Free Foreign Body by Robin Cook

predicted. She could still see the mountains in the distance, although not with quite the same startling clarity. But now that she was almost finished with her errands, reality began to reassert itself.
    Jennifer was going to miss Maria terribly. She was the person with whom Jennifer was the closest, and had been since Jennifer was three years old. Besides her two brothers, neither of whom she spoke with for months on end, her only relatives that she knew were in Colombia, and she'd met them only once back when her grandmother had taken her there for that expressed purpose. Relatives on her mother's side were a complete mystery. As far as Jennifer was concerned, her father, Juan, didn't count.
    Just as Jennifer had passed through the revolving entrance of the main redbrick hospital building, her cell phone sounded. Checking the screen, she could see it was India calling back. She answered the phone and in the process stepped back outside into the sunlight.
    "I have good news," Kashmira said. "I've been able to make all the arrangements. Do you have a pencil and paper?"
    "I do," Jennifer responded. Getting a small, stiff-backed notebook from her shoulder bag and tucking her phone into the crook of her neck, she was able to write down the flight information. When she learned she'd be leaving that afternoon but not arriving until almost the wee hours of Wednesday, she was appalled. "I had no idea it would take so long."
    "It is a long flight," Kashmira admitted. "But we are halfway around the world. Now, when you land here in New Delhi and reach passport control, go to the diplomatic corps line. Your visa will be waiting there. Then once you have your baggage and come out of customs, there will be a representative from the Amal Palace Hotel holding a sign. He will handle your luggage and get you to your driver."
    "Sounds simple enough," Jennifer said, while she was trying to figure out from the departure times and the arrival times just how many hours she would be in the air. She quickly realized she couldn't do it without knowing all the time zones. In addition, she found herself confused by having to cross the international date line.
    "Wednesday morning we will arrange a car to pick you up from the hotel at eight. Will that be alright with you?"
    "I guess," Jennifer said, wondering how human she would be feeling after being on a plane for nine years and having no idea how much sleep she would be able to get.
    "We look forward to meeting you."
    "Thank you."
    "Now I'd like to ask you once again if you have made up your mind between cremation and embalming?"
    A wave of irritation washed over Jennifer just when she was beginning to like the case manager. Didn't she have any intuition? Jenifer wondered with amazement. "Now why would I change the way I thought just a couple of hours ago," she questioned irritably.
    "The administration made it clear to me they believe it would be best for everyone, even best for your grandmother's body, if we got on with it."
    "Well, I'm sorry. My feelings have not changed, especially since I have been so busy that I haven't had time to think about anything. Furthermore, I don't want to feel like you are pushing me. I'm coming just as soon as I can."
    "We certainly are not pushing you. We are just recommending what is best for everyone."
    "I don't consider it the best for me. I hope you people understand, because if I get there and my grandmother's body has been violated without my consent, I'm going to make a big stink. I'm serious about this, because I can't believe your laws are that much different than ours in this kind of situation. The body belongs to me as the responsible next of kin."
    "We certainly would not do anything without your expressed approval."
    "Good," Jennifer said, recovering to a degree yet surprised about the vehemence of her response. It wasn't lost on her that she was probably experiencing a significant amount of transference with her emotions, blaming the hospital and even