Where the Forest Meets the Stars(76)

“Yep. Her vet specialty is large animals. One of the lambs from the research herd lost its mother, and she was helping bottle-feed it. She knows I love the baby farm animals she works with, so she packs the lamb in her car with its milk, drives up to Chicago, and sneaks it into my room two days after my breasts were removed. She takes this tiny lamb out of a shoulder bag, lays it on my bed, and hands me the bottle. There, she says, who needs tits anyway? There are other ways to give milk. ”
Gabe looked away and blinked.
“I know. I cried like a baby. At first she thought it was because I was upset. But I loved it. It was one of the best crazy things she’s ever done.”
“She made me go out with her when we left the hospital last night,” he said. “She wanted to explore, and we ended up—”
“In some weird place.”
“Yes!”
“Let me guess—a hippie massage parlor? A Japanese karaoke bar?”
“She’s taken you to those places?”
“In Chicago. She made me do lots of weird things when my mother was dying. She said I had to remember there was a big amazing world beyond the borders of my sad little country—she used those exact words. I’ve always thought Tabby should be a novelist.”
“I know. Veterinarian doesn’t seem right for her.”
“It makes more sense if you know she grew up in a city apartment. She’s hardly touched her foot to a blade of grass, and she’s going to work with cows, horses, and sheep. Her dad owns an automotive shop, and he thinks it’s the funniest thing.”
“He’s angry about it?”
“No, I meant funny funny. He’s a great guy, quirky, like she is. He raised Tabby and her sister alone when their mother split.”
“Tabby is the kind of character Arthur would like.”
“Tell me where she took you last night.”
“First we went to a Welsh restaurant called a ‘public house,’ where we ate and drank at a communal table.”
“Wow, how’d that go for you?”
“It was fun, believe it or not. We met two really nice guys—and that was how we ended up at the gay bar.”
“That is so Tabby!”
“What is so Tabby?” Tabby said, sticking her head in the door. She came in, still wearing the blue maid’s shirt.
“Did you see Ursa?” Gabe asked.
She sat on the bed. “I almost did.”
“You got past the ICU doors?” Jo asked.
She nodded. “I bought a balloon and stuffed animal and wrote a note that said Ursa, We love you! Get better fast! I signed it Hugs and kisses, Jo, Gabe, and Tabby . The stuffed animal was a tabby cat, by the way—isn’t that awesome?”
“Tell the story!” Jo said.
“I went to the hospital directory lady, but she didn’t have Ursa listed. She looked at my toy and asked if the patient was a child. When I said she was, the lady said Ursa was probably at their children’s hospital a few blocks away. She checked for me, but they didn’t have her listed either.”
“That’s weird.”
“That’s what I thought. I went to the ICU in this hospital to look around, but the doors were locked. I waited until a nurse came out with a guy in a wheelchair—”
“You didn’t.”
“I did. I ran in. Before anyone realized I wasn’t supposed to be in there, I went looking for Ursa. That was when I saw her room.”
“How do you know?” Gabe said.
“There was a cop guarding her door.”
“A cop!” Jo said.
“Are you sure it was her room?” Gabe said.
“Before I got to the door, a nurse stopped me and asked who I was. I said I had a gift for Ursa Dupree. I told her I was supposed to deliver the toy and balloon and sing her a song. I assumed the cop was guarding Ursa, so I started walking fast toward him. The nurse yelled Stop her! and guess what happened?”
“Oh my god,” Jo said.
“Yeah, the cop drew his gun on me. I got hauled to some security office, and they asked me a bunch of questions about how I knew what room to go to—which means that really is Ursa’s room. She’s probably not in the children’s hospital because the police know that’s too obvious.”
“How did you lie your way out of security?” Jo asked.
“I didn’t. Lying was too dangerous. I told them I knew Ursa through you, and I was upset because the hospital wouldn’t let me see her. I admitted I hatched the plan to sneak in.”
“What did they do?”
“They took my name and address, but they were only trying to scare me. And they said I’d be arrested if I tried it again.”
“I can’t believe this,” Jo said. “Ursa is under police guard.”
“I believe it,” Gabe said.
“So do I,” Tabby said. She lowered her voice and leaned forward. “I bet the government knows she’s an alien in Ursa Dupree’s body!”


32

Jo had looked through every magazine in the ICU waiting room, even Guns and Gardens , which would have amused her pacifist-gardener mother. Her favorite seat was the one next to an adjacent table on which she could support her bandaged leg. She exercised every hour, walking in circles on her crutches around the room. She used the handicapped stall in the waiting-room bathroom to bathe and brush her teeth, and she slept on the couch. She ate when Gabe brought her food. He was still at the nearby hotel, and he washed and dried her clothing in his room every night.
Tabby had wanted to join Jo in her sit-in, but she couldn’t be away from her job any longer. Gabe wanted Jo to leave. He said the police would never let her see Ursa, but Jo couldn’t accept that. She needed to see Ursa again. She knew without the slightest doubt that Ursa wanted to see her, too.