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“I’m calling an ambulance,” Lily decided. “You need more help than I can give you.”
Half an hour later, the ambulance arrived and the attendants carefully lifted Gloria onto a stretcher.
“She’s a lucky lady,” one of the officers commented after Gloria was on board. “It could have been much worse. Falls from heights aren’t good for someone of her age.”
“So, she’s going to be all right?” Lily asked anxiously.
“We won’t know for sure until she has some scans, but it looks as if she might only have a broken leg and a broken jaw. Those are bad enough, but she’ll recover if they’re her only injuries.”
Lily gasped. “That’s all? That’s terrible! She’ll be out of action for weeks.”
“Yes, she might need to go for physical therapy before she comes home. But let’s not rush ahead of ourselves. The important thing is to get a diagnosis and treatment. Are you family?” the paramedic asked, peering at her over his glasses.
Lily shook her head. “I’m her neighbor.”
“What was she doing up the ladder?” he asked.
Lily didn’t know what to say. “I think she was looking over the fence,” she said at last.
The man’s lips twitched. “Curiosity killed the cat, as the old saying goes,” he replied. “It doesn’t always end well.”
Lily knew it might be a funny story one day, but right now, she was worried about Gloria and desperately hoping that Henry didn’t bring them any more disasters.
“Are you in touch with any family?” the ambulance officer asked.
“I know her son,” Lily replied. “He doesn’t live here, though.”
“It might be an idea to contact him and let him know what’s happened. The hospital might get around to it eventually, but if you do it, he’ll know sooner rather than later.”
“I will,” Lily said. “I hope she’s going to be okay.”
“She should be,” the man said confidently. “Don’t worry too much, okay? It’s a good thing you were nearby or she might’ve been lying on the ground for a long time.”
The other attendant popped his head out of the ambulance. “She’s ready to go,” he said.
Lily stood back and watched the ambulance drive slowly down the street. Several other neighbors stood in their yards watching, too. Fear clutched her heart as she realized that Gloria had seen Henry. Would she remember after the trauma of the fall? Or would she be unable to talk about it with her broken jaw? Lily would go to the hospital to see her later, but for now, she had to try to keep Henry hidden until Bec’s wandering vegan friends came home again. Her heart sank at the thought.
“Oh, bother.” Buried in the depths of her handbag, Lily’s phone rang as she headed for the United States Postal Service building on the corner. She dug around until she found it.
“Simply Divine Catering, this is Lily. How may I help you?”
As the caller inquired about her services and pricing, Lily hurried on toward the post office. She needed to post a letter before her appointment with the hairdresser in twenty minutes.
“I’ll send you some information,” she told the man. “Just give me a moment to find a pen and paper so I can write down your email address.”
She found the pen and paper and wrote down his contact details, then said goodbye. She carefully folded the piece of paper up and tucked it in an inner pocket of her handbag as she hastened on her errand.
BANG!
A blinding pain shot through her forehead as she flew through the air and landed in a heap on the sidewalk. Her handbag sailed over her head and landed with a thump, spilling its contents all over the ground. She looked up at the pole she’d run into in dismay as she clutched her forehead.
“Lily!”
The familiar voice was full of concern.
“Are you all right?”
She squinted up at the voice as she put her hand to her forehead. It came away red and sticky.
