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early, so he’ll be able to start right away.” Ellen smiled. “I’m so excited to finally get this project started. I hope you don’t mind if I share your bathroom with you.”
    “Not at all.”
    The next afternoon as Jessica worked on her programming project, she found she had trouble concentrating. Ben was in the process of ripping out the existing master bathroom and he and his assistant were making multiple trips up and down the stairs, carrying out the sink, toilet, and everything else that they were tearing out. When Jessica sat at the desk, she faced the foyer, and every time the two men walked out the door, she became distracted.  
    Sighing, she decided to take a break and see what her aunt was doing. She hadn’t seen her since the men had arrived. Jessica went upstairs and wasn’t surprised to find her aunt in the master bathroom, supervising the demolition work.
    “You’re being careful not to scratch the walls when you go down the stairs, aren’t you?” Ellen asked the men as they set some debris on a tarp.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Ben said.
    Jessica suppressed a smile as she watched the exchange. “It’s looking good in here.”
    “Yes. These men are doing a wonderful job.”
    “Ellen, are you getting hungry?” Jessica asked. “It’s getting close to dinner time.”
    “I suppose,” she said. “Ben, what time do you stop?”
    Ben wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “I think we’re about done for the day.”
    “All right,” Ellen said. “Well, I sure appreciate how hard you’ve both worked.”  
    The men began gathering their tools. “We’ll be back bright and early in the morning.”
    ~*~*~
    The next morning Jessica woke to the sound of her aunt calling for her, and she sounded like she was in pain. Jessica hurried to her aunt’s bedroom to see what was going on and found her aunt on the floor, her hands gently holding her ankle.
    “Ellen! What happened?”
    “Oh, Jessica. It’s my own fault.”
    Jessica knelt next to her aunt and saw that Ellen’s ankle had begun to swell. “You’re hurt. I’m going to call an ambulance.”
    “An ambulance? No, no. If you can just help me get to the car, you can drive me to the hospital.”
    Jessica shook her head. “I don’t know if I can get you down the stairs on my own.” She looked around frantically, trying to figure out a way to help her aunt. “What about Ben? Isn’t he going to be here soon? He can help me get you to the car.”
    Ellen sighed. “He called and said he had to take care of some things and that he wouldn’t be able to be here until after lunch. After I hung up I just had to go into the bathroom to see how it looked and I tripped on something that was left on the floor. That’s when I did something to my ankle.”
    “Does it hurt a lot?”
    “Well, it’s not going to kill me, but I don’t think I can walk.”
    “I’m sorry, Ellen, but I’m going to have to call an ambulance.”
    “It just seems so silly to have an ambulance come for something like this. It’s not life-threatening. It just hurts.”
    “Well, do you have a phone number for a nearby neighbor? We really just need someone to come help you down the stairs.”
    “Look in my address book.” Ellen pointed toward her bedside table. “Look up Harold Michaelson. He lives closest.”
    “Let me get some ice for your ankle first, okay?”
    Ellen nodded and Jessica could see she was in more pain than she was admitting. Hurrying down to the kitchen, she created a make-shift ice pack, then wrapped it in a kitchen towel. She raced back up the stairs to her aunt’s side and gently placed it on her aunt’s ankle. “How’s that?”
    “It’s cold.”
    Jessica bit her lip, worried about the pain her aunt must be in. “I’m going to call your neighbor now.” A moment later she was explaining their situation to the neighbor, who promised to come right over with one of his teenage sons to get Ellen down the stairs and into the car.
    Within twenty