Winter's Tide by Lisa Williams Kline Page A

helping?”
    â€œYes, it’s a little better.” Grammy tried for a smile.
    â€œWell, we’ll keep up with that” She turned to Daddy. “Your mother has acute pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, which was brought on by the passing of a large gallstone. A gallstone is a deposit that formsin the gallbladder, and when it passes out of the gallbladder, it can be very painful. This is a very serious condition. As soon as the inflammation has gone down, we’d like to do surgery to remove her gallbladder so this doesn’t happen again. Meanwhile, she won’t be able to eat anything; we’ll have to feed her intravenously.”
    â€œHow long before the surgery?”
    â€œThat will be determined by how long it takes the pancreas to settle down. If all goes well, I would say in three or four days,” said Dr. Claiborne.
    â€œAnd then how long will my recuperation be?” asked Grammy.
    â€œOh, we hope to be able to do laparoscopic surgery, where we only make a few small incisions, so you should be able to go home the same day or the next day,” said Dr. Claiborne.
    â€œThe same day!” Daddy said, amazed.
    â€œYes, hopefully. Let’s see how things go,” said Dr. Claiborne. “Right now, let’s keep working on getting that inflammation down. You’re lucky we caught this when we did, Mrs. Verra. I’ll be back to check on you later this afternoon. It was nice to meet you both,” she said on her way out.
    â€œIt’s hard to believe I may be able to go home the same day as the surgery, considering the way I feel now,” said Grammy.
    â€œWell, you should start feeling better soon,” Daddy said. “How about a nap?”
    Grammy nodded, her eyes fluttering. “Okay. That sounds good.”
    Daddy and I fluffed Grammy’s pillow and straightened her covers, and then Daddy went out in the hall to call Lynn. I sat in the chair, watching Grammy sleep. Her breathing was slow and even, and her face looked trusting, like a little girl’s. There was a faded blue stripe on her blanket. A transparent bag hung from a stand beside her and dripped slowly, one tiny drop at a time, through an IV into her arm.
    It was sort of dark in her room, but shining from between the blinds, bright strips of sunshine played across the foot of her bed, so I knew it was sunny outside.
    Listening to the rhythm of her breathing, I got out my phone and checked my text messages. Popping up among texts from Colleen and some of my other friends, I saw another text from Noah.
    â€œHow is your grandmother doing?” it said.
    I’d decided that I wouldn’t lead him on, but he was being really thoughtful, asking about Grammy. So I answered, telling him that she would have surgery in a few days.
    And then I got a text from Mama. It said, “So far Matt has not regained movement in his left arm.”

9
D IANA
    A fter Stephanie and Norm left, Mom and I decided to take Jelly to the beach using the golf cart. Mom grabbed her cell phone and the shell bucket from the back porch, and we put on our coats, gloves, and scarves.
    When I approached Jelly with the leash, he growled faintly but allowed me to attach it. Outside, he jumped into the passenger seat on the cart, looking at Mom and wagging his tail. He ignored me.
    â€œLook! He’s used to riding in the cart,” Mom said. “He knows we’re going to the beach.”
    â€œWhy doesn’t he like me?” I asked. “Grammy asked me to take care of him. How can I when he doesn’t like me?”
    Mom shrugged. “I have no idea. You just have to hope he gets used to you, I guess.” Mom climbed in the driver’s seat.
    â€œHey, can I drive?” I said impulsively.
    Mom looked at me thoughtfully, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. “Well, you will be taking driver’s ed next semester,” she said. “Okay.” She showed me how to