"But how manrs patients and how many's family?"

"No matter. Everyone's trying to help. We don't have enough nurses.

I hear they bussed some in from Hanover."

"And doctors from Abbotsville. Every one of ours has been working round the clock."

Sara leaned forward. "Do you think Dr. Pfeiffer is there?"

"Probably," Noah answered. aOne of her partners would have called her."

"Her baby-sitter was going to that concert.

I wonder if she was hurt."

He shrugged and shook his head. He had no way of knowing. But he kept thinking about it, and about Paige, through the afternoon while he and Sara put up the new wallpaper in the bathroom. It was a hard pattern to match. He kept waiting for Sara to complain, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction, so when he was feeling distinctly cross-eyed, he called for a break.

On the pretext of seeing if she was home and, if so, getting the scoop firsthand, they drove to Paige's.

I think she has company," Sara said when they found two cars in the driveway.

"That's okay. We won't stay long. If she's here, she'll be tired."

1 asleep," her rrandmother said, introducing herself only as Nonny and seeming to know just who they were. "But you're welcome to come in and visit with Sami and me. We like having guests."

Noah gave Sara an inquiring look. She shrugged and said, "I like Sami."

So they went inside. Sara was the one to ask about Jill and was upset when Nonny told what had happened. "Will she be in the hospital long"

"For a little while, I'd guess."

"Is her family with her?"

"I'm sure."

"Who will baby-sit Sami while Dr. Pfeiffer's at work9" Nonny tipped up her chin. "Me. Oh, she hasn't acknowledged it yet, but she will. I'm the best babysitter around."

"I can baby-sit," Sara offered. She was sitting on the floor opposite Sami, rolling her a ball.

Noah was thinking that she looked happier and sounded more affable than she had in a while.

He could imagine that it was this house, which had a warmth to it. Or maybe the warmth came from Nonny, who was a seventy-something pixie wearing red leggings and an oversize red sweater. Or from Paige, who was sound asleep in the other room wearing God only knew what.

Of course, Sara couldn't possibly baby-sit Sami.

Nonny, bless her, said, "You can't possibly babysit, Sara. You have school. That's far more important for you. And besides, I need to baby-sit. The older I get, the more useless I feel. This will make me functional again."

Sara kept on playing ball with Sami. "Dr. Pfeiffer said that she lived with you while she was growing Noah listened closely.

"Oh, yes. It's true," Nonny said. "My daughter her motheris a very charming woman, but she wasn't cut out to be a mother. Some women aren't. It's usually better if they realize it before they have children, but in this case it worked out all right. Of course, Paige didn't always agree. She missed having a mother and father. At times, she still does.

"Where are they now?" Noah asked.

Nonny screwed up her face and looked at the ceiling. "Uh, Capri?

No.

Siena. That's it.

Siena."

"What do they do there?" Sara asked.

"Notverymuch," Nonny ennunciated with care and a certain helplessness. "My daughter married a man with too much money. They became playmates when they were eighteen, and they're still at it.

They've never grown up. They've never had to accept any sort of responsibility."

"But they had a child," Noah pointed out.

"That's a responsibility."

A sheepish Nonny said, "I'm afraid I made it easy for them to shirk it.

From the start, Paige was my little girl. She was a cuddler in ways her mother never was, and I loved it. I was always quite happy to send my daughter and son-in-law back off to their villa or chalet or dacha, or wherever it was they were living at the time. I enjoyed having Paige to myself." She grinned. "And now I have Sami."

Her grin widened, seeming to overtake her small face in a way that was so cheerful, Noah nearly laughed. "And now I have you both. It's so lovely to have guests." The grin vanished, replaced by wide little eyes and an earnest entreaty. "You'll stay for dinner, won't you?"

Put that way, Noah could no more have disappointed the woman than he could have dragged himself back to wallpapering a bathroom. "We really shouldn't impose."

"No imposition!" she exclaimed, just as he had suspected she would.

Her eyes were bright.

"I was only ordering in. So I'll order in more."

Leaning close to Sara, she said, "Do you like Mexican7" Sara nodded vigorously. "But my father doesn't. [ It upsets his stomach. Every time he came to visit [ me in California we had a problem. He'd ask me [ where I wanted to eat, and it would always be [ Mexican. The places he wanted to eat were boring."

UAch, then we'll make him a cup of chicken soup. As for me"she rubbed her hands together"I'm in r the mood for something hot. Say, some chili.

Or nachos with jalapeno pepper cheese."

Sami grew red in the face. Nonny stroked her head. "No nachos for you, either? No chili?"

"Do they upset her stomach, too?" Sara asked "Actually," Nonny said, lifting Sami, "that isn't the problem." To Noah, with a charming delicateness she said, "Would you excuse us while we go to the ladies'

room to repair ourselves?"

Noah chuckled. "Of course."

Sara got right up and went with Nonny, leaving him alone in the living room. Not one to pass up a prime opportunity, he headed for Paige's bedroom He didn't see her at first. She was lost in the patchwork designs on her bedcomforter. a slew of pillows, sheetsall in warm shades of brown, gold green, crimson. He saw what he thought was a patch of hair, but it turned out to be kitty, curled in a ball against one of the pillows.