“You go in first,” she begged of the nurse, who had preceded her. “I’m not sure I look all right.”
“You look fine,” the nurse interrupted with a smile. “He’s seen enough of me. It’s you he wants. Go in to him just as you are, Mrs. Dobbs. I think it would be better if you went in alone.”
Irene was quick to understand. “I’ll go out and tell Dale—”
“Tell him not to wait,” Judy said. “I’ll be here all day. I’ll come out to Long Island this evening—by train.”
The slight hesitation in Judy’s voice did not betray her. She dreaded that train ride. But she felt she had to take herself in hand. Peter was depending on her.
A hospital attendant spoke to Judy as she entered the large, cheerful room where Peter was lying flat in bed with a bottle of transparent liquid suspended above his bed. “Watch the intravenous. He mustn’t move his arm.”
“I understand,” Judy replied. “My father is a doctor. I’ll see that nothing goes wrong.”
Her voice was determinedly cheerful. The young attendant left, closing the door softly. Judy was alone with Peter. For a moment she was all choked up with emotion and didn’t know what to say. He smiled a little, wryly, and glanced toward the bottle that was feeding liquid nourishment into his veins.
“Careful there,” he warned as she bent over to kiss him. “That’s my breakfast there in the bottle. A funny way to eat!”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll sit on the other side of the bed. Which shoulder was it?”