When she got to the hospital, she found Frank in the waiting room. He got up at once, came to her, and held her hands. “How is she?” Dani asked.
“Better,” he informed her. “She’s going to make it. The nurses are doing something for her now.” He held her hands tightly and shook his head. “Physically, that is.”
Dani stared at him. “What does that mean, Frank?”
“She’s not herself,” Frank cried out. “She won’t talk, Dani. Just lies there and stares at the ceiling.”
“She’s had a rough time, Frank.”
“Sure, but—it’s more than that. Even the doctors say so.” He dropped her hands and lit a cigarette, puffing at it nervously. “One of them talked to me about an hour ago. He says she’s not doing so good mentally. Says she could lose her mind. Oh, that’s not the way he put it, of course! But it’s what he meant.”
“I don’t believe it.” Dani shook her head. “God didn’t spare her life to let her lose her mind.”
Frank’s head came up, and he stared at her intently. “Good to hear you say that.” He tried to smile and failed. “I’ve been here all this time, thinking about what a sorry deal I gave her. Rosemary’s got her problems, but then who hasn’t? I should have been more help to her.”
“It’s not too late for that.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s so. Say, only one person can go in. Would you take the next visit, Dani? I think it might help her to see you. And I need to get back home and see the kids. I’m worried about them.”
Dani said, “I’ve stayed close to them all morning. Ben’s got them now.” She told him about Savage’s idea to take them back to the pool area at once. “It worked, too. Now that place won’t be filled with ghosts.”
Frank was impressed. “That Ben, he’s pretty sharp! Well, I guess they ought to be finished by now.” He led her out of the waiting room down the hall to number 1133. Stepping aside, he let Dani go first. Dani saw Rosemary lying on the bed, her eyes closed. She looked pale, but not as bad as Dani had imagined.
Frank walked to the bed, announcing, “Rosemary, Dani is here to see you.” But Rosemary lay absolutely still and silent.
“Don’t wake her up, Frank,” Dani directed. “You go get some rest. I’ll stay with her. Maybe you could come back about midnight.”
“All right.” He turned to go, then paused, a thoughtful expression in his dark eyes. “Dani, I don’t see how the Lanzas could have made it without you. I saw how you jumped in front of my father. And the way you’ve held the kids together through all this—”
Dani didn’t want a heavy scene. “It goes with the service,” she told him lightly. “Ross Investigations—best in town!”
“It’s not that way,” Frank objected, but then turned and left.
Dani sat down beside Rosemary, looking into her face and praying silently. Time flowed by slowly, and finally Rosemary stirred.
Dani quietly called out, “Rosemary, it’s Dani.” At first there was no reaction, but then as Dani continued to speak, Rosemary opened her eyes. The eyes did not turn; they remained fixed on the ceiling, just as Frank had said. Perplexed, Dani continued to call Rosemary’s name and even moved to where she could face the sick woman, but there was no response, none at all. After an hour, Dani felt defeated. Then a thought came to her. She put both hands on the woman’s head and began praying audibly. “Lord Jesus, thank You for Rosemary’s life. Thank You that she is getting well! You, O Lord, are keeping her from death, and are putting Your health into her. . . .”
She prayed fervently but in a quiet voice for a long while, not conscious of time at all. Suddenly she came back to the sense of the room, for she had felt a movement in Rosemary’s body. Looking down, she saw that the woman’s eyes were open. “Rosemary? Are you awake?”
There was a slight flicker in Rosemary’s eyes, but no more than that. The woman seemed to be in a coma of some sort, for though she stared at the ceiling, no recognition entered her eyes. Dani kept speaking to her very softly, calling her name and trying to awaken her. But there was no response. Finally Dani’s back grew strained, and she got up and stretched. Rosemary didn’t move, and there was something a little frightening about the way she stared blankly at the ceiling.
Dani walked over and got a glass of water, then moved back to the bed and once again began praying for Rosemary. This time she felt as if she were trying to swim against an overpowering tide. The words she tried to speak lodged in her throat, and she had to force them out. Her neck began to ache, and as time ran on an almost overwhelming urge to get up and leave the room pulled at her. Just to get away! But something in her rose up, and finally she cried aloud, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I rebuke you, powers of darkness!” As soon as she spoke, something like an overwhelming nausea came to her, and she felt that she was going to be sick. But she continued to pray, rebuking the devil and crying out for God to deliver Rosemary.
Finally she felt so exhausted she laid her head on the bed, eyes closed and almost panting for breath, so severe had been the struggle. It was so quiet all she could hear was the sound of her own ragged breathing. Then— something touched her head!
Quickly she lifted her head and found that Rosemary was looking at her. The injured woman had reached down and touched her, and there was life in her eyes.
“Rosemary!” Dani exclaimed, grasping her hand. “Are you all right?”
Rosemary licked her lips and stared around the room. “Dani? What is this place?”
“You’ve been hurt, Rosemary, but you’re going to be all right.”
Rosemary looked at her, then Dani saw her memory return. She tried to lift herself and cried out, “The children—!”
“They’re fine,” Dani assured her. “But how do you feel?”
“I don’t know.” She looked around. “I’ve been having awful dreams, Dani. Everything was dark, and I was being pulled down into some kind of terrible pit!” Then she grabbed Dani’s hand and held it tightly. “And then I heard you praying—and it was as if you pulled me back out of it!”
“Don’t think about it,” Dani told her. She poured a glass of water and gave it to Rosemary. “The doctors say you’re going to be all right, Frank told me.”
“Where—where is Frank?”
“He’s been here all the time.” Dani smiled. “I just came a little while ago and made him get some rest. He’ll be back soon.”
Rosemary stared at her, then shook her head. “I let them down, Dani. The children and Frank, too. It would have been better if I had died.”
Dani cried out at once, “No, don’t say that, Rosemary! God has spared you, and now you have to use your life for His purpose.”
Rosemary stared at her, and for the next hour Dani sat there, reading from the New Testament and giving what encouragement she could. Rosemary seemed to hang on her words. Finally a doctor came in and stopped abruptly. “Well!” He spoke in obvious amazement. “Look at this!” He came over and took Rosemary’s hand, then looked into her pupils carefully. Finally he smiled and announced, “You’re doing fine, Mrs. Lanza. We were getting a little worried about you.”
Dani rose and reported, “I’ll be going now, but Frank will be here as soon as he can.”
“Will you come back, too, Dani?” Rosemary asked, holding out her hand.
“Of course I will!” Dani smiled. “I’ll be a regular pest!”
She left and, driving home, began to thank God for what He had done. It was a miracle, in her mind, and when she got back to the house and told Frank, he was incredulous.
“You say she knew you?”
“Yes, and the doctor said she was fine. He was worried about her.”
“Yes, I know.” Frank hesitated, then demanded, “Dani, will you be staying?”
The question was direct, but Dani was exhausted. “Oh, Frank, I don’t know!” She drew her hand across her forehead, then stared at him. “I’m too tired to think now. But I’ve already found out that I’m not going
to handle what happened.” She could not even force herself to say that she had killed a man.
Frank took her arm and held her still. “Dani, you must stay!”
He would have said more, and Dani saw the impulse in his eyes to put his arms around her. She drew back at once. “Frank, I’ll do what I can, but you have a fine wife with some big problems. Your first priority is to stand beside her like a rock. Don’t let anything get in the way of that.” She hesitated and added, “A lot of men can’t handle it when their wives fail. They start looking for a newer model—and I’ve never seen that work out one time! Rosemary is all the woman any man needs, and you and your children are going to have to put it all together. It’ll cost you something. But I believe those words in the ceremony, ‘for better or for worse,’ mean something!”
Frank flushed and pulled back his hand. “Sorry, Dani. It’s just that—well, we need you bad right now.” Then he turned and said, “I’ll get to the hospital. Will you tell my father and the kids about Rosemary?”
“I’ll tell them, Frank. But remember, she’s on the razor’s edge. It’s no time to lecture her. What she needs is—what we all need, I think.” She felt his inquiring gaze and smiled faintly. “A lot of unconditional love. Not ‘I’ll love you if,’ but ‘I’ll love you no matter what’!”
13
Savage Pays a Call
* * *
Aw, Dad, you’re not going to make me pay the whole thing, are you?”
Frank Lanza grinned broadly at Matt, who had just landed on Boardwalk and was scowling fiercely. “This is the big time, Matt,” he warned. “We’re playing hardball here, not some kiddie game!”
“Oh, Frank,” Rosemary objected, “that’s mean!” She was sitting up, propped in an armchair, and there was more color in her face than usual. Ever since she had come home from the hospital she had been very quiet, but Dani had spent much time with her, building up her confidence. For the first time in years she was not drinking, and best of all, all the children had come to visit her often. She had been confined to her bed, but Dani maneuvered them so adroitly that much of their free time was spent in Rosemary’s room. She had bought every game she could find, including one called Chutes and Ladders that Pat loved but the others hated. Scrabble was a battle, but the old standby, Monopoly, was the favorite, and every evening the children gathered for a game that ended with cries of protest as Dani had to drag them off to their bedrooms.
Just before time for the game to begin, Dani had sought Frank out in his office. He looked up with a smile as she came in. “Hello, Teacher. What’s up?”
“Monopoly is up,” Dani told him. “I want you to join us tonight for a little while, Frank.”
A frown creased his brow, and he shook his head. “I’m not much good with games, Dani.”
“I don’t care about that,” she objected sharply. “You need to spend some time with the children—and with Rosemary. They need you, Frank.” She smiled and added, “It’ll be good for you. You’re looking washed out.”
He tossed the papers down on the desk, which was littered with all sorts of reports and he sighed wearily. “I’m no bookkeeper, Dani. No matter how many times I go over this stuff, it doesn’t make any sense.”
“I thought Eddy did the accounting.”
“Yeah, he does—him and Max. He was in here for three hours, trying to explain what’s happening, but I just don’t have the brain for it.” He struck the papers with his fist and gave a frustrated look at the ceiling. “If this keeps up, we’ll all be in the poorhouse!”
Dani hesitated, then offered, “I’ll make you a deal, Frank. You go play Monopoly, and I’ll look at the books.”
He stared at her, then nodded. “Hey, I forgot about you being a CPA. That’s a deal!” He got up and walked around the desk. “I’d dig ditches to get away from these books. Take over, Dani, and I hope you can make something out of this mess!”
He had gone to Rosemary’s room and found her sitting up. “I put your teacher to work,” he announced. “So I’m here to show you guys how this game should really be played!” All three children came to hug him, and he was ashamed when he realized how little time he’d spent with them. Got to do better than I’ve been doing, he thought. He hugged them all and sat down. Looking at Rosemary, he asked, “Isn’t this too much for you?”
“No, Frank,” she disclaimed quickly. “I—I like it!”
She was, he saw, more beautiful than ever. She had always been a beauty, but the wound had thinned her down, until her features became one sharp relief. Her dark-blue eyes looked enormous as she stared at him, and there was a softness in her lips that had been lacking for a long time. She wore a pink flowered silk robe and a new hairstyle.
“You look great,” Frank interjected. “Done something new with your hair, haven’t you?”
Rosemary’s hand fluttered to her breast, and she nodded. It had been a long time since he had noticed her. “Yes. Dani helped me with it.”
“It looks good on you.” He hesitated, then suddenly reached over and took her hand. It felt like a fragile bird in his. “You gave us quite a scare, you know? I just about lost it when I thought you were—” He broke off suddenly and dropped her hand. “Well—I’m glad you’re feeling okay.”
“Dani said that God saved her, Dad,” Pat pronounced loudly.
Frank looked at him; then a smile touched his tough lips. “Well, I’m no expert, Pat, so if she says it, it must be so.” Then he felt awkward and brusquely asked, “Well, what about this game? I haven’t played for a long time, but I gotta warn you, I play for keeps!”
The game had gone on, and soon Frank was immersed in the action. He found himself watching the children, finding in their style of play a revelation of their personalities. Timid Rachel tried to keep a large amount of cash rather than plunging into building houses and hotels. Matt, on the other hand, was reckless to a fault. He played intently, howling with agony when he had to pay a large sum and gloating when he had a victory. Pat was partners with Rosemary, and he insisted on moving his man around the board. Though he understood little about the game itself, he loved sitting close to his mother, and he joined in the cries that went up from time to time as players won or lost.
Rosemary, Frank saw, was incapable of playing a hard game. Any time one of the children got into trouble, she would try to get the others to show mercy. Hers was a gentle spirit, one that he suddenly remembered had drawn him to her in the first place. As the game went on, he watched her covertly, marveling at how the tragedy had transformed her. He had always admired her beauty, but he became aware that it was her gentleness that made her what she was. He was painfully aware that he had not taken that gentleness into account in days gone by. When she had first started drinking, he had spoken to her sharply, disciplining her as he would have a member of his organization. Because he had grown up in a hard school, Frank had no knowledge of how a gentle hand is sometimes best.
Should have treated her better, he thought. She would have responded to kindness better than what I gave her.
Just then Matt landed on Boardwalk and began pulling at his hair. It amused Frank, and he teased the boy, “This is the big time, Matt.”
But Rosemary had looked at her son’s face, and suddenly she reached out and laid her hand on Frank’s arm. “Frank, let him off this one time!”
Frank smiled at her and looked at his son’s face. “You’d want to let Jack the Ripper off, Rosemary. Okay, just this one time,” he relented. “But the next time I land on one of those orange places, Matt, you better be nice to me!”
Rosemary’s smile bloomed then, and she encouraged him, “That’s nice, Frank!”
Her husband shook his head. “Good thing you don’t run the business, Rosemary,” he commented. “We’d be broke in a month!” He stopped then, for something had taken the sweet smile from Rosemary’s face. Of course, he knew that it was her distaste for the business. She had always hated it, and that had been at the core of many of their misunde
rstandings. Frank had felt her displeasure and had hardened his manner toward her.
Once he had lashed out at her, “I notice you don’t mind spending the money I make! You’re not too good for that!”
But he never forgot her answer. With a quivering lip, she’d commented, “I don’t care what we have, Frank. I just don’t want to be ashamed of what we are.”
As the game went on, Frank was quieter, hopelessly wondering how he and Rosemary would ever reconcile their views.
Finally he noticed that Rosemary looked tired. “Hey, it’s time to get some sleep,” he announced. As usual there were cries of protest, but he stilled them all. “We’ll call this game a tie. The next time, I’m wiping up all of you.”
“Tomorrow, Daddy?” Rachel had come to take his hand and was looking up at him with a pleading expression.
“Why—sure, Baby,” he responded. He picked her up, then Pat came and leaped into his arms. “You’re too big to haul, Matt,” he said. “Come on, I’ll throw you all in the sack.”
He made a game out of it, throwing them into their beds time and time again as they squealed like small pigs. Finally he got them down and came back to Rosemary’s room. She was still sitting in the chair, a happy look on her face. “They had such a good time, Frank!” she told him.
“Well, so did I,” he admitted. “Have to do this more often.”
“It was—like it used to be, wasn’t it?”
He shifted uncomfortably, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. You need help to get back to bed?”
“If you wouldn’t mind, Frank.”
She got to her feet, and a spasm of pain crossed her lips, pulling them into a thin line. When he saw that it hurt her to walk, he suddenly reached down and picked her up. She turned pink and cried, “Oh, I can walk!”
He ignored her and carried his wife across the room, thinking how light she was. Reaching the bed he glanced at her. She raised her eyes, and met his. The vulnerability he saw there softened him. “I’m glad you’re all right, Rosemary,” he told her quietly. He struggled for words and could not seem to find them. Finally he put her gently on the bed and drew the covers up. It was an awkward moment for both of them as bitter words and harsh scenes tried to rise from the past.
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