“I don’t mind. Maybe I can find sheets for the bedding and make up the bed while the wash is going on.” Leah tried to stand, and Douglas gave her a hand up. She took it, and when she rose, she let go of his hand quickly, never having been touched by him before.
“There’s no one at home anyway, and I feel useful doing this—” Then Leah said nothing more, because she remembered that the doctor had no one at home, too. Was that why each week he served the sick and bedridden of the church? He didn’t want to face an empty house on Sunday afternoons? That seemed like an unfair rationale for his dedicated service to the Lord. Leah had never had cause to think of it this way before. But this was the first time she herself had ever spent any time apart from her husband.
Douglas smiled at her. In her company, he felt almost dumb with pleasure. It reminded him of the way he felt in the presence of his older sister, who used to take him to school and who had died before Ella’s high school graduation. The deaconess had the same gentleness in her expression that his sister did.
Leah bent to pick up the dustpan and went to the garbage can, filled to its capacity. She began to pull at the edges of the black garbage bag. A new one would have to be put in. Douglas moved swiftly to her side to relieve her from this.
“He’s sleeping very well,” Douglas said. He grabbed the two corners of the bag and knotted them to make bunny ears. Ella had liked this when she was a child.
“It must be very uncomfortable.” Leah wiped her brow; a strand of hair had come loose from its bun. “I remember when Casey got chicken pox. I put Tina in the room with her right away so they would get it together. So it would be over faster.”
Douglas understood. Working parents had to do these kinds of things to save time. He wouldn’t have known what to do if he’d had two children.
“The choir director doesn’t have any food at home. Maybe we could go to the store to pick up some things for him to eat. There’s no fresh fruit or vegetables here.”
“Yes, of course.” Douglas tucked his hand into his trouser pocket for the car keys. His beeper vibrated. “Oh. What’s this?” He studied the beeper screen, the size of a stick of gum. “The phone?” he said, wanting to make a call, and looked around.
Leah pointed to the wall beside the refrigerator. She couldn’t help noticing the thick layer of dust above the freezer.
Douglas dialed the hospital. The resident had paged him because an elderly patient recovering from surgery had a very high fever and was having convulsions. The neurologist on call had advised the resident to contact him. Douglas got off the phone.
Leah stood waiting, not knowing what he’d say.
“We better go back now,” he said, sucking air through his teeth.
“Oh.” There was still so much left to do. “We didn’t have our worship service. And he’s sleeping.”
Douglas opened his mouth to speak but said nothing. “You’re right,” he said. “And the laundry.” He looked down. “I know.” He raised his index finger. “I’ll go to the hospital and come right back. I don’t think it will take long.”
“And I can stay here and clean up while you go.”
“Do you mind?” he asked. “No.” He shook his head as if he were disagreeing with himself. “I mean, you should come with me, and we can both come back when I’m done.” Douglas felt confused. It was hard to say how long it would take. The hospital was half an hour away without much traffic, and if the medicine worked, he’d talk to the attending physicians and return in no time. “I think we could be back in two hours at most.”
“No,” Leah found herself saying quietly, thinking it would be a better deed for her to clean the house and fix dinner for the choir director than to wait at the hospital. “I’ll keep working. I really prefer it. I was feeling bad that I’m not helping Tina. Anyway. . .” She made a long face, looking ashamed of herself. She was surprised by her own admission.
“But Cecilia could probably come tomorrow.”
“Has she had chicken pox?” Leah asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied, thinking he should have thought of that.
“I’ll stay. He’s asleep, and I’ll make up the bed and finish up. Please don’t worry.”
“Are you okay with that?”
Leah nodded reassuringly. The resemblance to his sister when she smiled like that was uncanny, and he had to shake it off. Douglas wrote down his beeper number and left her in the kitchen.