Page 35 of Candy Cane Dreams
"Thank you all for your attention. When Marjorie and I were discussing this, I suggested a Mistletoe Meadows heritage theme to showcase our local businesses and the history that our town has. Also, there's tons of history with anything Christmas, and I thought we could maybe bring that all together." It was a short description, but in her experience, the shorter these types of meetings were, the better. People were busy, and it was easier to get people to volunteer if they didn't think they were going to be spending half of their Christmas season sitting in a meeting, trying to figure things out.
"I thought that was a lovely idea," Marjorie said. Again, Kate felt encouraged by her presence, even though Marjorie seemed a little unsteady on her feet, and her shoulders drooped as though she were tired. There also seemed to be tightened lines around her face and deep shadows around her eyes.
Her daughter, Terry, was the town doctor, and Kate was sure that Terry had her finger on the pulse of whatever was ailing her.
Unless, of course, she was busy with her pregnancy, about to welcome a new baby into the world.
That had a tendency to take a person's full attention, as Kate well knew. Not that she had children of her own, but she'd seen it over and over again with kids in her care at school.When a mother was expecting, that mother seemed to think about everything in terms of babies and bottles and diapers and all the preparations that went with them, not to mention the uncomfortableness of pregnancy and the lack of sleep. She could go on and on.
So maybe she shouldn't say anything about Marjorie. But she didn't know to whom or what she should even say. Just that the woman looked tired? Everyone did around the holidays, didn't they?
As the meeting progressed, the other committee members seemed to be really enthused about her idea, and they came up with a lot of ideas, not just with decorations for the festival, but advertising as well, which was exceptionally important, and they needed to get on that immediately.
They all had some ideas for Jack too, whose shop would be the featured shop, and they wanted to make sure that there was plenty of visibility for him. The shop owners took turns being featured, and everyone knew that it was in their best interest to do their best for him, so that when it was their turn, the whole town pitched in again.
"Well, I think that about wraps it up," Marjorie said, although now she leaned on the podium rather than stood behind it.
She opened her mouth to say something else, but then, almost so quickly Kate missed it, she simply fell to the floor.
There was a collective gasp in the room before several of the men rushed forward, including her son Gilbert, and Amy and Jones, her daughter and son-in-law. All three of them were at the meeting and were at Marjorie's side in an instant.
Kate stood back, ready to do something if needed, but having absolutely no idea what to do to help Marjorie, other than pull her phone out and dial 911. She had it in her hand when Joneslooked up, saw her holding her phone, and said, "Please dial 911."
Perfect timing. She did so, and seconds later, she was able to tell them that an ambulance had been dispatched and was on its way.
Not long after that, Terry burst into the room.
"Mom?" she said, as she moved forward toward the cluster of people, although probably not able to actually see her mother amid the crowd.
They parted for her to get through, and Kate stepped back as well.
"I think I'm fine," Marjorie said, although her voice sounded weak.
"Mother. Please stay right there. Is there an ambulance on the way?" Terry said, already kneeling beside her mother.
There were murmurs of assent, and Kate said, "I just spoke with the dispatcher. They said five minutes."
"All right. Thank you for loosening her clothing. Did she hit anything when she fell? Could there be a back injury?"
"Terry, I'm fine. My legs work just fine, my back doesn't hurt at all, and I need to finish this meeting!"
"Mom?" Roland and Nelly burst into the building and hurried forward toward the cluster of people.
"She collapsed just a few minutes ago, and an ambulance has already been called. But she's talking and said she could move everything just fine." Kate gave them an update, and they stopped in front of her, unable to reach their mother through the cluster of other people.
"Thank goodness. I have been concerned about her for a while. She just doesn't seem like herself," Roland said. "I've been chalking it up to her new diabetes diagnosis, but..."
"We're concerned it might be something more serious," Nelly said low, so only Kate could hear.
Kate nodded. She had a feeling it was a little bit more than diabetes too, unless Marjorie wasn't managing it very well, which, considering how dependable and responsible Marjorie was, she couldn't imagine that was the case.
"All right. Everyone, please step back," two uniformed emergency workers said as they stepped into the building, rolling a gurney between them.
The crowd parted, and Kate stepped back as well. She hated to just stand there doing nothing, but she wanted to be available in case someone needed her.
"Kate! I need to talk to Kate!" Marjorie's voice rang out over the murmur of other low voices.
"I'm right here, Miss Marjorie," Kate said, stepping forward and touching Marjorie so that her eyes were drawn to Kate.
