The Wisdom of Evil Read Online Free Page B

take this decision lightly. You know how she is about…death,” Michael said.
    Ted shot both she and Michael a hateful look and went outside to smoke.
    “I’m so sorry, babe. I’ll be right there with yah, you know that, right?”
    Joan hugged Glory and went to check on the kids.
    Glory knew deep down, admit it or not, that she could not in good conscience leave her mother in a state of limbo; it was just wrong.
    After a few fitful hours of sleep , Glory, Michael and Ted left that afternoon for Boston. Joan stayed with the children. She was silently supportive, knowing that sometimes there just weren’t any words to say.

Cha pter 4
     
    The ride down to Boston was a lot faster this time; the plows had been out in full force, making the roads a lot less treacherous. The sun shone fully, high in the sky, and the large pine trees on each side of the highway glistened with their new white coats of snow. It was truly a spectacular day. How anyone could be dying in a hospital bed on a day like this was beyond Glory. She hated and feared hospitals almost as much as death itself.
    Having nothing else to do but gaze out the window , she couldn’t help thinking about Jack, her father-in-law’s long and futile battle with cancer.
    After everything she had been through with her own father while growing up, she’d looked to her father-in-law as if he were her own father. Theirs was a very special relationship and he was to her what a father should be.
    She’d been fortunate to have in-laws whom she adored and who treated her like their own daughter. She got from them what her parents were unable to give her.
    Everyone was quiet , each locked in their own thoughts, preparing themselves for that which lay ahead. They parked and walked through the small open courtyard to the massive glass sliding doors that were the entrance way to Massachusetts General Hospital.
    Glory felt ill as soon as the doors swooshed open. She had a sensation as if not only the doors themselves had opened, but that her heart itself was being violently torn open, ripping through her hard barrier of detachment.
    They took the elevator up and checked in at the nurse’s station before proceeding to room two-fifteen. The door was closed. Ted lightly tapped on the door and a voice ushered them in. Dr. Pierce was there, as well as a woman they’d never seen before.
    She instantly offered her hand to Glory and Ted. It was warm and soft. Introducing herself as Dr. Susan Pleschette, she explained that she was from a neighboring Boston hospital and had been brought in for a second opinion as requested. She was approximately five feet tall and very slender with short, stylish black hair and small, inset brown eyes above a small nose and wide mouth. Glory liked her at once.
    As they stood around their mother’s bed, listening to Dr. Pleschette inform them of her condition, their worst fears became reality. Her words, although spoken with genuine compassion and empathy, were straight to the point.
    “I know how hard this is , believe me. I’ve been there myself, but I do have to concur with my colleagues on this. I’m so sorry. There really is no chance of recovery. The kindest thing you can do for your mother is to…let her go. I assure you she’s not in any pain right now and we can see to it that her passing will be peaceful.”
    Reluctantly accepting that this was going to happen no matter how Glory felt about it, she asked how it would be done.
    “All tubes will be removed and we’ll take her off life support. We’ll administer morphine intravenously to bring your mother’s heart rate down until…it stops.”
    “Are you absolutely sure there’s not a chance at all because if there is even a one percent chance of her comin’ out of this, I can’t sign that paper. I feel like this is murder. I can’t do it!” Ted put his head in his hands and sobbed.
    Glory knew how he felt. She reached out and held her mother’s hand and didn’t let go.
    “There