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her ankle. “I’m just a slave to queer fashion.”
    Mary eased the jeans from around Ellis’s ankles and then held the sweatpants so Ellis could slip her feet into the leg holes. “Stand up and I’ll pull these up for you.”
    After they got Ellis decked out in her sweatpants, they made their way back to the living room, Ellis gimping along on her crutches and Mary carrying the soft cast.
    “Sit on the sofa and use the ottoman for your foot.” Mary set the cast aside and moved the hassock into place. She propped Ellis’s swollen foot up on some pillows, then covered it with a light blanket. “I’ll be right back with ice, eats, and something to take your pills with.”
    Ellis let her head flop onto the back of the sofa. She was so light-headed she wondered if she was really sitting in Mary Moss’s living room, or if she was having some kind of psychedelic mind trip.
    Mary came back with her arms loaded. “Eat this.” She handed Ellis a peeled banana. “You need to boost your blood sugar.” She set a plastic container filled with raisins, a zip-top baggie with orange segments, and a bottle of water beside Ellis on the sofa. “And these, too. I’ll bring your soup and sandwich in a minute.” From under her arm, she took an ice pack wrapped in a towel and rolled it back and forth between her hands.
    Ellis devoured the banana and started on the orange. She saw the worried look on Mary’s face. “I’m okay. Really.”
    “And I’m Empress of all the Russians.” Mary looked on while Ellis ate her fruit. “That’s better,” Mary said. “You’re getting some color back in your face. You were looking kind of gray for a minute there.”
    “I’m feeling lots better.” Ellis grabbed a handful of raisins. “Better, that is, if you discount the gang war going on in my right foot.”
    “Now that you’ve got something in your stomach to cushion it, go ahead and take your meds.” Mary fished two pills out of the patch pocket on her shirt and dropped them into Ellis’s hand. Ellis chased them down with three huge gulps from the bottle of water.
    “I don’t know how I’m going to repay you for everything you’ve done for me today, Mary.” Ellis tipped the bottle toward Mary in a mock toast. “Cheers.”
    “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” She placed the bag of ice carefully on Ellis’s ankle. “At a minimum, you’ll owe me a reciprocal home-cooked gourmet meal.”
    “I’m sure the Kraft cheese and Campbell soup people would be pleased to hear their products described that way.” Ellis shifted her leg on the ottoman. “Not that I’ve seen anything approximating a bowl of soup and a cheese sandwich, mind you.”
    Mary lightly cuffed Ellis’s good knee. “Pushy broad.”
    Ellis saw the twinkle in Mary’s eyes as she departed for the kitchen.
    “Better a pushy broad than a soup tease,” Ellis called out as she helped herself to more raisins.

    ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

    Ellis used the last bite of crust from her grilled cheese sandwich to sop the final bit of soup from her bowl. “Exquisite. My compliments to the chef.” She smacked her lips loudly.
    “Good thing Natalie’s still in her room. We’ve been working on her table manners. I can see you’re not going to be a good influence.” From her spot on the far end of the sofa, Mary reached the length of it and pulled Ellis’s plate and bowl closer and stacked them with her own.
    Ellis wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Speaking of… shouldn’t she have had something to eat, too?”
    “She ate hours ago. Right after she fed and walked the dog, in fact.”
    Ellis turned to look at Mary. “Your daughter walked my dog?”
    “It’s not exactly rocket science. Most any nine-year-old can do it.” Mary pointed to the crutches resting between them against the front edge of the sofa. “Somehow, I don’t think it would be a pretty picture to see you out there on those and trying to keep Sam in check when she catches sight of a