Page 76 of A Winter of Discontent for Henry Milch

“Don’t forget the baby.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“I flipped the seat forward, awkwardly leaned into the backseat, and undid the car seat. Emerald began to fuss. Pulling the car seat and the diaper bag out of the car, I nearly fell over. Opal was watching with a big smile. I slammed the door, which made my sister scream.

She was still screaming when we walked into the kitchen. At the table with Nana Cole was Edward. He wore green scrubs and a pair of leather clogs with blood on them. I got the feeling he’d come in a hurry, as soon as his shift ended.

“The doctor’s making a house call,” Nana Cole said.

I didn’t believe that for a minute. Something else was going on. Something he didn’t want to tell my grandmother.

“Emma’s recovering nicely from her fall.” Then he stood up, “Well, I should be going.”

I needed to figure out what was happening. Also, I didn’t mind getting away from a screaming baby for a moment, so I said, “I’ll walk you to your car.” To Nana Cole, I said, “I’ll only be a minute. I’ll take Emerald out of the car seat when I get back inside.Leave her in it.”

She gave me a dirty look as I set the car seat on the table and the diaper bag on the floor. Then I walked out the back door. Edward was only a few feet behind me. When we got to the Civic, I asked, “Why are you here?”

“It’s stupid. I was in the cafeteria earlier and I overheard some nurses talking. I heard the words ‘overdose’ and then your name and since you hadn’t come through the ER, I thought…”

“You thought I was dead?”

“I drove over hoping I was wrong.”

“It was Denny Hazzard. He overdosed. I found his body. It was nice of you to worry, though.”

“You know, overdosing isn’t the only bad thing that can happen to you when you take opioids.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that.”

“Brain damage, liver damage, kidney damage, depression, altered personality, low testosterone, osteoporosis…”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

He really should have listed conversations like this one as a side effect. Then something hit me… He said osteoporosis. Was that why…

“Bobbie LaCross broke two bones in the last few years. That was because she was an addict, wasn’t it?”

“She was occasionally a patient, so… hypothetically, yes. And, hypothetically, it was three bones.”

“Three? She broke her arm, her wrist…. And?”

“Fibula,” he said reluctantly.

“What is that?”

“You have two bones in your lower leg. One in the front and another in the back. It helps keep you stable.”

“How might a person break that?”

“Slipping in the shower.”

“And when might a person have done that?”

“A month ago.”

“Really? No. I saw her body. There was no cast.”

“Casts aren’t used much anymore. They cause muscle atrophy and extend healing time. A fibula fracture requires an orthopedic boot. It can be taken off to shower and to sleep.”