I Was Never One of Them novel · Chapter 7 of 24
Chapter 7: The Dialysis Ward
On Thursday I took the afternoon off and sat beside my mother's chair while the machine worked.
Nine other patients sat in a row along the window with their tubes and their blankets.
The nurse had made tea.
My mother was telling me about the neighbor's cat when the doors swung open.
Constance Lockridge came in with a photographer behind her.
She wore a pale blue suit and a pearl brooch, and she carried a bouquet the size of a toddler.
Whitney followed in white, with her chin high and the diamond turned outward on her hand.
The photographer's flash went off before anyone could speak.
"Ruth, dear," Constance said, and crossed the room with her arms open. "We've missed you so."
My mother lifted her head.
"Constance? How kind."
"The foundation wanted to make a gesture." Constance laid the flowers across my mother's knees and turned her face toward the camera. "Eight years of caring for this family, and we're proud of every day. We're going to name the new wing in your honor."
Flash.
A nurse stepped forward uncertainly.
The other patients watched.
I stood up.
"Constance."
"Hazel, darling. Smile."
"Take the flowers off my mother."
Whitney laughed. "Oh, she's going to make a scene again. Keep shooting. It's great content."
The photographer raised his camera.
I walked around the chair and put my hand flat over the lens.
"Not here," I said. "You are in a room where people are sick. Put it down."
He looked at Constance.
Constance sighed.
"Hazel, we are trying to restore your mother's care. Her slots were reassigned by a clerical error. We have corrected it. All we ask is a photograph for the foundation's records, and a signature."
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