Page 21 of Shimmering Emeralds
“Yeah, I definitely need a shower.” Meg glanced down at her dirty, ripped clothing. She looked at the closed door that led to the private bathroom attached to Harper’s room, and sat there for a long moment seeming to weigh her options.
Finally, she said, “You’ll both stay with Harper and get me immediately if there are any changes.”
Dani and I both nodded. She said, “Absolutely,” at the same time as I said, “Of course.”
I was secretly thrilled that Meg wanted me to stay, even though I knew she was probably just afraid Dani would get called out on an emergency, and she didn’t want Harper left alone for a single moment.
When Meg stood, I walked over to pick up the duffel bag. It wasn’t heavy, but as fragile as she looked, I didn’t want her to carry it herself. I turned on the bathroom light, set down the bag on the floor, and ushered Meg inside before exiting back into the room and closing the door behind me.
I settled into the chair Meg had just vacated. As soon as we heard the water start in the shower, Dani glared in my direction. “You better not let her get attached to you and then leave her again, or I’ll hunt you down and break the part of my Hippocratic Oath where I promised to do no harm.”
Even though she was threatening me, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the woman’s vehement defense of her friend. I loved Meg, too, so I was glad for anyone who wanted to take care of her––even if that meant protection from me.
At the woman’s continued glower, I began feeling a tiny bit defensive. “You know, Meg’s the one that told me to leave.”
“And you did,” Dani snapped back, angling venom-tipped eye daggers in my direction.
There wasn’t much I could say to that. The love of my life had told me to leave to follow my dreams of stardom, and I’d done it. I’d made a choice. In hindsight, I’m not at all sure I made the right choice, but I probably would have always wondered what could have been, if I hadn’t made a go of it with my singing career.
If I hadn’t gone to Nashville, I wouldn’t have realized how empty my dreams were without Meg in my life. Everyone in town assumed I didn’t make it big after my years of hard work, and that I’d been forced to return to Brunswick Bay Harbor with my tail tucked between my legs. The truth was, I did get my big break. One of the biggest labels in the industry offered me a hefty signing bonus, a fantastic deal, and a worldwide tour.
The contract was a more lucrative offer than I would have even dreamed of receiving, but when it came time to sign on the proverbial dotted line, I couldn’t do it. The surge of happiness and pride that I had assumed would accompany financial and commercial success of that magnitude felt like nothing without Meg by my side.
She was the only person I wanted to tell or share the benefits of my success with. So, I came back to Maine intent on winning her back, but instead, promptly drove a school bus into a ravine and injured her only child, likely forever ruining any miniscule fraction of a chance that I might have had of getting back together with her.Way to go.
Meg emerged from the bathroom, clean and fresh-smelling, but the drawn, worry-filled look still weighed down her expression. She could practically swim in my baggy sweats, but she still somehow managed to make the look work. The woman could probably wear a potato sack, and I would still find her to be the most attractive and irresistible woman in the room––in any room.
Dani’s phone buzzed, and she glanced down at the text before saying, “It’s from my mom. She wants to have a family meeting to tell Dean about Dad’s cancer.”
“Go.” Meg ordered the suddenly pale woman. At Dani’s uncertain look, Meg urged her. “You need to be with your family. I’m fine here with Levi.”
I couldn’t deny the instant surge of pleasure that overtook me at Meg’s assumption that I would stay here by her side––right where I wanted to be and where I knew I belonged.
That bit of happiness quickly waned when she added, “I’ll call you right away if––or when––he bails on me again.”
19
Meg
After Dani left Levi and me alone in Harper’s room, I picked up the granola bar he’d gotten me from the hospital’s vending machine. Glaring at it, I asked, “Don’t they have anything that’s actually edible in this godforsaken building?”
Levi gave me a knowing grin as I tossed the healthy fruit and nut bar down on Harper’s bedside table. “What you and I consider to be edible are two vastly different things… Unless you’ve drastically changed your eating habits in the past few years.”
“Nope. I haven’t changed a bit.” I gave him a proud smile.
He gave me a warm look, but couldn’t resist teasing me. “So, your diet still consists of as much barely-cooked red meat as you can find.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I said unapologetically, “Pretty much.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” He promised as he picked up his cell phone to order us some food to be delivered from Mimi’s Diner, which was pretty much the only game in town. They normally didn’t deliver, but since it was well after the dinner rush, and he offered the person on the phone a generous tip, they agreed to bring our order to the room.
While we waited for the food, a nurse popped in to check on Harper. Although they made regular visits to check on the little girl, nothing seemed to be happening to help her progress. The woman tapped a few figures into her electronic chart and turned to go.
Before she could scurry out, Levi asked, “Could we get an extra bed in here, please?”
The woman gave him a surprised look as if she had forgotten there was anyone else in the room. After looking back and forth between us and assessing the situation, she gave him the standard party line. “Visiting hours are over at 9:30 p.m. and resume at 8 a.m.”
I bristled at the woman’s implication that I would be required to leave my daughter here alone. Tilting my chin up and practically daring the nurse to challenge me, I said firmly, “I’m not leaving.”
