Arachnia #Featured

Chapter Thirty Three - Part 2

Chapter Thirty Three                   

by sloanranger

Part 2

"When I saw Paula at Hoag hospital," Cass continued, "and read the diagnosis of her husband David, I arranged to be scheduled as David's night nurse. By this time I had no misgivings about what Paula was capable of."

"But I wasn't able to prevent what happened and perhaps shamefully - was not able to give my sister up," she said. Tom and I had been married for some time by then and Billy was getting to be a big boy."

"We're they living in Huntington Beach, too?" Elaine asked.

"I don't know," Cassie continued, "but we'd been living quietly in HB for years, by then. When Paula showed up at the country club with twin girls and a new husband, I was terrified and I did my best to keep her at a distance."

Elaine said, "So that's it. I always thought you were just jealous, like me."

Cassie smiled ruefully. "It was less than a year though, before the madness began again – when I called that morning about the newspaper article."

"You remember, Elaine – I called you about the report of Bob Miller's accident?"

"Yes, I remember. Oh Cassie, what you must have been going through."

"I'm trying now to forget it."

After another half hour Elaine could see Cass was tiring. She rose: "I'll be back soon," Elaine said and left. 

Sometime after the Thanksgiving holidays, Ted Donne called.

"Hey, Steve, have you guys thought about finally coming to New Mexico anytime soon? We'd love to see you." 

"Hi Ted. So much has happened we've kind of lost track of time."

"The offer to stay with us still goes, Steve.  And you give me the word and I'll make the appointments for Elaine's medical consultations."

"Tell you what, Ted. I think we could use a little down time. Let me check my with my employer and get back to you tomorrow night?"

Morgan told him he could take a week off, he still had two weeks vacation time coming and business at the agency was slow this time of year. When Steve told him about the consultations for Elaine, Mike said: "If you need to take an extra week, no problem."

It worked out perfectly with Ted and Millie's schedule, too. What was even better as far as Elaine was concerned, Steve said they could rent a car and drive rather than fly. It would take a few days longer, but they would have more time alone. Elaine was ecstatic.

The weather was perfect. Elaine did not like the desert, but everyone had always told her it was beautiful at this time of year when it was in bloom. Everyone was right. Driving across the desert country was a real eye opener. The weather was reasonably temperate and the desert was all in bloom; the Cactus were lovely with strikingly brilliant flowers.

The couple felt that life was very good.  They had decided to take a side tour and stop and see the Grand Canyon. They got there in the late afternoon and the sun's direction at that hour made such a show of light and color as to make the canyon's walls breathtaking from almost every angle.

(To be continued).