Irises Read Free Page A

her.
    â€œI’m so sorry, Kate,” he said, stroking her hair.
    â€œCan you get me a glass of water?” she asked him. He left her to go to the kitchen. When he returned, she took the glass and went to her room to look for Dr. Rulfo’s phone number. Her address book was not in her desk drawer where she had left it, and it occurred to her that Mary probably took it when she called Simon’s house. She was amazed at how well her mind was functioning.
    It took Dr. Rulfo only ten minutes to get there. Dr. Rulfo had been the family doctor forever. After the accident, when the hospital notified Father that they would terminate Mother’s life support unless he was able to find another health provider for her, it was Dr. Rulfo who accepted responsibility for her at Father’s request and arranged for her to be taken care of at home. He visited Mother every week.
    Dr. Rulfo examined Father’s body. “Your father’s heart simply stopped beating,” he told Kate when he came out of the room. “I don’t think an autopsy needs to be performed. I’ll talk to the medical examiner.” Dr. Rulfo suddenly stopped and his eyes moistened. Kate reached out and touched his arm.
    â€œYou were always good to him,” Kate said to Dr. Rulfo.
    â€œI’m going to miss him,” said Dr. Rulfo.
    Mr. Lopez, the funeral director, and his assistant were outside waiting for Dr. Rulfo to sign the death certificate. As soon as the doctor left, Mr. Lopez sat down with Kate and Simon. There were decisions to be made. Burial or cremation? Wake? Open or closed casket? When would the church s ervice take place? In a way, it was good to have things to think about. Kate could feel grief and uncontrollable thoughts waiting for her, ready to invade as soon as there were no more details to arrange.
    When they finished discussing the arrangements, Mr. Lopez asked Kate and Simon if they wanted to go in and say good-bye before he removed the body. Simon deferred to Kate, and Kate nodded. She realized for the first time since Dr. Rulfo arrived that Mary had been in the room with their father all this time. Mary may have been the one to find Father dead, Kate thought, but at least she had been the last one to speak to him.
    She stood up, disturbed by her own thinking. What was happening to her? It was crazy to feel competitive with Mary over their father’s death. She rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand and tried to wipe the thoughts away as she walked to the bedroom. Mary was sitting next to Mother, still holding her hand.
    â€œCan I have a few moments alone with Father?” There was kindness in Kate’s voice. Mary smiled and slowly left the room, closing the door behind her.
    Kate stood next to her father. Not more than three hours ago they had been talking in the backyard, or rather, he had been talking and she had been barely listening. She remembered how she had looked at her watch, and she felt a burst of tears in her chest ready to explode. She took her father’s hand gently to her lips and kissed it. The image of her father delivering the children’s sermon that morning came to her. The children had been captivated by his simple words.
    Then after a while the uncontrollable thoughts continued their attack. Now you are free , they said to her. You can leave El Paso. You can go to Stanford .
    Kate ordered them to go away. She focused again on the conversation with her father. I wanted to fortify your heart against sorrow. I believe I succeeded, but I might have been overzealous. That’s what Father had said. Was her heart so fortified now that she couldn’t cry?
    She walked over to Mother’s bed and sat on the edge, just as she had found Mary sitting when she entered the room. She took her mother’s hand and remembered.
    It was the summer before her freshman year. She and Mother were visiting Aunt Julia in San Jose, California — the trip Mother had