"This is Ms. Whitley. Her mother's a parishioner at St. Blase. I'm filling in for Father Charlie today."
"Yeah, I heard he was puking his guts out. He's a guest here, as well. Hiya, Miss Whitley. What's wrong with your mom?"
When they were settled, he took off at a spirited pace.
"She had an emergency appendectomy last night."
"No kidding? She's okay, though."
"Yes. Just fine. She hates the food." She held up the bags.
Wrinkling his nose, Josiah nodded. "You can build a bigger hospital, but you can't make the food better. Go figure." He shrugged. "Hope your mom feels better real soon," he said as they stopped at the front door.
"Thank you. And thanks for the ride."
"You're welcome. I'll add her to my prayers. I say 'em while I drive." Saluting, he took off down the hill.
"He seems nice," Wynter commented as they walked in the front door.
"He is. Josiah's been a member of the parish way longer than I've been its priest. I grew up at St. Pete's. My folks raised money for the original building."
"Wow! Mama moved here about ten years ago. I stayed in New York. I wanted to be a professional dancer from the time I could walk."
"What type of dancing?"
"Jazz and modern. I can do ballet, but those girls have to starve themselves, to keep dance weight. I like my pasta."
"A woman looks better with a little contour," he said as they approached the information desk. "We have to check in to get you a name tag," he explained to Wynter, who was ready to walk by. "Just give him your license, and he'll check you in."
"Okay. Thanks." Grabbing her driver's license, she handed it to the security officer at the desk.
"Thank you, Ms. Whitley. New York, huh? What brings you here?"
"My mother is sick. She's in room 420. We brought lunch."
"Good idea. The food here ain't for sh—" He stopped suddenly, apparently remembering that Obi was a minister. "Isn't good," he amended.
Obi snorted. "Yeah. Something like that." He put a lanyard around his neck, which had his photo ID on it. It was blue, with CLERGY printed in white letters.
"You're all set," the guard said with a smile. He handed Wynter a stick-on name tag.
"Do I have to check out after I visit my mom?"
"No. It scans as you pass the desk. Please leave it on until you get to the doorway. There's a trash can inside each one, where you can drop it."
"Thank you. Where am I going?"
"I know my way," Obi interjected.
"You should. You're here enough," the guard said with a grin.
"Doing my job," Obi said. "Thanks!"
Obi knew his way around the innards of the hospital well. "When I was a teenager, my first job was orderly. I worked here before most of this existed. I know back ways and hideyholes all over the place."
"Did you run off with handy nurses, to catch a few moments of on-call room bliss?" she teased, nudging his arm.
"Now, Ms. Whitley, is that an appropriate question?" he chuckled.
"Probably not, but we started with blatant honesty, why stop now?"
"From time to time. Mostly, we were all too busy. Shows like Grey's Anatomy make it look like a common thing. Most of the staff uses those rooms to sleep."
"Good to know."
They arrived at her mother's room without incident. Wanda Whitley was all smiles when they entered.
"Father Randolph, how good to see you again!"
"You didn't tell me you knew each other," Wynter said as she unloaded the bags of food.
"Didn't come up."
"True. How are you feeling, Mama?"
"Much better, now that pesky appendix is gone."
"I'm so glad it didn't rupture," Obi said with a smile. "I have an uncle whose appendix ruptured. He was lucky that it didn't kill him."
They chatted as they ate. Since they knew many of the same people, Mrs. Whitley brought him up to date on all the parish gossip. After their meal, he and Wynter cleaned up.
"Did you have something in particular you needed to speak to me about? Wynter said you requested a priest?"
"I have a few things to discuss. If you wouldn't mind giving us some privacy?" Wanda appealed to her daughter.
"Sure. Call me when you're done. I'll see if I can find my way outside."
"Take elevator D to the third floor, then take the back stairs. That takes you to a nice park, with a Zen garden," Obi said with a smile. "When I call, I'll talk you back in."
"Thank you." She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "See you soon, Mama."
"Bye, darling."
They waited in silence until she was gone. Obi heard the elevator ding, and the door shut.
"I'm dying," Wanda said without preamble. "I'm all she has left, since her father passed. We were divorced fifteen years ago. Wynter decided to stay in New York, with her dad, when I moved here. She had her career to think about, and that's one of the best places to be." She shrugged, obviously upset about her daughter's decision.
"May I ask what's wrong?"
"It wasn't my appendix," she admitted quietly. "I had a serious obstruction of the bowel, and it caused necrosis."
Obi sat up straighter. "That sounds serious."
"It is. Very."
"What caused the obstruction?"
©Dellani Oakes 2023
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