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I spread my hands wide. “Don’t worry about that.”
He growls like a grizzly bear. “Don’t want charity. Just dump me in the garbage.”
We sit there, mute, until a nurse comes in. “M. Martin, please come with me. The doctor will do a full medical evaluation, and we will escort you back here to wait for the results.”
“Can my nephew come with me?” He’s moved into the whining phase.
“Sorry, but that’s not allowed. He will be here when you get back.”
I help him up. The nurse takes his arm, but he pulls away. There is a little struggle before he gives in and is led off. The priest and I eye each other.
“You are very good to do this for your uncle,” he says.
“Not really. I don’t want him living with my mother, so I am doing it for her.” Not that she appreciates it. I get more coffee. At this rate I’ll be shaking as much as Uncle François. After I gulp down the lukewarm liquid, I excuse myself to find the toilet. When I get back, the priest is still waiting.
“I’m surprised to see you at a public clinic,” I say as I pick up a bottle of water.
“I’m a volunteer. Many people need reassurance, whether or not they are religious, and I feel that is part of my calling.”
An hour and a half passes. The receptionist comes in. “M. Martin, please come with me.”
Father Thibault gives me a thumbs-up as I go back to the counselor’s office. Uncle François isn’t there.
“Please sit down, M. Martin.”
I wait, trying not to fidget, while she looks through some papers.
“Because your uncle is in withdrawal, we need to hospitalize him until we can transfer him to rehab. I want to go over the options with you.”
I rub one thumb over the other as I regard her. “I want a place with an excellent reputation that he can get into quickly. I need to get back to Chicago, but we must resolve this first.”
She nods and passes over a list of programs. Leaning over her desk, she taps the third one down. “This is an excellent facility, although expensive.”
“I’m not worried about that. How soon can they get him in?”
“They can take him in three days. That’s the minimum waiting period for private facilities. The other ones I spoke to would need seven days before they could transfer him.”
“Fine, let’s go with that one.”
“Do you want to go out there and see what it’s like?”
Maman would like that, but at this point, I don’t care. “No. I’m sure it will be acceptable.” I switch from rubbing my thumb to stroking my throat. “Where is he, by the way? Do I need to drive him to the hospital?”
“He is going by ambulance.” She scribbles on a piece of paper. “He’ll be at Vancouver General. You can visit him there.”
“And the transfer to rehab?”
“They’ll pick him up from the hospital. No visitors for the first thirty days. But you can drop off his stuff any time in the next three days.” She stands and walks me out. “Have a good trip back home.”
I shake her hand. “Thank you for all your help.”
ChapterTwenty
A stiff apology is a second insult... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt—Gilbert K. Chesterton
JL
I can’t leavefor at least three more days, and with Uncle François on his way to the hospital, I don’t want to go back to Maman’s house either. She has sent me a string of texts, which I’ve ignored. We haven’t spoken since I found out how Angélique maneuvered Micki to leave. In her own way, she is just as guilty in my eyes.
