Folly Beach - Dorothea Benton Frank [108]
Then there was the argument of how much to keep and what to cut. The most unusual aspect of the writing of Porgy and Bess was that the majority of the time we were writing the libretto and some lyrics, we were in South Carolina and Gershwin was in New York. But George and DuBose devised their own notation system so that George and Ira could set our lyrics to music in the tempo we envisioned. Sounds wacky, but it worked!
So when George came down, I rented a piano for him from Siegling Music House, which was a real beauty, by the way, and we were to hear our lyrics set to his music for the first time. It was terribly exciting.
We went over to his cottage with some champagne and a shaker of something good and George played and played and played. It was so astoundingly beautiful and I was so moved that I cried like a baby. For the first time I saw George as he truly was in his heart. He wasn’t just an egomaniac. He was a brilliant young man who loved his music and he loved to play it for you. Now I ask you. What’s the matter with that?
Fade to Darkness
Chapter Twenty-four
The Sisters
We went up in the elevator together—Patti, Russ, and I—and I led them to Aunt Daisy’s room where Ella sat right inside the doorway, staring at Aunt Daisy in her bed, no doubt continuing to chastise herself and praying Aunt Daisy well at the same time. It was plain to see that nothing had changed. I tapped on the window to get Ella’s attention. She came out, hugged Patti and then Russ. She had been crying and I decided right then that she was not going to spend the night there, working herself into a state of morbid anxiety and winding up sick herself. It just wasn’t a good idea.
First, Russ went in for a few minutes and then Patti took her turn. When Patti came out she rolled her eyes at me and whispered, holy shit.
I nodded in agreement. Seeing someone you love in Aunt Daisy’s condition was a holy shit moment if ever there was one.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
I slipped down to the nurses’ station and asked if Nurse Tolli Rosol was still around and she was.
“Oh, hi!” she said. “Just FYI? That was the best pecan pie I ever had in my life.”
“Good, good! Ella will be thrilled to hear it. Listen, I actually wanted to ask you for a little help with Ella . . .”
She understood perfectly, because sentinel relatives and friends who held their posts like the Swiss Guards at the Vatican were a common occurrence and she knew exactly how to handle it.
“I’ll give her about thirty more minutes, okay?”
“That would be terrific,” I said, adding, “thanks.”
And sure enough, about thirty minutes later she came strolling down the hall with Aunt Daisy’s chart and stopped to say hello to everyone.
“This is my sister Patti from Alpine, New Jersey,” I said.
“Oh! Nice to meet you,” Nurse Tolli said. “I have a cousin in Summit.”
“No kidding,” Patti said, “small world.”
“And this is my son, Russ, who coaches basketball at James Island and teaches, too.”
“Really? What grade?”
“Tenth,” he said and smiled.
“That’s a challenge, I’m sure. And, Ms. Johnson? Did Cate tell you what I said about your pie?”
“She did,” Ella said. She smiled and was all ears for the compliment to come. “Thank you.”
“Well, it’s true. Delicious! Now, y’all aren’t planning to spend the night again, are you?”
“I most certainly am,” Ella said and raised her chin a little. She didn’t think for a minute that this little nurse was a match for her determination.
“No, you won’t be doing that tonight,” Nurse Tolli said.
“And why not?” Ella said, surprised.
“Because I’m here. Ms. McInerny is under total surveillance from my station. If her blood pressure changes one little bit or her temperature goes up or down even one tenth of a degree, all my alarms go off. We’re so high-tech up here in ICU it’s better than having her own mother watching over her, believe me. And you need to get your rest because when she comes