“You’ll notice a big change in your husband by then. He will probably sleep most of the morning.” Judy tried to hide a yawn and the nurse added, “You could use a little sleep yourself, Mrs. Dobbs. You must have been awake most of the night.”
Judy didn’t say so, but she had rested more when she was awake than when she had been dreaming. What had caused those terrible nightmares? Judy dreaded sleep because of them. She ordered two cups of coffee in a nearby restaurant, hoping to keep herself awake. Then she telephoned Pauline Faulkner and told her about Peter.
“You poor girl! Why don’t you come up and rest at my house until visiting hours?” Pauline suggested. “I expect Flo. It’s Sunday, or had you forgotten?”
“I do need some sleep,” Judy admitted. “But I keep dreaming the same dream every time I close my eyes. I’d never dare—”
“That’s funny,” Pauline interrupted. “So do I. And just now when I spoke to Flo she said she’d had a rough night, too. She didn’t say why but, to use an old expression of yours, I’d like to bet something precious that it was because she had nightmares, too. Come up and we’ll compare notes. I feel—” Pauline lowered her voice almost to a whisper. Judy could hardly hear the word “bewitched,” but she knew the feeling.
When Judy arrived at the tall stone house which was Dr. Faulkner’s combined home and office, she said, “Pauline, as you said, it’s Sunday. Let’s go to church.”
“All right.” Pauline hesitated a moment. Then she said, “You may not like my church, Judy. It isn’t at all like the one you attend.”
“Which one?” asked Judy. “The little white church in Dry Brook Hollow isn’t like the one I used to attend in Farringdon, but I like them both. I think it does a person good to learn different ways of believing, don’t you? How is your church different, Pauline?”
Pauline shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a little more formal. But if you watch other people and do what they do you’ll get along all right. The order of service is printed on the church calendar. They’ll give you one as you come in. It’s a little church crowded in between two tall buildings. They’re going to tear it down and build a new one farther uptown. I’m rather sorry. But I guess it’s best.”
“In other words, you bow to the inevitable.”