High Anxiety by Charlotte Hughes Read Free Book Online Page B

tried to wave it off as though it was no big deal. I didn’t want my mother to go on another rampage. “Hey, there’s a carton of B & J with your name on it.”
    “Don’t mind if I do.”
    Jeff followed me into the kitchen, where he was greeted by my mother and aunt. Jeff was in his midthirties and handsome. He was also gay, but we never discussed it, so I had no idea if he knew we were all aware of it. I felt it was none of our business.
    I served Jeff and reclaimed my chair. He gave us a brief rundown on his day and asked about Jay.
    “He’s gone to Tallahassee to help with the fire,” I said.
    “Do you think he’s physically up to it?” Jeff asked, echoing my mother’s concerns.
    I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Nobody—including me—was going to talk him out of it.”
    Aunt Trixie finished her ice cream, and my mother, despite her protests that she could never eat a full pint, was scraping the cardboard container clean.
    “That was delicious!” Trixie said. “Too bad Arnell couldn’t be here.”
    “You know he’s staying away from dessert,” my mother told her. She looked at me. “Arnell has been on a diet. He claims he has gained eight pounds living with us, thanks to my fried chicken and biscuits.”
    Trixie nodded soberly. “He can’t fit into his little black dress.”
    “He doesn’t look good in that dress anyway,” my mother said. “It’s too formfitting, and he doesn’t have curves.”
    “He’ll have curves once they start giving him those female hormone injections,” Trixie said.
    “I hope they sew a butt on him when he has that surgery,” my mother said. “Men don’t have much of a butt, and Arnell is no exception. I wouldn’t mind donating part of mine.”
    I burst into laughter at the thought of a surgeon sewing my mother’s butt on Arnell. Jeff joined me. We were still laughing when the phone rang. I jumped from my chair and ran for it, hoping it was Jay.
    Mona spoke from the other end. “I’m in the ER,” she said.
    “What? Why?”
    “My hives got worse. My face is covered with welts!”
    “I’m on my way,” I said.

chapter 4
    My mother and aunt insisted on going with me to the hospital. The three of us piled into the junk-filled monster pickup truck and took off as Jeff headed back to his office to check on his surgical patients.
    We arrived at the hospital in record time. I glanced about the ER but didn’t see Mona. “I’m going to check at the reception desk,” I said, and headed in that direction.
    “Kate!”
    I turned at the sound of Mona’s voice. Her head and part of her face were draped in a shawl, so it was no surprise I hadn’t recognized her. “Let me see,” I said as my mother and aunt joined me.
    Mona led us to a corner of the room where the hard plastic chairs sat empty and nobody was waiting. She pulled the shawl aside. “It’s hideous!” she said.
    I couldn’t hide my surprise. The rash, what there was of it, was barely noticeable. “Mona, it’s not bad at all,” I said.
    My mother grunted. “You’re overreacting.”
    Mona quickly put the shawl in place. “You’re both just saying that to make me feel better.”
    I shook my head. “Seriously, Mona, I can barely see anything.”
    “Does it itch, honey?” Aunt Trixie asked.
    “Constantly,” Mona said, “but I know if I scratch it, I’ll have horrible scars. I’ll have to spend the rest of my life wearing this . . . this . . . Shroud of Turin.” She gave a huge sigh. “Lord only knows when I’ll be seen by a doctor.”
    “Be glad it’s not the weekend,” my mother said. “That’s when people get drunk and knife each other.”
    The four of us sat. An hour passed, and my mother and aunt went for coffee.
    Finally, Mona’s name was called. “Would you come with me?” she asked. “I can’t bear to go through this alone.”
    “Of course.” I followed her to a pair of metal doors. A buzzer sounded, and the doors opened. A nurse met us on the other side and led