The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [11]
"Nothing happened. I just went to the beach." Lena adored Grandma Kath, but she felt fine now, and resented this minor medical drama. "Can I call Pem now? We were supposed to get together. She's probably wondering what happened to me."
Cole reappeared, dragging Lena's quilt with him. "Here," he said. "In case she feels cold."
Lena looked at her sun-and-moon quilt—made by Grandma Kath—and smiled. "Aw, thank you, Coley." Normally he wasn't allowed in her room, but she couldn't get mad at him when he was trying to take care of her.
"Which side do you want?" he asked.
"The sunny side," she said. One side of the quilt was sky-blue flannel with a yellow velvet sun stitched in the middle; the other side was midnight-blue velour spangled with white stars, and a satiny moon in the center.
Cole struggled to drape the heavy quilt over Lena's shoulders. When he was satisfied she was warm enough, he went back to his game.
Grandma Kath resumed her ministrations. "Breathe in," she said, placing the stethoscope on Lena's chest. "Did you fall down at any point? I know you sometimes climb on the rocks."
"No." Lena inhaled.
"And breathe out. Did you go in the water?"
Lena exhaled, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I went in all the way up to my knees."
"Do you remember if the sun on the water was especially bright or shimmering?"
"It just looked normal."
"Did you hear anything unusual?"
Lena hesitated. "No," she lied.
Grandma Kath gave her a sharp look. "Right. One more big breath in. Good. And let it out. Did you see anyone else? Speak to anyone?"
"Grandma, it's the weekend. Of course there were other people on the beach. But no, I didn't talk to anyone."
"And how are you feeling now?"
"Fine."
"Not feeling sleepy or nauseated?"
"No. Can we be done with this?"
"Certainly." Grandma Kath smiled and packed up her things. "You're fit as a fiddle. Would you be a love and let your brother have a listen to your heart?"
Lena sighed, but agreed. Cole sat next to Lena, and Grandma Kath put the ends of the stethoscope in his ears. Then she showed him where to put the chestpiece so he could hear Lena's heartbeat.
A rapt look came over Cole's face. "Lena, I hear your heart," he said, his blue eyes shining.
She smiled. "How does it sound?"
"Like this." He imitated the sound of a heartbeat. "Want to listen to mine?"
"Of course." She reached for the stethoscope.
Grandma Kath carried her bag of nurse-y tricks over to the kitchen table, where Mom and Dad were hovering.
Placing the stethoscope against Cole's little boy chest, Lena pretended to listen to his heart, but she slipped one of the ear tips out of her ear so she could hear what Grandma Kath said.
"...blood count would be a good idea, but she seems fine. Keep her home today, so you can observe her. Watch for lethargy or irritability."
Lena kept her expression neutral, but she thought, I'll be irritable if you make me stay home, duh!
"I want to be a nurse when I grow up," said Cole.
"Do you? Turn around and I'll listen through your back," said Lena.
As Cole scooted around, Lena heard her mom say, "...straight to the ER next time."
Lena's eyes bugged out slightly before she could compose her face. The ER?!
"Or a quarterback," added Cole.
Lena regarded his small shoulder blades, so fragile-looking. She was tempted to place a kiss right between them, but he probably wouldn't appreciate that, so she just placed the stethoscope on his back, murmuring, "Hmm."
Then she heard her dad's voice, low and urgent. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she caught one word: "...Lucy."
Lena kept her gaze fixed on Cole's back, but her heart thumped harder. No one ever talked about Lucy, her real mother. She had died when Lena was barely four. Her dad had married Allie—Mom—when Lena was nine.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" asked Cole.
Lena strained to hear the adults' conversation, but they were whispering.
"Lena,"