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Previously in "Distracting," Dr. Nailor (the specialist) paid a visit to Lily reaffirming the fact that she is not pregnant, while Rick told Zoë, Grace, and Jessie about Lily's hospitalization.
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Part 10 "Before Anything Disastrous"Karen, Katie, and Judy were finishing up all the details that come with closing a store for the night. Karen was balancing the books, Katie was taking care of a few disorganized aisles, and Judy was putting out some new releases in a display. Between the three of them, they were making quick work of the tasks.
When she had finished up with her display, Judy made her way to the register, where Karen was putting the finishing touches on the books for the night. "Thanks for all the help tonight," Judy said, leaning against the counter. Karen could see the stress in Judy's posture. Her body was a mixture of tension and exhaustion.
"Oh, it's no problem. You know that," Karen explained with a gentle smile. "I'm almost done here. Just another minute or so." Judy nodded. She picked up some things scattered around the counter, grabbed some cleaner and a rag to wipe it down—anything to keep herself busy. Karen picked up on the anxiety. "I'm sure she's going to be Ok." Karen said. She put the last total into the registry and closed it. Judy continued to wipe down the counter, only nodding slightly.
"I know," Judy responded without looking up. "I'm just worried about her." Rick had been so cryptic on the phone—she didn't even know what exactly was wrong. And, she couldn't help but think of the baby. Was it a complication with the pregnancy? Judy tried to stop all these worse-case thoughts from continuing. Besides, if Rick knew that Lily was dangerously ill, he surely would have told her.
Karen watched Judy wipe the counter. Her friend was clearly in another place. "Don't do this to yourself," Karen said gently. "It may be nothing after all."
"I know. I know." Judy repeated. She stopped wiping the counter to look at Karen. "I'm just…" Judy paused. She glanced over to see that Katie was still busily arranging up books in the corner of the store. "Lily thinks she's pregnant," Judy explained in a whisper.
"Oh, wow," Karen replied, understanding more completely the gravity of Judy's concern. "When did this—I mean—"
"She told Rick right before Jake and Tiffany's wedding. They haven't really told anyone yet. It's not quite a certainty—she hasn't gone to the doctor, but—" Karen was surprised to say the least—it was written in the expression on her face. "Yeah," Judy said in response to Karen's stunned silence.
Karen as well as anyone could empathize with Lily—being hospitalized with kids to care for… she had been there. But, add a new baby into the mix—that was heavy stuff.
The two women were lost in their own thoughts for another moment before Judy interrupted their shared silence, "You don't think that something's wrong. With the baby?" Judy asked, afraid to voice her concern too loudly, as if she would jinx everything.
Karen certainly hoped not. She shook her head and gave her shoulders a half-hearted shrug. "I don't know." Karen did her best to smile reassuringly, and Judy did her best to return the gesture.
"I should get to the hospital," she said, the words kind of sticking in her throat.
Karen nodded and reached over to give Judy a hug. "If there's anything you or Rick or Lily need…"
Judy nodded. "You know," she began. "We've all spent entirely too much time at the hospital lately." Karen laughed softly.
"Yes we have," she agreed.
"Do you need a ride or anything?" Judy offered.
"Oh, I'll just call Eli. You get going."
Katie had finished up her portion of the work and was approaching the two women at the counter when she overheard the last few seconds of their conversation. "I can give you a ride," Katie motioned toward the door of the store. "My car's outside."
Judy smiled. "I really appreciate your help tonight," she said, looking both Katie and Karen in the eye.
"No problem," Katie said with a shrug.
"Anytime," Karen added.
With that, the three filed out of the store. Judy locked up and headed toward the hospital. Katie took her girlfriend's mother home.
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Rick steered Grace and Zoë down the hallway toward their mother's hospital room. When they reached the door, Rick knocked and then slowly opened the door. He peered in to make sure Lily wasn't with a doctor or in the bathroom. He found her lying in bed—he couldn't help but think she looked considerably more run down than she had before he left. He also noticed the I.V. she was now hooked up to. Lily smiled when she saw him poke his head into the room. Rick smiled back. "There you are."
"Right where you left me," Lily replied. Rick ushered Grace and Zoë in and then closed the door behind them. "Hi girls," Lily said motioning for them to come over to her. Both went over and gave their mother a hug.
"How are you feeling?" Grace asked. Rick pulled the two chairs in the room next to the bed, so that the girls could sit by their mother.
"Better actually. How was school?" Lily countered, wanting the conversation to stay as light as possible. She didn't want her daughters worrying needlessly. After all, it was possible that a virus was the extent of her illness.
"Fine," Zoë said. "But we got stuck at Jessie's appointment." Lily looked at her, obviously confused by what the statement meant.
Luckily, Grace clarified. "The van broke down when we went to pick up Jessie."
"Ah," Lily replied. "How'd you get home? Did you get it started again?"
"Judy picked them up," Rick answered. "I'm going to try to get over to the doctor's office in the morning to check on it."
A knock on the door disturbed the festivities in the room. Rick went to answer the knock and found Judy in the hallway.
"Speak of the devil," Lily said, seeing who had come for a visit. Judy came inside. "I hear you picked the girls up today," Lily explained.
"Right. The van incident." Grace and Judy shared a look, both clearly remembering the awkwardness of the ride home.
"How's the store?" Rick asked. Judy was thankful for the change of subject.
"Pretty busy," Judy moved so that she was standing behind Grace and Zoë's chairs. She gave Zoë an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder and smiled. Zoë looked up, grateful to see her aunt. "So what's the scoop?" Judy asked, returning her attention to Lily.
"Well, the doctor was just in," Lily started carefully. "He had the nurse set me up with this I.V. of antibiotics."
"Thought that looked new," Rick said.
"They're going to do some tests tomorrow morning and then hopefully I'll be able to go home," Lily said, forcing an enthusiasm she really didn't feel.
"What do you have?" Zoë asked, glad to hear that her mother may be home as soon as tomorrow.
"They're not quite sure. The doctor says it may be a virus of some sort."
Judy nodded, her brow furrowed, trying to understand what was going on with her sister's health. "Hence the antibiotics."
"Right."
"Well, that's good," Grace said, looking to her mom for assurance. "If it's just a virus."
"Yeah."
The room was quiet for a moment. Lily caught Judy's eye for a moment, and Judy could see the worry in her sister's face. Despite Lily's attempts to assure her daughters that she was feeling good, Judy could tell that there was something Lily wasn't quite forthcoming about.
Rick made the first move to break the silence in the room. "Well, I'm going to run and get a coffee. Lil—you need anything?"
"Maybe some more water."
"You got it. Anybody else? Gracie? Zoë?" The girls shook their heads 'no.' Rick turned to Judy.
"I'll go with you," she answered, picking up the water jug from the bedside table. Judy saw the trip as an opportunity to talk to Rick, get the scoop on what was really happening. She hoped that talking face-to-face, Rick might be more forthcoming about what was going on than he was earlier on the phone.
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Next time in "Distracting," Rick and Judy
hypothesize about Lily's health, Katie asks Karen for some advice, and Lily
feigns bravery for Grace and Zoë's benefit.
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