Read Mountain Song for Free Online Page B

an overstuffed chair.
    “Bea’s condition is
considerably more serious than she apparently wants you to think,” he said.
    “But her fractures—”
    “It’s not just her
fractures.”
    A pause, while Claudia
waited for him to continue. A tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed
her nervousness. He took a deep breath and dove in.
    “Bea’s osteoarthritis
is advanced. She has terrible pain in her hips. Debilitating pain. She can no
longer walk up stairs or drive her car, and even walking more than a short
distance hurts. It amazes me that she didn’t break her hips when she fell,
although I suppose she used her arm to cushion the fall and absorbed the shock
there.”
    He watched Claudia
carefully. He knew her range of expression well; she’d never been any good at
concealing her thoughts. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as she
struggled to understand what he was saying.
    This was the part he
hated the most, when the bad news was out on the table, and he had nothing more
to offer. Some physicians walked away after telling the patients and their
families, leaving them to sort through their emotions. Andy had never quite
been able to bring himself to do that. He stayed out of obligation or misplaced
concern, only adding to their anxiety.
    “She’s never mentioned
any pain,” Bea finally said brokenly.
    “When did she last
visit?”
    “Two...no, a little
over two years ago. In the summer, for Dad’s birthday.”
    “And you didn’t think
it was strange that she hasn’t come back again?”
    “I...she...” He could
see the thoughts tumbling across Claudia’s face, read the growing upset and the
seeds of guilt forming in her eyes. “She always had things come up. Last summer
she said she didn’t want to miss any of the summer theater series. And then she
said she didn’t want to travel with the crowds over the holidays. I mean, we
were surprised, but...Damn it, I should have come out here.” Claudia’s mouth
tugged down at the corners and her brows knit together.
    Guilt. Andy knew it
well.
    “Don’t beat yourself
up over this,” Andy said. He knew that Claudia never came out to Lake Tahoe
anymore to visit Bea. And he thought he knew why. That was a subject best left
untouched. “Back to her pain, though,” he said, “You say she never mentioned
it?”
    Claudia shrugged,
impatience Andy would wager she was directing at herself. “She said she was
stiff. Made it sound like just another little annoying part of old age.”
    “She’s a tough woman,”
Andy said softly. He’d had patients complain of agonizing pain whose condition
had not progressed nearly as far as Bea’s. “She wouldn’t admit to me how bad it
had gotten, but I saw things. She’d adjusted her gait, and when she thinks no
one is looking...”
    “She’s always been so
independent,” Claudia said wistfully. “Always managed everything on her own,
especially after Grandpa died.”
    “Look around.” Andy
arced a hand around the dusty, musty room, not taking his eyes from her face. “You
can see she really hasn’t been up to the task for some time. Have you been
upstairs?”
    Another storm cloud
passed her eyes. “Yes...it didn’t look so bad.”
    “Yes, because she can’t
get up there. She’s been sleeping in the guest room down here. I think she’s
behind in her bills because she can’t focus on anything but the pain in her
hip.”
    “She never said
anything,” Claudia repeated, her eyes losing their focus, her hands tightening
on her knees. “If I had known—If Dad knew—”
    “Look, Claudia, you
really can’t afford to be too hard on yourself about this,” Andy said. “Bea’s a
stubborn person, as you well know. And smart. She didn’t want you to know about
her growing disability and so she made sure you didn’t. The important thing now
is to take care of her hip.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Replace it. Total hip
arthroplasty. Give her a new hip joint.”
    “A new hip,”