My phone was already in my hand when another message appeared.
Karen: She told me to wait.
I called her.
She answered before the second ring.
“Hi.”
“Where are you supposed to wait?”
“The hospital parking garage.”
“Which level?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Vivian give you a time?”
“No.”
“Did she tell you who you were waiting for?”
Karen hesitated.
Then she folded the parking receipt into a square.
“She told me to wait.”
Karen tucked the square of paper into her coat pocket and looked toward the hospital entrance.
“Did she tell you why she wanted you here?”
Karen shook her head. “No. She said she needed me close by.”
“Close by for what?”
She opened her mouth, then stopped when a hospital employee pushed through the garage door with a cart of folded blankets. Karen stepped aside. The employee nodded and kept going.
“She said we would talk
