Friendship Cake by Lynne Hinton Page B

day, and, as bad days went, nothing was going to change that. Louise left Roxie with her pants hanging around her knees and went to the door.
    â€œCome in, Bea. We’re having a difficult morning.” Louise started walking back towards the hospital bed. “Roxie thinks the milk is rat bait and her blouse is a straitjacket. She’s fighting against everything.” She turned to Bea, who was following behind. “Maybe I should call and cancel the appointment. She can be a real handful when she’s like this.” Louise sat down in the chair next to the bed. Roxie was trying to take off her underwear.
    â€œNonsense. I mothered three children. I think I can handle things just fine.” Bea walked in the room and put her things on the coffee table. She took a look around, at the room, at the window, at the hospital bed, and finally at Roxie. “Good morning, Roxie. I’m Beatrice. Are you having a bad morning with Louise?” Bea went and knelt down in front of Roxie.
    â€œThey’re trying to kill me. Where’s the supervisor? He won’t put up with this nonsense.” She stood up and almost knocked Beatrice down.
    Beatrice thought for a moment. “Well, the supervisor sent me here to check on things. I’m sort of like the assistant to the supervisor. You can tell me all about the problems, but first Ithink you need to put your clothes on.” Beatrice picked up the blouse and pants. Roxie folded her arms about her waist and showed a determination for staying naked. Beatrice waited a minute, still standing with Roxie’s clothes in her arms, smiled at her, and then, much to Louise’s surprise, Roxie let Beatrice put them on her. There was no struggle at all.
    Finally Beatrice asked, “Now, why is someone trying to kill you? Do you know something you’re not supposed to know?” she whispered. “Have you done something that’s made them mad?”
    Roxie looked serious. She was giving great thought to the questions. “I think it’s about the red thread. I took some of the red thread.” She spoke very softly. “I think they know.”
    Beatrice whispered in reply. “Then we’ll put some red thread back so they won’t miss it.” She turned to Louise. “Do you have any red thread?”
    Louise was baffled by this entire exchange. She sat watching until Beatrice spoke her name; then she jumped. “Um, yeah, sure.” And she went into another room, brought back a spool of red thread, and handed it to Beatrice, who gave it to Roxie. Roxie started to cry.
    Beatrice sat beside her on the bed and rocked her. “There, there, Roxie. See, we have plenty of red thread. It’s okay. Nobody’s ever going to try to hurt you again.” Then she reached over for a tissue and gave it to Roxie, who wiped her own eyes and nose.
    â€œWell, Louise, you better tell me if there are any particular instructions I need to know, and then you need to hurry and get dressed.”
    Louise looked down at her khaki pants bought from the men’s department at Sears and the University of North Carolina sweatshirt. She thought she was dressed. “Actually, Bea, this is what I’m wearing to the doctor’s, but, you’re right, I do need to get going.”
    Louise began looking for her shoes. “She usually naps after breakfast and then has a snack around ten thirty. She takes the orange pill then. I don’t put a diaper on her during the day because generally she can tell me when she needs to go. But it’s always a gamble. Snack is a piece of fruit or peanut butter crackers.” Louise walked into the kitchen with Beatrice close behind her.
    â€œHere’s the ten-thirty pill. It’s a vitamin really. But I think they help her memory a little. There’s juice in the fridge. The fruit is in the small Tupperware dishes, and the crackers are there on the counter. She didn’t eat breakfast,