Katie glanced at the door to her room. The nurses had checked her blood pressure and cleared away the remnants of fruit, oatmeal, and orange juice. She should have at least an hour before anyone checked on her again. Her mom was going to come in around noon, then both her mom and dad would be in after work.
Katie’s bed was already in the sitting position, and she shifted to be more comfortable, fighting pain in her healing rib cage. Another quick adjustment for her knees and she was ready. Her art bag was on the tray table, which she swung over her lap. Taking out the eleven by seventeen drawing pad, pencils, and an eraser, she was ready to get started.
Katie closed her eyes and smiled, readily recalling the vivid image she wished to create. She thought about the four subjects she would need to draw, almost forgetting she was in a hospital. Opening her eyes, she drew the first sketch of four shapes, placing them in relation to each other. Using the eraser and pencils she worked until she felt the size and placement of each person was right.
It was a good start and she felt she would have the preliminary sketch done today. Katie took a few deep breaths to get more oxygen in her blood. Her ribs really hurt, and she could tell the pain meds were wearing off.
Flipping to a new page, Katie started drawing ovals representing the four faces she needed to recreate. She drew a horizontal line and a vertical line across each oval. Where the lines intersected would be where the center of the subject’s face would be in relation to the final picture. This took eraser work and several sessions of memory to get the alignment right. One of the images would only be seen from the side and that proved to be the hardest to create.
Katie kept listening for anyone approaching. Deciding to move the next visit along she covered up her work and pressed the call button. Within a few minutes a nurse entered the room.
“Hi, Katie, my name is Tyrone. Is everything okay?” he asked cheerfully.
“Tyrone, I’m fine. May I have a diet Coke?”
He had noticed that she had not opened her eyes.
He smiled at her. “Of course! How is the pain?”
“Irritating.”
“Sorry about that. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your soda. I’m sorry but in about an hour we are going to get you up for a stroll. Gotta keep you moving.”
After receiving her soda and alone once more Katie brushed hair off her forehead and re-started. She started drawing smaller ovals for the eye sockets, then circles for the eyes themselves and smaller circles for the pupils. Then the hairlines, eyebrows, and chins, but it took a little work for the cheekbones. The nose and chin lines took longer as she had to erase and start over a few times until she liked what she saw and the looks of compassion that started to emerge.
Looking at one of the images she said quietly.
“I know what you are.”
She wondered if she would ever see him again.
While watching the clock Katie kept drawing, stopping once to get up and take a walk and then again when she started to nod off. She carefully put her supplies away and slid the pad underneath her covers before taking a quick cat nap. She did not want anyone to see her work until she was ready.
When her mother arrived and was reassured that was all okay, they shared lunch. Katie had some kind of bland vegetable soup, cottage cheese, milk and crackers while her mom had a small deli sandwich. All was good at home and her dad had stopped by the library and loaded up with books and tapes. The plan was to stay in and have a family weekend when she was released from the hospital.
After her mom left and staff cleared the tray table, Katie started drawing again, stopping when she thought she might have company. As the day progressed, sketch after sketch, the images became clear and concise enough that anyone knowing her subjects would be able to recognize the people taking shape, and the shoe.
The shoe must not be forgotten.
In the late afternoon, struggling to stay awake, Katie carefully stored the art and again slid the pad under her covers. She felt she could get the entire drawing pulled together tomorrow, placing the people in the scene and then finish a few details the day after. She would need to because her secret would be coming out soon.