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Jon stood in the dooratching her "Shouldn’t you call the doctor?"

She waved the suggestion aside, wracked by another bout of coughing that left her sweating and liot some pills left from last time See if you can find thelass of water, if you would"

He did as she asked There were four bottles of prescription ht all of theht was best She took two pills ater and then lay back against the pillohich she’d stacked alht to help her breathe

He said, "Did you eat lunch?"

"Not yet I’ll get so in a bit"

"I can fix you a grilled cheese sandwich the way you showed me"

He wanted to help He wanted to be of service because once she was back on her feet, the world would right itself He felt a responsibility since he was the only kid at hoone off to Vanderbilt and wouldn’t be back until Christmas break

Her smile an "Grilled cheese would be nice, Jon You’re so sweet to ether,sure both sides of the bread ell buttered so they’d brown evenly When he knocked on her door again, plate in hand, she said she thought she’d nap for a while before she ate He set the plate on the bed table within reach, went into the den, and turned on the TV set

When he looked in on her an hour later, she didn’t look right at all He crossed to her bedside and put a hand on her forehead the way she did when she thought he was running a fever Her skin was hot to the touch and her breathing was rapid and shallow She was shivering uncontrollably, and when she opened her eyes, he said, "Are you okay?"

"I’ me that quilt in the linen closet, please"

"Sure"

He found soh "I think I should call an a Okay?" he asked

When his mother didn’t answer, Jon called the paramedics, who arrived fifteen minutes later He let thee of her One of the two men asked questions, while the other one took her temperature, checked her blood pressure, and listened to her chest After a brief consultation and a phone call, they loaded her onto a gurney and put her in the rear of the ambulance From the look that passed between theht

When the paramedic told hih "I’m a kid I can’t drive My dad’s not even home He’s out of town"

After more murmured conversation, he was allowed to ride in the front of the aainst the aency room, he sat in the reception area while the doctor examined his mom The nurse told him he should call someone, but that only confused him He didn’t kno to reach his brother in Nashville and who else was there? It wasn’t like he had his teacher’s home telephone number The school would be closed by then anyway, so that was no help There weren’t any other close relatives that he knew of His parents didn’t go to church, so there wasn’t even a minister to call

The nurse went back down the hall and pretty soon the hospital social worker showed up and talked to hi him the same series of questions he couldn’t answer She finally contacted a neighbor, a couple his parents barely knew Jon spent that night and the next night with them He left notes on the front and back doors so his father would knohere he was

His one The last tiht his father finally showed up--she had IV lines in both ankles There was a blood-pressure cuff on one arer to measure her pulse, a catheter, an arterial line in one wrist, and tubing taped over her face He knew the exact moment the rise and fall of her chest ceased, but he watched her anyway, thinking he could still see o

Lionel drove the friends and relatives, the insurance company, and Jon wasn’t sure who else While his father was occupied, Jon went into his mother’s room Lionel’s side of the bed was untouched and still neatly made, while on his mother’s side the sheets were ruainst the headboard There were the same wadded tissues on the floor