The Ivory Cane by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 1976-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

The hospital bed felt like a pincushion. Sabrina knew it was the waiting. Two days of tests were over, and Doctor Joe would be relaying the results any minute. The grimness that had been in his voice the last day had convinced Sabrina that the results thus far hadn’t been encouraging.

Her father walked again to the window in her room. She knew he had no interest in the parking lot below, his patience giving way to restless pacing. She wished she could join him. In almost mid-stride he stopped and turned abruptly. A second later air from the corridor fanned her cheek and she turned toward the door.

‘Good morning, Sabrina, Mr. Lane,’ Doctor Joe Browning greeted each of them. His voice was professionally bright. ‘It’s really a lousy morning, but I suppose you San Franciscans are used to the fog.’

‘Good morning, Doctor Joe,’ Sabrina returned.

But her father skipped the pleasantries. ‘Are all the results in?’

‘Yes.’

The back of Sabrina’s neck prickled. Unconsciously she called out hesitantly, ‘Bay?’

‘Hello, Sabrina,’ he answered quietly.

‘Don’t tell me my patient has mental telepathy?’ the doctor laughed shortly in surprise.

‘A keen sense of smell,’ Bay corrected in a smiling voice. ‘She probably recognized my aftershave lotion.’

Sabrina didn’t correct him. She wasn’t certain herself how she had known he was there, and she couldn’t be positive that she hadn’t unconsciously caught a whiff of the spicy fragrance.

‘Well, to get back to the business at hand,’ Doctor Joe breathed in deeply, ‘I’ve analyzed the test results twice.’

He paused and Grant Lane prompted, ‘And?’

‘We knew when we rolled the dice, Mr. Lane, that it was a long shot, not even house odds.’ The grimness of his voice was all the warning Sabrina needed to brace herself for the rest of his answer. ‘The dice came up snake eyes. There isn’t anything that can be done. I’m deeply sorry that I put both of you through this.’

The silence from her father told Sabrina how much he had been praying for a miracle. So had she, for that matter, but she wasn’t as crushed as she had been the other times that the verdict was pronounced.

She summoned a weak smile. ‘We had to take the chance, Doctor Joe.’ Her smile deepened as she remembered Bay’s words that first night in the hospital. ‘We had to give it a go.’

The doctor walked to the bed and clasped one of her hands warmly between his. ‘Thank you, Sabrina.’

As Doctor Joe took his leave of her father, apologizing again, she heard Bay approach the bed. He stopped somewhere near the side. She felt his penetrating gaze run over her face.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked quietly.

‘Yes,’ she whispered, and she knew suddenly that it was the truth and not simply brave words.

‘I knew that gutsy blind queen would resurface,’ he told her.

‘With your help, she did,’ Sabrina answered.

‘I can’t take the credit for the strength you already possessed,’ Bay denied, ‘but we’ll argue the point another time. How about Saturday night?’

‘Saturday night?’ she repeated.

‘Yes, we can have dinner together.

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