A little while later the group was gathered in Lona's living room,
all of them looking more worried than every. Elmer was still clutching Lona's bathrobe, clinging to it like some sort of security blanket.
"Did anyone find anything?" Hook asked. He was obviously going to take the lead in this whole mess. With how Louis was moving back and forth between anger at his son and worry for his friend, he was obviously in no shape to and as for Elmer, well, he was definitely in no shape to do anything but panic. Chris was definitely capable but from the looks of things, she was going to defer to his judgment on this.
"All of her clothes are either in the closet or the clothes hamper." Elmer said with a shake of his head. "Well, except for what she was wearing yesterday. Where could she go without her clothes?" Somehow,
he didn't really think that Lona was the type to decide to pay a trip to a nudist resort on the spur of the moment.
"And how do you know so much about Lona's clothes?" Louis said s he looked at his son suspiciously. Okay, he knew that Elmer was really upset and this definitely wasn't the time to be pushing things with him but he was definitely worried. Lona was his friend. Could she have really left because of Elmer's constant pursuit of her? Had things turned more serious?
"I'm not an idiot, you know, Dad." Elmer said with an angry look at his father. Why did his dad always do this to him, treat him like he was some sort of ignorant, foolish little boy. He felt tears starting to well up inside once more as he thought about it. He had tried so hard when he was younger, done anything he could think of to please his father but his dad had always preferred Edgar the golden boy to him. Why? Why wasn't he good enough for his dad, for Lona? He shook his head as he stood abruptly and stalked away, further back into the house. He couldn't stand it anymore.
"Louis, you know Elmer's smart. Calm down, okay?" Hook said as he walked over and put a hand on the other doctor's shoulder, keeping him from rising and going after Elmer. He shook his head as he thought of the Elmer/Louis situation. He hated it when they got going like this and he knew it would only get worse the longer that it went on. "Louis, you can't just keep going after him like that. You know what Elmer's like."
Louis hung his head, a bit stung by Hook's words. Of course he knew how sensitive his son was to any sort of criticism but.... Why in the world could he never break out of this pattern with Elmer, the constant baiting? He loved his son. Why couldn't he just.... "I know." He said quietly as he looked at Hook. "It's just Lona leaving like this and Elmer.... Do you think she might have left just to get away from him?"
Louis didn't want to think that and he knew that there was definitely plenty of evidence to suggest something else had happened with Lona but that didn't ease his worry.
"Louis, can you honestly see Lona running away from Elmer and leaving her lab and all of her stuff behind?" Chris said with a shake of her head. Okay, she had been a bit afraid of that herself at first but she had quickly gotten over it. Lona would have been more likely to report Elmer to Hook or even worse to his father if things got to serious.
"Louis, there's no way she would do that. You know Lona. If Elmer was giving her a real problem, she would have either bopped him and told him off or came to you about it. She wouldn't have ran away."
After Louis slowly nodded, Hook spoke. "So, where does that leave us?" What Chris had said made perfect sense and there was no way that he would believe that Lona had ran away from Elmer either. If they could just convince both Elmer and his dad of that now and get them working together.
"Is there anyone that she might have gone away with, a boyfriend or something?"
Chris shook her head. "Not unless she managed to conjure one up out of thin air. She's had a couple of doctors to escort her to several banquets but nothing that would count as a date in at least a year."
Hook's eyes widened in surprise at that announcement but he somehow restrained himself from commenting, especially since he didn't know if Elmer might not be within hearing or not. "Okay, so a little time off for some romance is out. So what do we have? I'm going to assume that Elmer's right about her clothes being here. Where would she go without her clothes, not to mention her car?"
"Have any of you been down to the ER today?" Louis said after several moments' thought. He hadn't checked there himself after seeing how crowded it was. "Maybe Elmer had the right idea? Henry did say that Lona looked pale and it was have to be serious for him to notice it. If she was sick...."
Hook nodded. ER was definitely a possibility and since they were seriously packed at the moment, there was definitely a chance that an ill colleague could have been overlooked somehow. "We head back to the hospital then?" And if Lona wasn't in the ER, maybe she was in one of the lounges somewhere trying to sleep a sudden illness off?
Louis and Chris nodded and the group moved into the hallway.
"Elmer?" Hook called. We're heading back to the hospital. Think you might be onto something with that idea of yours about Lona being sick.
We're going to check out the ER and see if they might have overlooked her."
"Coming!" Elmer called as he came down the hallway carrying a small bag, the robe still in his hand. He had thought of the hospital himself and had been about to leave and head back there when Hook had mentioned it first. When he noticed everyone looking at the bag in his hands, he reddened slightly. "I just thought that Lona might need some fresh clothes if she was sick or something."
Before Louis could say something and trigger another outburst,
Chris broke in. "That's probably a good idea, Elmer, especially if she's been stuck in the ER all this time."
Hook nodded his approval as well, holding the door open as he did so and motioning for the others to go out before him. He just hoped that they had some luck at the hospital. This entire situation was getting seriously worrisome.
all of them looking more worried than every. Elmer was still clutching Lona's bathrobe, clinging to it like some sort of security blanket.
"Did anyone find anything?" Hook asked. He was obviously going to take the lead in this whole mess. With how Louis was moving back and forth between anger at his son and worry for his friend, he was obviously in no shape to and as for Elmer, well, he was definitely in no shape to do anything but panic. Chris was definitely capable but from the looks of things, she was going to defer to his judgment on this.
"All of her clothes are either in the closet or the clothes hamper." Elmer said with a shake of his head. "Well, except for what she was wearing yesterday. Where could she go without her clothes?" Somehow,
he didn't really think that Lona was the type to decide to pay a trip to a nudist resort on the spur of the moment.
"And how do you know so much about Lona's clothes?" Louis said s he looked at his son suspiciously. Okay, he knew that Elmer was really upset and this definitely wasn't the time to be pushing things with him but he was definitely worried. Lona was his friend. Could she have really left because of Elmer's constant pursuit of her? Had things turned more serious?
"I'm not an idiot, you know, Dad." Elmer said with an angry look at his father. Why did his dad always do this to him, treat him like he was some sort of ignorant, foolish little boy. He felt tears starting to well up inside once more as he thought about it. He had tried so hard when he was younger, done anything he could think of to please his father but his dad had always preferred Edgar the golden boy to him. Why? Why wasn't he good enough for his dad, for Lona? He shook his head as he stood abruptly and stalked away, further back into the house. He couldn't stand it anymore.
"Louis, you know Elmer's smart. Calm down, okay?" Hook said as he walked over and put a hand on the other doctor's shoulder, keeping him from rising and going after Elmer. He shook his head as he thought of the Elmer/Louis situation. He hated it when they got going like this and he knew it would only get worse the longer that it went on. "Louis, you can't just keep going after him like that. You know what Elmer's like."
Louis hung his head, a bit stung by Hook's words. Of course he knew how sensitive his son was to any sort of criticism but.... Why in the world could he never break out of this pattern with Elmer, the constant baiting? He loved his son. Why couldn't he just.... "I know." He said quietly as he looked at Hook. "It's just Lona leaving like this and Elmer.... Do you think she might have left just to get away from him?"
Louis didn't want to think that and he knew that there was definitely plenty of evidence to suggest something else had happened with Lona but that didn't ease his worry.
"Louis, can you honestly see Lona running away from Elmer and leaving her lab and all of her stuff behind?" Chris said with a shake of her head. Okay, she had been a bit afraid of that herself at first but she had quickly gotten over it. Lona would have been more likely to report Elmer to Hook or even worse to his father if things got to serious.
"Louis, there's no way she would do that. You know Lona. If Elmer was giving her a real problem, she would have either bopped him and told him off or came to you about it. She wouldn't have ran away."
After Louis slowly nodded, Hook spoke. "So, where does that leave us?" What Chris had said made perfect sense and there was no way that he would believe that Lona had ran away from Elmer either. If they could just convince both Elmer and his dad of that now and get them working together.
"Is there anyone that she might have gone away with, a boyfriend or something?"
Chris shook her head. "Not unless she managed to conjure one up out of thin air. She's had a couple of doctors to escort her to several banquets but nothing that would count as a date in at least a year."
Hook's eyes widened in surprise at that announcement but he somehow restrained himself from commenting, especially since he didn't know if Elmer might not be within hearing or not. "Okay, so a little time off for some romance is out. So what do we have? I'm going to assume that Elmer's right about her clothes being here. Where would she go without her clothes, not to mention her car?"
"Have any of you been down to the ER today?" Louis said after several moments' thought. He hadn't checked there himself after seeing how crowded it was. "Maybe Elmer had the right idea? Henry did say that Lona looked pale and it was have to be serious for him to notice it. If she was sick...."
Hook nodded. ER was definitely a possibility and since they were seriously packed at the moment, there was definitely a chance that an ill colleague could have been overlooked somehow. "We head back to the hospital then?" And if Lona wasn't in the ER, maybe she was in one of the lounges somewhere trying to sleep a sudden illness off?
Louis and Chris nodded and the group moved into the hallway.
"Elmer?" Hook called. We're heading back to the hospital. Think you might be onto something with that idea of yours about Lona being sick.
We're going to check out the ER and see if they might have overlooked her."
"Coming!" Elmer called as he came down the hallway carrying a small bag, the robe still in his hand. He had thought of the hospital himself and had been about to leave and head back there when Hook had mentioned it first. When he noticed everyone looking at the bag in his hands, he reddened slightly. "I just thought that Lona might need some fresh clothes if she was sick or something."
Before Louis could say something and trigger another outburst,
Chris broke in. "That's probably a good idea, Elmer, especially if she's been stuck in the ER all this time."
Hook nodded his approval as well, holding the door open as he did so and motioning for the others to go out before him. He just hoped that they had some luck at the hospital. This entire situation was getting seriously worrisome.