Free Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery by Sharon Canipe Page B

and added her purchases to the stash of their stuff that
decorated the corner of his garage.   She was back at the hospital shortly thereafter.   She was looking forward to seeing John
and Hillary again, but still wondered about their apparent conflict with Ellie
over her attendance at the university here.
    The Clark’s
were delighted to see Lin, giving her big bear hugs when she arrived.   Ellie looked better, although she was still
quite pale and her injured shoulder was still strapped firmly to her side.   She had dressed in loose fitting sweats
and was sitting on the side of her bed as they awaited her discharge.
    The four of
them were soon chatting about events past, things that happened when Lin was
still working and Ellie was in elementary school.
    Finally, John
turned to Lin with a sly smile, “I couldn’t help noticing that beautiful ring
on your finger.   Ellie tells me
you’re getting married again soon.”
    Lin realized
she was probably blushing, “That’s true, probably sometime in early fall.” She
continued to tell them more about Neal Smith and how they met.
    “I hope you’re
going to have the wedding in Charlotte,” Hillary broke in. “I for one, expect
to be invited, and John and I would love to have a party for you and Neal.   You’ll probably want to introduce him to
some of your local friends.”
    “That would be
nice,” Lin replied, “The wedding won’t be big, but I do want my friends to be
able to come.   I think we may have
it somewhere up at Lake Norman.   I
bought a condo there a couple of years ago, and that’s where we plan to live
after we’re married.”
    They chatted
amiably about wedding plan possibilities for a few moments and then an aide
appeared with a lunch tray for Ellie.   She indicated that the doctor hadn’t yet arrived on the floor to make
his rounds, which meant Ellie’s discharge wasn’t yet imminent.
    “I think we
should go somewhere and grab some lunch ourselves,” Hillary offered. “Ellie
won’t be ready to leave for awhile yet.”
    “You and Lin go
out somewhere,” John responded, “I think I’ll grab a sandwich from the
cafeteria here and keep my girl company.   He winked at his daughter.
    Hillary seemed
eager to get away from the hospital.   As soon as she and Lin entered the elevator she said, “I’m glad to have
the chance to talk to you alone, Lin.   I’m worried about Ellie, and you’ve always had a good head on your
shoulders when it came to kids.   I
need some advice.”
    “Well, with all
that happened this past weekend—her being shot and her friend losing his
life—it’s understandable that you’d be worried.”
    “True enough,”
Hillary said.   “Whoever did this has
evidently not been arrested yet, so I am eager to get Ellie away from here, but
it’s more than that.   Over this past
year I feel like we’re losing touch with our daughter.”
    “That’s often
the case when kids leave home and go to college,” Lin tried to be reasonable,
“I still remember when Lucy and Ben first went away.”
    “Well, in
Ellie’s case I think it’s more than just getting away from home for the first
time and feeling independent.   If
you don’t mind being a sounding board I’ll explain over lunch.   Where should we go?”
    “I’ll drive,”
Lin offered, leading the way to her car.   She really didn’t know much about the restaurants locally yet, but Sally
Mackey had told her about a local spot called Peppers that wasn’t far from the
hospital and had good sandwiches and a soup and salad bar.  
    They were able
to find an empty booth near the back that seemed quite private.   They decided on the soup and salad and
were soon enjoying steaming bowls of clam chowder and crisp, fresh salads.
    Shortly,
Hillary turned to the topic that was obviously weighing heavily on her mind.
“I’m really afraid we are losing touch with Ellie.   She’s done very well academically, but
her personal life really has me worried.