Laura stood up and leaned over until her lips were near Crystal's ear. "Nothing is stupid if it helps," she said. "I'll check on the chicken." The writer turned and walked over to the oven, leaving Crystal to her own thoughts.

Nothing is stupid if it helps, huh? Cute Laura, real cute. You know you sound like her sometimes? Crystal looked at the woman whose back was facing her. Sometimes you do but other times you're just like an old friend that I can trust to tell anything to. Crystal was so lost in thought that she missed the phone the first time it rang.

"Can you grab that?" Laura said. "I've got the roasting pan."

"Sure." Not one for using the phone, it took Crystal a second to figure out where the ringing was coming from and pick it up. "Hello?" "Laur?"

"Um, no this is her roommate." Crystal could barely hear the male voice over the background noise. "Who's calling?"

"Is she there? It's her brother Bobby. I need to find her right away." It was then Crystal realized the background noise was that of a hospital intercom system.

"Yeah, hang on a second," she yelled into the phone. "Laura, I think it's your brother. You'd better take it."

Laura set the roasting pan down on the cooling rack and wiped her hands on the dishcloth. "It's Bobby?"

"I think so." As she handed over the phone, Crystal felt a sense of dread. She could only watch helplessly as Laura took the call.

"Hello? Bobby? Speak up, I can barely hear you. Where are you?" The loss of color in Laura's face confirmed Crystal's suspicion. "What happened? What? Wait, I can't hear you." There was only a momentary pause. "Bobby, just stay there. I'm on my way. No, don't call the rest of the family. I'll call them if we need to. Yes, just stay right there. I'm on my way." Laura shut the phone off and gripped the side of the counter.

"Is it your mother?" Crystal asked.

Laura nodded, obviously trying to maintain her composure. "I um she he's not sure what happened." She shook her head. "I have to get there."

"Do you want me to drive you?" Crystal offered, taking the phone and hanging it up. "I don't think you should be driving yourself." "They're at the Med Center."

"Near the bypass. I know where it is." Crystal glanced at the stove, making sure everything was shut off. "I'll grab my keys." "Wait." Laura reached up and took her set of keys off the hook. "Let's take the Jeep."

"Good idea, at least it's legal," Crystal said, taking the keys from Laura's hand. Oh man, her mom is sick. What am I supposed to do? Putting her arm awkwardly around Laura's back, Crystal gave her roommate a quick squeeze. "It'll be all right, Laura." To her surprise, Crystal found herself buried in a firm hug, Laura's arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I don't know what to do," the distraught woman's words were muffled. "When Dad

Mom took care of everything."

"Shh. Let's just get there and find out what's going on, okay?" Crystal guided Laura toward the door. I'll call Jenny from the hospital. She'll know what to do. I'm no good at this comforting stuff. But Jenny wasn't there at the moment. It was just her and Laura. I can't let her go through this all alone. Unsure what to say, Crystal remained quiet as they got to the Jeep. Once Laura was in the passenger seat, Crystal made her way around to the driver's side. "Well, this should be interesting," she said as she put the key in the ignition. "I've never driven one of these before."

"Crystal?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't care if you speed this time," Laura said quietly.

"I'll get you there as fast as I can," Crystal promised, turning the key and smiling as the engine came to life. Must be nice not to worry if the damn thing will start up each time, she silently mused as she backed the Jeep out of its parking space and headed for the medical center.

It took only a few minutes for Crystal to maneuver her way through traffic and reach the entrance ramp for the bypass. "If we go this way we'll save about ten minutes with the traffic," she said, hoping for a response from Laura but none came. Well I guess we take the highway then since there's no objections. As she followed the curve of the entrance ramp, Crystal pressed down harder on the gas pedal, curious how fast the late model vehicle could go. "Do you want to listen to the radio?" She looked over just in time to see Laura shake her head. "You feel like talking?"

"About what?"

"Anything." Crystal shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Whatever you feel like talking about."

"I can't think about anything but Mom right now."

"That's okay. Tell me a story about you and your mom." Crystal glanced at the side mirror before pulling into the left lane and passing a package van. "Tell me anything."

"I remember when I fell from my bike and broke my arm. I came in the house and Mom took one look at me and knew something was wrong. I didn't have to say a word." Laura sniffled and reached into her pocket, retrieving a handkerchief. "She always knew when one of us was hurt."

"Yeah?" That's it, Laura. Keep talking. Don't think about what might be at the hospital. Crystal half listened, putting most of her attention on the traffic ahead of her. She was at least twenty miles over the limit but the exit she needed was still several miles away. Silently praying for the cops to be more interested in donuts than speeders, Crystal took the chance and pressed down even harder on the pedal.

Fortunately for all concerned, the police did not take notice of the speeding Jeep. Crystal even managed to find a parking space near the emergency entrance of the hospital. She had barely shut off the engine when Laura bolted from the vehicle and dashed to the entrance. "Hey, wait for me," Crystal called, freeing herself from the seat belt and running after Laura.

Eighteen year old Bobby Taylor sat on one of the orange plastic chairs in the waiting room, looking forlornly at the floor. His blond hair was tousled about his head and when he looked up and saw his sister, Crystal saw the puffy red rimmed eyes. Damn, this isn't going to be a good one, she thought to herself, stepping aside as the siblings ran into each others arms.

"What happened?" Laura said, her hands gripping Bobby's. "Did she have a heart attack?"

"I don't know. The doctors are in with her now. I can't believe this is happening," he said. "We had breakfast together and everything seemed fine. Well, she seemed a little tired but not like really tired or anything." Bobby sat down again. Laura sat down next to him and motioned for Crystal to take the empty seat next to her.

"Did she ask you to bring her here?"

Bobby shook his head. "No. I thought about having them take her to Saint Thomas but the ambulance guy said the Med Center was closer. I'm glad you're here, Sis. I don't know the answers to half of the questions on those forms."

"Don't you worry about it. I'll take care of them," Laura assured. "So go on. What happened?"

"She said she was tired and wanted to lay down before the news came on. I went in to wake up around six and that's when I saw her all puffed up like that. I couldn't understand what she was saying so I called 911."

"You did fine," Laura said, putting her arm around the young man's shoulders. "Has the doctor said anything yet?"

"He asked if I was the only one here for her, had me sign a few forms then went back in there. I told him you were on your way." Crystal saw the opportunity to help. "Laura, why don't I go let the doctor know you're here?"

"I'd better go find him," the writer replied, rising to her feet. "Can you stay here with Bobby?"

"Sure," Crystal said. "Are you sure you're okay to do this? You want me to call Jenny?"

"Let's not call her until I know what's going on," Laura said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Once Laura left the room, Crystal stood up. "I'm going outside for a minute."

"I'll go with you," Bobby said. "I've been stuck in here for two hours now. Fresh air sounds like a good idea." Standing up, he towered a good four inches over her.

"I don't know how fresh the air will be, I'm going to have a cigarette," she said.

"You got an extra one?" he asked. "I left mine at home and I could really use one right about now."

"Does Laura know you smoke?"

"No. Mom doesn't either unless she does and hasn't said anything yet." He pressed the button to open the double doors. "Please tell me you smoke menthol."

"Light menthols." Crystal reached into her pocket and pulled out her battered pack. Laura knows you smoke even if you don't think she does, she thought to herself, remembering the conversation she had with the writer the day of Bobby's graduation party. What the hell. He's eighteen. If he wants to smoke I'm not going to stop him. "Help yourself," she said, holding the pack out.

Bobby took the cigarette and fished his lighter out of his pocket. "Thanks." He held out the lighter and waited until Crystal's cigarette was burning before lighting his own. "Oh, that's much better," he said as he exhaled. "I was going nuts in there all by myself."

"I bet. A couple of years ago a bunch of us were bar hopping and the guy driving got in an accident. We were at the hospital for almost six hours." It was Crystal's only adult experience with hospitals and most of it was a drunken blur. "He only had a broken wrist."

"I should have brought Mom's purse," he said as he walked over to the decorative half wall that lined thee.g.of the hospital's everlasting garden. Crystal followed and sat a foot away from him.

"You can't be expected to remember everything at a time like that."

"I should have, though." Bobby stared off at the parking lot. "When I got here they wanted her insurance card and they wanted to know if she was allergic to anything. I don't know any of that." He took a long drag, making the end of the cigarette burn a bright orange. "I'm the man of the family now and I don't have a clue how to handle this."