Read Online Darren Effect by Libby Creelman - Free Book Online Page B

bathrobe?”
    â€œI thought you were quitting.”
    â€œI’m trying all the time. Why didn’t you tell me you’d finally taken some time off?”
    Heather shrugged.
    â€œIt was the Melvin man who informed me he’d been delivering groceries here for weeks, and when I called Mandy, what did she say? Basket case, I think.”
    Heather laughed, perhaps a little too harshly. “Basket case? That’s what she called me? Are you aware of the origins of that expression?”
    â€œNo, and if it’s unsavoury, I don’t want to either.”
    â€œIt’s from World War One. It’s how they referred to the quadruple amputees, because they were carried around in baskets.”
    Her mother fiddled with her cigarette.
    â€œIt’s understandable if they went out of their minds,” Heather continued. “Imagine, being lugged around in a basket? Were there lids for the baskets, I wonder, in case it rained?”
    â€œI suppose you’re trying to get rid of me?”
    But Heather didn’t really want her mother to leave. In fact, she was glad she was finally here.
    â€œMandy said you injured your feet. Hiking? What’s this all about?”
    â€œI’m sorry, Mom. Sorry.”
    â€œYou never called me. You’re so stubborn.”
    Until her father’s death eight years ago, her parents had successfully avoided each other for decades. But Heather knew there would have been unavoidable encounters. It was unreasonable to hope they would never pass one another coming in andout of Dominion, or be invited — unintentionally or otherwise — to a Christmas party, or find themselves bumper to bumper at a traffic light. Heather knew what it was like to discover one day that not only had you committed to memory the make and year and colour of another person’s car but his licence plate number as well.
    â€œHeather,” her mother said gently, “I bet you’d feel better if you washed your face and hair. And got dressed.”
    The dictionary will also tell you, Heather knew, that the expression basket case evolved from soldiers to some-
thing
that is no longer functional, like a country unable to pay its debts or feed its people, and to some-
one
unable to cope, like a woman who couldn’t dress or go to work.
    Basket case? Heather looked down at her feet. Indeed, she had nearly lost them.
    Once they had convinced Heather to board the ATV, she and Mandy were taken to Vince’s home where a small, anxious crowd had gathered. Most agreed Heather’s socks should be removed and her feet submerged in lukewarm water. She was placed in an armchair in the parlour, which was gloomy but warm. Family photographs, framed string art and a portrait of Pope John Paul hung over rosebud wallpaper. Linoleum in the most astonishing shades of red, orange and purple peeked out from beneath a square of carpet. Heather could see into the kitchen where a woman in knitted pink slippers stood talking on the phone, occasionally glancing in at Heather. After that, Vince wrapped a second blanket around her and someone brought her a cup of tea. They already had her socks off and were again discussing placing her feet in the tub of water, when she put her head against the wing of the chair.
    When she woke Bill was standing in front of her and her toes hurt. She leaned forward, thinking of standing, then saw her feet: they were red and swollen. The windows rattled violently,and she recalled Darren Foley’s comment that the weather was changing.
    Bill knelt in front of her. “We’re going to take you into the hospital in a minute, Heather. Do you understand? Good. Mandy’s already in the car. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? You were mildly hypothermic when they brought you in. You’re fine now, but you might need some medical attention. Heather?”
    â€œWhat’s that on my feet, Bill?”
    â€œBlisters. Not to