by BL Miller
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"You'll be all right here for a minute?" Ronnie queried. Rose was sitting in her wheelchair, just at the edge of the steps that led to the sunken living room.
"Sure."
"I need to move the couch so you can see better." The first thing she had to do was move the solid mahogany coffee table out of the way. It had a drawer full of remotes, each clearly labeled with the name of the item it operated. It also contained all the instruction manuals, the corners of which were dog-eared from use.
Next came the couch. With an ease that spoke clearly of strength, Ronnie lifted the right end up slightly from the carpet and used her legs to move it until it was facing the center cabinet on the wall. "Okay, all set." Before Rose could yelp a protest, the black-haired woman stepped behind her, grabbed the wheels of the chair, and lifted both it and her off the carpet. Ronnie gently set the wheelchair down on the lower level. "Let me get the pillows for your head and then I'll help get you on the couch. That way you can still lie down and enjoy the show."
"But where will you sit?"
Ronnie just grinned. "Go take a good look at that couch, Rose."
The blonde woman guided the wheelchair around to face the front of the couch. "Looks like a very nice couch, but…" Ronnie had come around the other side and sat down, reaching between the cushion and side to grab the hidden lever.
"It's one of those reclining ones!"
"Yup…look at this." She snaked her hand between a fold of soft leather and pulled, revealing a hidden snack tray nestled within the center cushions.
"Oh, that is cool!"
"What can I say? I like creature comforts." Ronnie said with a grin. "Here, let's get you settled. You'll love how soft this is."
"Oooh! This is niiiice," the young woman drawled after sinking into the wonderful couch.
"I couldn't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep on it," the proud owner said as she walked over to the cabinets and faced the center one. The double doors opened to reveal the large screen television and the racks above it filled with stereo equipment and a top of the line six-head VCR. She slid the doors into their recessed spaces before turning to face the sight of Rose comfortably relaxing on her couch. "I'll go get the movie and something for us to drink." She returned a few minutes later with sodas for both of them and a black video cassette case. "I hope 'Revenge of the Nerds' is a good one because that's the one I grabbed."
"Sounds good to me. I've only seen it once, on television."
"Oh, you have to see it. They cut some of the best scenes when they edited it for TV." Ronnie reached into the drawer of the coffee table and picked up several remotes before settling on three of them. "Let's see now, I have a list here somewhere…" She shuffled the manuals around until she found the one with all her writing on it. "Here we go."
A few seconds later the television was on, the tape was rolling, and crisp sound came from every corner of the room. Ronnie had spent months adjusting the angles of the speakers to best blend in with the natural acoustics of the vaulted ceiling. A satellite feed gave perfect digital pictures on the fifty-inch screen of the massive television. She had originally purchased a projection television but that now resided in the gym. It was replaced with the sharper picture and higher quality of a tube. The credits were just beginning when they heard a car coming up the driveway.
"Food's here," they said at the same time, drawing mutual chuckles and smiles that would continue long into their lazy Sunday afternoon.
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Monday came as it always does, forcing attentions to be turned to things of importance besides each other. This particular day also brought with it temperatures in the teens and blowing snow. Maria arrived at 7:30, half an hour late. Monday was the day she stopped at the supermarket first to pick up fresh milk and bread to replenish whatever Ronnie had depleted over the weekend. Normally was not a problem, but an accident near Routes 378 and 9 had traffic backed up for almost an hour. Ronnie was already in the shower after her morning workout. As Maria made her way from the foyer, the housekeeper tossed a curious look at the hastily moved furniture in the living room, noting the rumpled blanket and pillow. "Are you supposed to be up there?" She queried the orange and white cat lying on them.
"Mrrow?" Tabitha picked her head up at the voice and quickly followed Maria out to the kitchen. This was the dark-haired one that dropped the little pieces of meat all the time, the feline remembered.
"I see you've taken over while I was gone, eh?" She set the bags down on the counter before tossing her purse into the drawer reserved for that purpose. Her wet coat went into the laundry room along with her scarf. "Well, let's see if we can't try and get something quick whipped up before Ronnie gets down here."
"Looks pretty nasty out there," the black-haired woman said as she entered the kitchen a few minutes later. "Think maybe I'll take the day off and stay home."
"Did you have a good weekend? I see you certainly left enough dishes for me."
"Actually I did have a good weekend," Ronnie replied as she crossed the room looking for a fresh cup of coffee. "The roads are pretty nasty, right?"
"Well, they're not the best but they are driveable."
"But it could get worse," she said, making the statement sound more like a question.
"I suppose it could, Ronnie. I didn't really get to see what the weather report said this morning."
"So it could get worse out there." The executive seemed pleased with her reasoning. "I'd better work from home today. Wouldn't want to take the chance."
"Of course not, after all you're what…eight miles from work or so?" Maria opened the refrigerator to survey the damage from the weekend. "Omelets?"
"Sounds good. I'll go check on Rose while you're doing that."
"What does she like in hers?"
"I think mushrooms and green peppers…oh, and cheese, of course." Ronnie picked up her coffee cup and headed toward the office, leaving Maria to her tasks and Tabitha to follow after the housekeeper in hopes of a treat.
Rose was still sleeping when Ronnie entered the office and sent an email to her secretary and to Susan announcing that she was going to work from home that day. Rose slept through the sound of the television being turned on and the constant flicking from one station to another. The only thing that brought her out of her dream world was the smell of fresh omelets and muffins when Maria brought breakfast in to them.
"Knew something had to wake you," Ronnie quirked.
"Mmm? Oh, morning Ronnie," she said, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Morning Maria, how was your weekend?"
"It was fine, Rose. How was yours?"
"Good." She sniffed the air. "Oh, that smells wonderful."
"Maria's cooking is always wonderful. That's why I keep her around," Ronnie teased.
"I knew there had to be some reason," the housekeeper joked back. She turned her attention back to the injured woman. "How are your legs feeling?"
"They ache a lot but the heat seems to help."
"Good. You just do what the doctor says and I'm sure you'll be up and about in no time."
"Yeah, as long as she doesn't try to do everything for herself," Ronnie chimed in. "We had to make a trip to the ER."
"You did? Oh my!" Maria looked from one to the other. "What happened?"
Ronnie filled the housekeeper in on the incident while Rose tried unsuccessfully between forkfuls to change the subject. The head of the house was just finishing up her breakfast when the doorbell rang. "That must be your nurse," she said to the young woman.
"I'll see to her coat and then bring her in here," Maria said.
A few minutes later the nurse entered the room. "Hello. My name is Karen Brown and I'll be your nurse," she said to Rose.
"Hi, I'm Rose Grayson." She held her hand out to the nurse.
"Ronnie," the executive offered.
"Well, I suppose the first thing I should do is wash up and take a look at those stitches on your cheek." Kar
en looked up at Ronnie. "How long has she been home?"
Ronnie chose not to correct the nurse about Rose's residence status. "They released her Friday afternoon."
"Have you done any passive therapy?"
"No, but she's been up in the wheelchair a little bit."
"That's not passive therapy," Nurse Brown corrected. "Well then, I suppose we'll clean the wounds and we can get started." She glanced at Rose's cheek and the stitches that ran across it.
"There's no sign of infection there. When are you supposed to go back and have your stitches removed?"
"Friday. With any luck I'll be up and walking again soon."
Karen pushed her glasses up on her nose. "I wouldn't get my hopes up, Miss Grayson. Your legs have been through a tremendous trauma. It's going to take a great deal of time and effort before you'll be able to get around on your own. Let's not worry about walking yet and just concentrate on getting you healed."
Ronnie stood up and grabbed her empty cup. "I'm getting some more coffee. Do you want some, Rose?"
"Yes please, thank you." She held out her cup.
"What about you, Miss Brown?"
"Oh no thanks. I don't drink caffeine."
"Fine, I'll be back in a minute." She headed for the door but was stopped by the melodic voice.
"Ronnie?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you give me a few minutes?" Rose gave an embarrassed smile. "I have a couple of things that I need to take care of." She looked pointedly at the bedpan sitting on the small stand.
"Oh, uh, okay. I'll be in the living room if you need me."
But Ronnie did not go in the living room. Instead, she haunted Maria while the older woman tried to get her daily chores done. "So, you saw her, what do you think of her?"
"She's not my nurse. You should be asking Rose about her."
"But do you think that she's all right? I mean, the agency said she was a registered nurse. Should I have gotten more information about her? I can call Susan and have her run a check with the State Board."
"If you think you should, Ronnie," replied Maria, the duster in her hand flying over the antiques.
"Has she said or done anything you don't approve of?"
"Well…no, not really."
"Then what's the problem?"
"No problem. I just wondered if I should or not, that's all," the executive replied, her tone slightly miffed. She stood there silently for a minute, the tension building within her. "I have a lot of work to do and my computer is in there."
"You have another one upstairs in your room that you could use if you had to."
"But the data I need is on this one," she lied, knowing full well both computers connected to the network housed at the corporate offices.
"Ronnie, if you need to get in there I'm sure Rose would understand."
The tone in Maria's voice made the tall woman realize just how she sounded. "No, I'll use the one upstairs. Let me know when lunch is ready." She turned and raced up the stairs.
Part 4
Once inside her room, Ronnie flipped on the switch of her computer and sulked over to her bed. She looked around the room, realizing, as if for the first time, how quiet and empty it was. The thick carpets and solid wood floors kept the sounds from below from filtering up to her. "This is stupid," she scowled, returning to her computer desk and sitting down. "I have work to do."
The folder she clicked on however, was not a work folder. It was to her solitaire game. She followed by reviewing her appointment book and noting that Christmas was only seventeen days away. Well, it would not hurt anything if she looked around the Internet for a while. Browsing the Macy's site gave Ronnie no ideas at all about a gift to get for her mother. She had seen several items she thought Rose would like though. By quarter of twelve, Ronnie still had no presents for the members of her family. "The gift that always fits," she decided, clicking on the gift certificate form. That problem solved, she shut the computer off and trotted downstairs to have lunch with Rose and watch Judge Judy together.
When Ronnie entered Rose's room, she was pleased to see Karen was finishing up. "I'll be back tomorrow. Don't forget to do those exercises I showed you. You have to keep those muscles active as much as possible or it will only slow your recovery."
"I will, thank you," the young woman replied.
"Fine." The nurse turned her attention to Ronnie, correctly assuming she was the one in charge.
"I'll be back tomorrow around nine."
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Lunch was a simple fare of soup and sandwiches, eaten while listening to the feisty judge reprimand someone for thinking she would believe they had repaid a loan but just could not find their receipt. By the time the credits rolled, both women were looking at empty plates. "Maria can make anything taste good."
"Oh, she's a wonderful cook," Rose agreed. "Has she always worked for you and your family?"
"As long as I can remember. Her mother worked for us too, but she retired shortly after I was born. Maria's been everything from housekeeper to baby-sitter to referee ever since." The high pitched chirp of the phone interrupted her. "Probably another telemarketer," she grumbled.
"Aren't you going to answer it?"
"No. Maria screens my calls for me." As if on cue, Maria knocked on the door. "Okay," Ronnie called while reaching for the phone. "This is Veronica Cartwright."
"Um…yes, Miss Cartwright, this is Jonathan Barker from First Albany Savings and Trust. How are you today?" Recognizing the name of the bank's senior vice-president, Ronnie's posture stiffened and she pushed her chair over to the desk.
"Yes, Mister Barker. What can I do for you today?"
"Well…I don't mean to bother you at home but I felt this matter required your immediate attention." She did not miss the touch of nervousness in his voice. "Mister Cartwright hasn't returned any of my calls and I am afraid at this point I have to seek recourse somewhere else."
Ronnie rolled her eyes and picked up her pencil, lightly tapping it on the desk. "What's this about?"
"Well…as you know, when a loan is defaulted, we are obligated to go to the guarantor in order to recover our losses and since you are the cosigner on Mr. Cartwright's personal loan…."
"I cosigned a loan?" The pencil stopped moving. "When was this?"
"Oh, I um…" She heard papers shuffling about on Barker's desk. "Yes, here it is. I have your signature dated April fifth as a cosigner for Mr. Thomas Cartwright's personal loan." A touch of nervousness crept into his voice. "You did cosign a personal loan for him, didn't you, Miss Cartwright?"
The pencil began tapping rapidly. "I guess I must have forgotten about it, Mister Barker."
"Well, I'm sure it was just a simple oversight on Mister Cartwright's part but I am afraid that we haven't received a payment in over five months. I really can not let this go on much longer."
"No, of course not." The pencil moved with more force. "You can transfer the overdue amount from my personal savings account."
"Well, I appreciate that Miss Cartwright but I am afraid at this point the loan is considered to be in default and we have to ask for full repayment."
"Fine. You can take whatever is owed from my account." She nestled the phone between her ear and shoulder, freeing up her hand to grab a piece of paper. "Can you please tell me the exact repayment amount so I can mark my records?"
The pencil dropped to the desk and clattered onto the floor. "What?"
"I said the total with interest and late fees comes to seventeen thousand six hundred forty-two dollars and twenty three cents. I'll have that withdrawn from your account immediately."
"Mister Barker?"
"Yes?"
" In the future, make certain you check with me personally before approving any more loans for any member of my family."
"Certainly, Miss Cartwright."
There was a pause before Ronnie realized that he had said something else. "Excuse me, I'm afraid I didn't hear you."
"I asked if there w
as anything the bank could do for you today." the banker repeated.
"No. I think you've done enough, thank you."
"Have a good day, Miss Cartwright," he said, but she had already hung up.