Page 14 of Shimmering Emeralds
“Actually, my visit was planned.” She must have been able to tell by my scrunched face that I was hurt that she hadn’t told me she was coming because she quickly went on. “I wanted to surprise you, but not like this.”
When she indicated the sterile hospital room by splaying her hands, I nodded my understanding before asking, “How long will you be here?”
“Indefinitely.”
My eyes bugged out in her direction. I had finally accepted the fact that my best friend lived a few hours south on I-95. Her move to Boston had been so difficult for me, but I knew she needed to be there to take advantage of the best opportunities for her career. I couldn’t imagine what would make her come back here for more than a brief visit.
When her eyes glanced in Levi’s direction, I could tell that her hesitancy to explain was due to his presence. I considered asking him to go retrieve a fresh bag of ice for my once-again-forgotten injured ankle because I knew he would be happy to do anything to help, but before I could do that, Dani began speaking in a quiet voice.
“I’m here to help my family. No one knows yet––not even Dean––but Dad has an aggressive form of lung cancer. His prognosis doesn’t look good.”
Her announcement felt like another kick straight to my gut. Danica and Dean’s parents had always been pillars of our community. They were what I looked up to as the perfect, happily married older couple that proved without a doubt that such a thing was possible. They were living the American dream, and they didn’t deserve to have to go through this kind of tragedy.
Mr. Waters was tall, strong, and steady. He was quietly intelligent, and he had a way of telling interesting anecdotes that always taught his listeners something, without them realizing they were learning until they thought about it afterwards.
I must have faltered as I struggled to process this new, sad reality because Levi hurried to scoot a chair behind me and helped me ease back into it.
Lifting a hand to my head, I said, “Oh, Dani, I’m so sorry.”
The platitude was a dumb thing to say since it wasn’t my fault, but it seemed to be the universal initial reaction to bad news. My eyes blinked rapidly as I worked to absorb what this meant for all involved.
Suddenly, I thought of Dani’s charming and handsome younger brother, Dean. He was just getting his foot in the door at the elementary school as a substitute teacher and was on track to take over as the Kindergarten teacher when ancient, universally-beloved Mrs. Thatcher––who had taught all of usandour parents––finally retired.
Still angry on my sister’s behalf and refusing to utter the other woman’s name, I said, “That woman just had her baby and Dean is raising it with her, isn’t he?”
Dani nodded sadly. “That’s why we haven’t told him yet. Dean is over the moon about their newborn son, so we haven’t had the heart to break the news to him about Dad. We have to soon, though.”
“Geesh, this town is falling to pieces.” I shook my head in disbelief over the onslaught of tragedies that kept plaguing us. Giving my friend a sad smile, I added, “I’m glad you’re here, though.”
“Me, too.” She returned my warm look before teasing, “I just wish there was a place to get a decent cappuccino around here.”
Levi’s eyes shot up. He looked thrilled to have a mission as he offered, “I’m on it.”
“Good luck.” Dani shook her head as if him finding one was a lost cause.
As soon as the hospital room’s door closed behind him, Dani hissed at me. “What are you doing? Why is he here?”
I shook my head, uncertain of the answer myself. Dani gave me an expectant look, like she was waiting for an answer, so I finally said, “Hell if I know. I guess we’ll see.”
“This should be interesting,” Dani weighed in.
Unable to deny it, I said, “Now, there’s the understatement of the year.”
12
Levi
When I returned to the hospital room with what I hoped was a decent cup of cappuccino for Dani and a strong, black coffee for Meg, the two of them had their heads bent together speaking in hushed tones over Harper’s bed. They immediately silenced, when they heard me enter the room, giving me the distinct impression that they’d been talking about me––although they probably hadn’t been.
After I handed them the steaming cups, they each blew on the hot beverage before taking a sip. Dani had a foam moustache on her lip when she weighed in with her verdict. “Not bad.”
I tried not to smile, but had to look away.
Meg glanced at her best friend and said, “It’s hard to take you seriously with that caterpillar on your lip.”
As Dani wiped it away, she glared in my direction. Sounding outraged, she asked, “You weren’t going to tell me?”
I lifted my shoulders, unsure what to say. It seemed like I couldn’t do anything right in this woman’s eyes. It was obvious that her hatred for me had only grown more venomous in our years apart, but I didn’t have any idea why.
