Angel of Mercy by Andrew Neiderman Page B

It was nearly ten o’clock. He had slept that long? He never slept that long.
    He was a morning person. What surprised him even more was that no one had called to see how he was doing. Where were his sons, his relatives, his friends? Everyone else hadn’t overslept, had they? But when his eyes trailed the telephone wire, he noted that the phone had been unplugged. He hadn’t done that; he would never do that.
    He started to swing his legs over the side of the bed when she appeared in the doorway.
    “Good morning,” Susie said, smiling. She limped quickly across the room to open the curtains and let in the sunlight. It was so abrupt and the rays were so bright, reflecting off the cream-colored walls and the mirror over Sylvia’s vanity table, that he had to cover his eyes for a moment.
    “What’s happening?” Tommy asked. “Why are you here?”
    “Oh, I hope you don’t mind,” she said quickly. “My sister called me last night and told me to come over.
    She had to go home to get some sleep because she’s expecting to be scheduled for private duty shortly.”
    “Sister?” He thought, his eyes blinking rapidly.
    “Oh,” he realized, putting together her limp and her longer hair. He realized also that this woman was dressed in a maid’s uniform and not a nurse’s. “You’re ú.. the twin sister?”
    “Yes. My name is Susie,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind my being here.”
    “No, I… I’m just surprised to see you,” he said. It began to fall into place… Faye helping him to bed, giving him the sedative. “When did you say you arrived?”
    “Last night. I finished cleaning up while you were sleeping, and you were sleeping so soundly, I decided to keep people from bothering you.
    I hope you don’t mind.”
    “You’ve been here all night?” He shook his head, still a bit confused.
    “I never heard a sound.”
    “I unplugged your phone so it wouldn’t ring and wake you, but I took down the names of everyone who called this morning. I have the list in the kitchen.”
    “Where did you sleep?”
    “On the sofa in the den. It was quite comfortable.
    I’ve slept on worse sofas and in pretty uncomfortable chairs, believe me.”
    Tommy nodded. He started to get up and stopped.
    She sensed his modesty and went to the closet to take out the robe. He was surprised she knew it was hanging inside the door. She brought the robe to him and he took it without comment, although dozens of questions were buzzing around in his head.
    “I’ve got some oatmeal cooking, some juice and some coffee made. I also made some of those breakfast rolls your wife had in the freezer. Faye says you need something hot and substantial in your stomach.
    Grief wears you down, drains your body,” Susie said.
    He nodded.
    “I’ll just take a quick shower,” he decided.
    “I thought you would. I put a fresh towel in the bathroom for you.”
    “Thanks,” he said and continued to gaze up at her.
    Susie and Faye Sullivan couldn’t be much more than thirty, he thought.
    Either one could have been the daughter he and Sylvia had so wanted, but it was as if Sylvia’s body had shut down after Todd’s birth. She didn’t get pregnant again for the longest time, and when she did, it was an ectopic pregnancy.
    “I’ll get your breakfast together while you take your shower,” Susie said.
    He rose and went into the bathroom. After he was freshly shaved and dressed, he entered the kitchen to find his place all set, his orange juice waiting and his coffee steaming hot. She poured the oatmeal into a bowl and brought it to him with a hot roll. “You want honey or molasses over it?”
    “Honey’s fine,” he replied and she smiled, nodding.
    “That was the way my father liked it,” she said. She fetched the jar of honey and brought it to him, and then she poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table.
    “How is it? It’s not overcooked, is it?” she asked the moment he brought a spoonful to his