She went back to ICU to sit with Allyson, and Trygve stopped by to see her midafternoon. He looked around, surprised to see her alone. He had expected to meet her mother and sister.

“Where are they?” He looked confused and Page shook her head ruefully.

“The Bride of Frankenstein and her mother have gone to the city for lunch, and a little shopping'

“Did they see Allyson?” He looked amazed.

“For about ten minutes. My mother turned pale, my sister stood in the door and turned green, and then they decided to go for lunch in town to forget about it.” She was still annoyed, but it was so typical of them, though Trygve couldn't know that.

“Don't be so hard on them. This kind of thing isn't easy.”

“It's not easy for me either, but I'm here. They thought I should go to lunch with them.”

“It might do you good,” he said gently, but she shrugged. He didn't know them.

He stayed around for a little while, and then she picked Andy up at school, took him to baseball practice, and went home. And just as she had thought, her mother and Alexis came in at six, laden with shopping bags, a bottle of perfume for her, a little French sweater for Andy, and a lacy pink peignoir for Allyson that there was no way she could wear in her present condition.

“It's beautiful, Mother, thank you.” She didn't explain the impossibility of it to her, and her mother seemed not to care. They had found a fabulous designer sale at I. Magnin.

“It's amazing what you find out here,” she said, totally unaware of Page's expression.

“Isn't it though,” she said coolly. It was almost as though the reason for their trip had been forgotten.

Page made dinner for them again that night, but Brad didn't come home or call. She made an excuse for him, but later she found Andy looking forlorn and sat down on her bed to talk to him. Having her own mother there made her nervous and edgy.

“You and Dad are mad at each other again, huh?”

“Not really,” she lied, she just couldn't cope with telling him about that too. Allyson was enough for the moment. “He's just busy.”

“No he's not. I heard you shouting at him …and he yelled at you …”

“Moms and dads do that sometimes, sweetheart.” She kissed the top of his head and fought back tears as she held him.

“You didn't use to.” And then, “Bjorn said his mom and dad used to fight a lot, and then his mom left. She went to England, and now he hardly ever sees her.”

“That's different,” though she was no longer sure why. In truth, it wasn't very different. “Does he miss her a lot?” She felt sorry for him. It had to be particularly hard on a child like him, with limited understanding.

“No,” Andy said honestly, “he said she was mean to him. He likes his dad a lot better. I like his dad too,” he volunteered, “he's nice.” She nodded, and then he looked up at her with tears in his eyes, and she almost panicked. “Is Daddy going to leave and go to England?”

“Of course not,” she said, relieved that he hadn't asked her how she felt about Trygve. “Why would he go to England?”

“I don't know. That's what Bjorn said his mom did. Do you think he'd leave us though?” She wanted to say more, but knew she couldn't. It was just too much for him, too much for all of them at the moment.

“I don't think so.” It was the first time she had ever lied to him, but she knew she had to.

And when she put him to bed, her mother asked her if she'd mind making her a cup of peppermint tea, and taking some camomile and a bottle of Evian to her sister.

“Not at all,” she said, smiling to herself. They were so predictable …the wicked stepmother and sister …and she, as always, was playing the role of Cinderella.





CHAPTER 12

The rest of the week was much the same. Page continued to spend her days at the hospital while Andy was in school, while her mother and sister did the rounds of the boutiques and department stores in San Francisco. They cruised through Hermes, Chanel, Tiffany, Cartier, Saks, and did a fair amount of damage at I. Magnin. They had their hair done at Mr. Lee, lunch at Trader Vic's, Postrio, and the restaurant at the top of Neiman-Marcus. And about every other day, they began their day with a five-minute visit to Allie.