lacerations and broken bones, with a collapsed lung and a head injury."
"Is the head injury serious?"
"A concussion. Not too bad." Virginia's hands locked around her cup of tea. "But when they gave him a CAT scan to look at the skull injuries, they found an inoperable brain aneurysm that could rupture at any time."
"I... see. But an aneurysm could also hold for a long time, couldn't it? Years?"
"William's doctor seems to consider it unlikely in this case. His attitude is that I should prepare myself for the worst."
Rainey frowned. It might not be a doctor's place to offer false hope, but neither should he make patients feel doomed. Life was uncertain, and hope could be healing. "Have you gotten a second opinion?"
"There hasn't been time to think of such things."
Rainey thought of a New York surgeon friend. He owed her a favor. "Would you mind if I called in a neurosurgeon that I know?"
Virginia shrugged, not agreeing, but not denying.
"I'll call him then."
"I hear you're getting divorced from that movie star husband of yours."
Rainey winced. "Yes. It's uncontested, so there won't be any lurid headlines."
"Hollywood actors shouldn't be allowed to marry. Especially not to each other. Drinking, drugs, orgies." Virginia shook her head grimly. "Though I suppose that's what you're used to."
Biting back anger, Rainey said, "Kenzie is British, and they tend to be less crazy than American stars. Neither of us do drugs or drink more than socially. Once at a party I stumbled into what would probably be considered an orgy. I left." On that subject, she couldn't speak for Kenzie, though if she had to guess, she'd say that orgies weren't his style. "We're people, not stereotypes."
"No drugs?' Her grandmother looked disbelieving.
"My mother died of an overdose. I've never so much as smoked marijuana."
"If that's true, you're wise." Virginia swallowed the last of her tea. "I have to get back to William."
"Is there anything I can do, Gram?'
Her grandmother shrugged again. "We've gotten along without you very well. We don't need anything now."
Stung, Rainey blurted out, "Why do you both dislike me so much? I tried so hard not to be a burden. To... to make you proud of me for my grades and school activities. But no matter how well I did, I still knew you didn't want me. Was it because you thought the sins of the mother should be visited on the child?'
For the first time, her grandmother's gaze focused on her. "We didn't dislike you, and it certainly wouldn't be fair to blame you for Clementine's behavior. But it's true we didn't want you with us. We both felt too old to cope with a child." She hesitated, then added painfully, "You were a reminder of the worst failure of our lives."
Startled by the candid answer, Rainey asked hesitantly, "Clementine?"
Virginia nodded. "She was born late, after we'd given up hope of having a child. She... she was like a flame, all burning life, and just as impossible to handle. We tried so hard to raise her as she needed, but we failed. When she left college to join a rock band, I knew she was doomed. Maybe not right away, but eventually."
Rainey swallowed, her throat tight. "That self-destructive streak was part of her, I think. I doubt anyone could have cured it."
"It's the duty of parents to raise their children right!" Anguish showed in the faded blue eyes. "But we didn't, and she died not even thirty years old."
Rainey had never seen such powerful emotion in her grandmother. On the verge of tears, she asked, "Why didn't you show me how much you cared about her? She was my mother. We... we could have mourned together."
"You looked just enough like Clementine to be painful, yet you were also a little stranger, with traits that were totally alien. And so we failed again."
Painful though the conversation was, for the first time ever they were actually talking to each other. "You didn't fail entirely. I'm not self-destructive like my mother."
"But you're still a stranger."
Rainey was
"Is the head injury serious?"
"A concussion. Not too bad." Virginia's hands locked around her cup of tea. "But when they gave him a CAT scan to look at the skull injuries, they found an inoperable brain aneurysm that could rupture at any time."
"I... see. But an aneurysm could also hold for a long time, couldn't it? Years?"
"William's doctor seems to consider it unlikely in this case. His attitude is that I should prepare myself for the worst."
Rainey frowned. It might not be a doctor's place to offer false hope, but neither should he make patients feel doomed. Life was uncertain, and hope could be healing. "Have you gotten a second opinion?"
"There hasn't been time to think of such things."
Rainey thought of a New York surgeon friend. He owed her a favor. "Would you mind if I called in a neurosurgeon that I know?"
Virginia shrugged, not agreeing, but not denying.
"I'll call him then."
"I hear you're getting divorced from that movie star husband of yours."
Rainey winced. "Yes. It's uncontested, so there won't be any lurid headlines."
"Hollywood actors shouldn't be allowed to marry. Especially not to each other. Drinking, drugs, orgies." Virginia shook her head grimly. "Though I suppose that's what you're used to."
Biting back anger, Rainey said, "Kenzie is British, and they tend to be less crazy than American stars. Neither of us do drugs or drink more than socially. Once at a party I stumbled into what would probably be considered an orgy. I left." On that subject, she couldn't speak for Kenzie, though if she had to guess, she'd say that orgies weren't his style. "We're people, not stereotypes."
"No drugs?' Her grandmother looked disbelieving.
"My mother died of an overdose. I've never so much as smoked marijuana."
"If that's true, you're wise." Virginia swallowed the last of her tea. "I have to get back to William."
"Is there anything I can do, Gram?'
Her grandmother shrugged again. "We've gotten along without you very well. We don't need anything now."
Stung, Rainey blurted out, "Why do you both dislike me so much? I tried so hard not to be a burden. To... to make you proud of me for my grades and school activities. But no matter how well I did, I still knew you didn't want me. Was it because you thought the sins of the mother should be visited on the child?'
For the first time, her grandmother's gaze focused on her. "We didn't dislike you, and it certainly wouldn't be fair to blame you for Clementine's behavior. But it's true we didn't want you with us. We both felt too old to cope with a child." She hesitated, then added painfully, "You were a reminder of the worst failure of our lives."
Startled by the candid answer, Rainey asked hesitantly, "Clementine?"
Virginia nodded. "She was born late, after we'd given up hope of having a child. She... she was like a flame, all burning life, and just as impossible to handle. We tried so hard to raise her as she needed, but we failed. When she left college to join a rock band, I knew she was doomed. Maybe not right away, but eventually."
Rainey swallowed, her throat tight. "That self-destructive streak was part of her, I think. I doubt anyone could have cured it."
"It's the duty of parents to raise their children right!" Anguish showed in the faded blue eyes. "But we didn't, and she died not even thirty years old."
Rainey had never seen such powerful emotion in her grandmother. On the verge of tears, she asked, "Why didn't you show me how much you cared about her? She was my mother. We... we could have mourned together."
"You looked just enough like Clementine to be painful, yet you were also a little stranger, with traits that were totally alien. And so we failed again."
Painful though the conversation was, for the first time ever they were actually talking to each other. "You didn't fail entirely. I'm not self-destructive like my mother."
"But you're still a stranger."
Rainey was
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