Next to her, a small sigh escaped the older lady’s lips. The EKG had already ruled out the need for immediate intervention, which was good, of course, but meant she’d been moved down the triage totem pole.

“It will be any minute now,” Ayala said soothingly. “Would you like me to read to you? I brought Emma  along.” She knew Mrs. Aaronson was a lifelong Jane Austen fan from a conversation they’d had during one of her husband’s hospital stays. When Ayala had shown up at her next visit with a gift-wrapped copy of Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Aaronson had actually cried.  “A present for me? But I’m not even the patient!”

But now she waved Ayala’s book away.  “Thanks — dear,” she breathed heavily. “But — I’d — prefer — an — aspirin.”

Frowning, Ayala stood up.  She understood just how busy hospital staff were and that they worked their hardest to see every patient as soon as humanly possible. Still, the “squeaky wheel” principle applied just as much to hospitals as to everywhere else in life. Ayala was not a squeaky wheel by nature, but she’d learned from her own experience with Tziri how to advocate for herself.

She walked over to the desk and smiled at the harried nurse, whom she recognized from previous visits. “Shalom, Noa. How are you? The elderly lady I’m with is really in a lot of pain. She’s been waiting a long time to be seen, and she needs relief.”

“Yes, yes, she’ll be seen as soon as possible,” the nurse muttered as she typed something on her computer.

Ayala persisted. “I’d like her to be seen now. The poor lady’s in so much pain. Is Dr. Gold around?”

“Yes, but—” The nurse looked up at Ayala, brows furrowed in annoyance, and blinked. “Oh, it’s you! I’m sorry! It’s been such a crazy morning.” She glanced toward a closed door across from her.  “Dr. Gold is with a patient now, but I’ll ask him to see your savta next, b’seder?” She winked at Ayala, who gave her a thumbs-up.

“Thanks, you’re the best, Noa!”

Mrs. Aaronson was waiting for her chest X-ray when Ayala got the call from Leora Schwartz.

“Hi, Ayala, so sorry to bother you but the doctor just told us he wants to meet with us. Reuven’s chemo results came back, and he wants to discuss it with us and talk about the next step.” Leora took a breath. “Ayala, I’m so nervous! The way he sounded, I don’t think it’s good news. I know it’s very last minute, but is there any chance you can come to Hadassah?”

Ayala glanced at Mrs. Aaronson. “Now?”

“Um, in an hour?”

Ayala bit her lip. Would Mrs. Aaronson be discharged within an hour? Unlikely. Even if she were, Ayala couldn’t let her make her way back to RBS herself while she headed to Hadassah. She’d promised Mrs. Aaronson to stay with her the entire time; what would her word mean if she abandoned the older lady to care for another patient?

But the Schwartzes needed her, too.

Hearing Ayala’s hesitation, Leora said, “Or if you can’t get here in person, maybe you can just conference in or something?”

Ayala tapped her finger against her phone. Would that be any better? If Mrs. Aaronson needed her here, that meant her mind couldn’t be in a meeting at Hadassah.

She sighed. Working full-time for Chesed Tzirel still didn’t mean she could clone herself. And that meant she still couldn’t help every person who asked without turning herself into a pretzel. Which was exactly what dropping her speech job was supposed to have prevented.

“I’m sorry,” she said slowly. “I’m with another patient right now at Shaare Zedek. If this can wait until later, after she’s finished, then I’m happy to come.” Even though Naftali would frown at her bringing Mrs. Aaronson home and then turning right back around for Yerushalayim. “Or if it can wait until tomorrow?”

“No, I don’t think it can. The doctor said he wants to meet with us now.” Ayala hated the disappointment in Leora’s voice, but what exactly was she supposed to do? Unless… She glanced at Mrs. Aaronson, who was sitting perfectly still, gazing into space.

Unless someone else could take over for her here?

“Let me think about it and get back to you,” Ayala said.

Dini? Could she ask Dini to come stay here with Mrs. Aaronson? She considered. As a companion for moral support, Dini would do great. But what if a medical question came up? What if a decision had to be made? Could she trust Dini to do that? She wasn’t sure. Not only did Dini not know much about the medical system, her Hebrew wasn’t the greatest. But maybe it was better than nothing?

Mrs. Aaronson felt Ayala’s gaze and turned to her. “Is something the matter?” She nodded at the phone. “Does someone else need your help right now?”

“Yes,” Ayala admitted reluctantly.  “But don’t worry, I’m here with you.”

Mrs. Aaronson’s brows puckered. “If someone else needs you, then you should go. I’ll be fine. You’ve spent so much time with me already.”

Ayala shook her head, patting her arm. She had such a soft spot for elderly ladies; they reminded her of her own mother. “I’m not leaving you alone. But maybe I can call someone else to stay with you?”

“Yes, that would be lovely. Only if it’s not too much trouble, of course.”

She still had deep misgivings, but she didn’t really see another option. With a sigh, Ayala dialed Dini’s number.

Dini’s heart soared as she hung up the phone. Had Ayala actually invited her into the inner Chesed Tzirel sanctum? Was she actually saying that she believed Dini capable of more than simply organizing meals?

She grinned at herself in the mirror as she quickly adjusted her sheitel. You earned it, Dini.  After all the effort you’ve been putting into the organization recently, you deserve this vote of confidence! She couldn’t wait until the next time she spoke with Eliana, when she would casually let slip some anecdote that happened when she was working as a medical liaison at Shaare Zedek.

She glanced at her watch. Almost one. She’d have to leave a note for Chaviva, letting her know that she was in charge for the afternoon.

The pen was already in her hand when she stopped. Wait a second. Chaviva. Didn’t Chaviva have her photography lesson after school today? She’d throw a fit if Dini made her miss that. She frowned. Shuki? Maybe he could come home early? Considering how often he came home in the middle of the day just because he felt like a nap, she supposed it couldn’t be too big a favor to ask him.

But to her shock, it was.

“Sorry, Din,” he said. “But I have a meeting this afternoon that I can’t miss.”

Dini scowled at the phone. Why did he not, in fact, sound very sorry? Why did she suspect he was smirking in his office cubicle, delighted at the opportunity to point out that, yes, he actually did have a “real” job?

She let out her breath in a hiss. “What am I supposed to do, then? Ayala’s already left to go to the other patient, and there’s this little old lady sitting in the hospital waiting for me!”

“Babysitter?” Shuki asked. Which was such an utterly inane male response, she felt like screaming.

“Yeah, you try finding a babysitter last minute! It’ll take me an hour of phone calls at least.”

“I really am sorry,” he repeated, and, this time, he sounded like he genuinely meant it. He paused. “What about those ladies that you had at your luncheon yesterday? Isn’t that the point of the Tzirelette club?”

“CT volunteers,” she muttered, but her eyes brightened. That was an idea. True, it wasn’t the same as going herself. But wasn’t this the next best thing, showing Ayala why her volunteer club was so useful? Wouldn’t it, in fact, be a great way to diplomatically introduce the concept, which she hadn’t yet gotten up the courage to speak to Ayala about?

“Thanks,” she said. “Great idea. I’ll give Sarale a call.”

“Husband to the rescue again,” he declared, and, as she hung up, she couldn’t help but privately agree.

“The chemo was partially successful,” the doctor was saying. “But not as much as we’d hoped.”

Reuven was sitting still, watching the doctor’s face. Leora’s mouth was pursed tightly.

“That means we need to talk about the next step,” he said. The doctor leaned forward, speaking evenly. “I recommend another round of chemo. But I want you to understand that no matter what happens, based on the results of the first round, you should expect to need a bone marrow transplant.”

Leora sucked in her breath and looked at Ayala. “Transplant. Oh my. Um, when—?”

“Let’s first focus on this next treatment,” he said.

Ayala gave her a reassuring smile, just as her phone rang. She quickly silenced it.

Reuven cleared his throat. “When will this next round begin?”

“We’d like to start next week, depending on your numbers. Let’s—”

Ayala’s phone rang again. Blushing, she silenced it once more, looking down to see who was calling.

Mrs. Aaronson.

She bit her lip. Wasn’t Dini there with her? Had something come up that Dini didn’t know how to handle? She rocked back and forth in her seat. Maybe she could step out for just a minute? The Schwartzes seemed to be doing okay with the doctor. And Mrs. Aaronson, who never complained, who never asked for anything for herself….

“Excuse me,” she muttered, jumping up. She strode out of the room as she dialed.

“Hi, Mrs. Aaronson, is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s okay with me,” she said. “But the young lady you sent isn’t doing too well.”

Ayala paused in her tracks. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“That sweet young girl who came to stay with me. Sarale?”

Ayala blinked. “Sarale? You mean Dini?”

“No, she said her name was Sarale. Anyway, poor girl, apparently she doesn’t handle blood very well. When they brought me in for some more blood work and stuck the needle in me, the girl fainted dead away.”

To be continued…

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 876)