alone, she has Myra,” Ezzie told them.
“Who are you?” Oscar demanded in a tone that belied his frustration at Alice’s situation.
“Esmeralda Salazar. But call me Ezzie. I believe you know my son.” She draped a blanket over Eloise’s lap and pressed a warm cup of tea into her hand. “There you go. Drink up. You’ll feel better when you do.”
“You’re Roman’s mother?” Oscar asked for confirmation.
“Guilty as charged.”
Having Ezzie occupy Alice’s roommates, Frankie promptly called Abby to let her know what was going on with her grandmother. The gratitude and fear she heard in Abby’s voice had Frankie wishing she’d gone with Alice after all. But she’d only be in the way. The doctors needed to evaluate Alice without Frankie sticking her nose in.
Once she ended the call with Abby, she checked in with Ozzy before returning to the living room.
“Ezzie? I need to get back to the station.”
Ezzie looked around the sullen group, who seemed to be holding vigil for their friend. Ezzie patted Delilah’s leg before she got up and followed Frankie onto the porch. “If it’s all right, I’d like to stay for a bit. See if I can keep their spirits up. Make sure they eat something and are okay.”
“Oh.” Frankie nodded. “That’s great. Thank you. I’m sure they’d appreciate that. I’ll let you know what I hear from the hospital.”
“Excellent. They just seem a bit lost right now, don’t they? It doesn’t matter how old someone gets, it seems life is always too short. Things like this are a reminder of that.”
“Alice is family,” Frankie told her as something shifted inside her. “They’re all family. Call me when you need a ride back.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You go on back to work. I’m sure it’ll be a bit easier on all of you without me prattling around over there.”
Frankie’s lips twitched.
“You think I don’t know I’m driving you all to distraction?” Ezzie squeezed her arm. “Go on now. We’ll be fine. I’ll call if there are any problems.”
* * *
“ANY WORD ON ALICE?” Roman asked Frankie as soon as she returned to the station house. The normal, optimistic shine on her face had been replaced with one of serious concern. She looked tired.
“Nothing yet. But she’s only just now gone to the hospital.” Frankie took a long drink of water from a bottle she pulled out of the fridge and then leaned on the counter to work out the kinks in her back. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a bruised rib. I hope that’s all it is. Your mom stayed back at the house. Hope that’s okay?”
“It’s fine.” And a load off his mind, considering he had run out of ways to entertain her. “How about you?” He hobbled closer, mentally counting down the days until he could get off these crutches.
“How about me what?”