Page 93 of Through the Snow Globe
Diana:I’m sorry.
Rochelle:Uh-oh. You’re ditching me for New Year’s Eve drinks?
Diana:I have a good excuse.
Rochelle:Doubtful. What is it?
Diana:Linus is awake!
Rochelle:WHAT?!? Are you serious?
Diana:Completely!
Rochelle:You’re forgiven. Tell him hello.
Diana:I will. Rain check?
Rochelle:Snow check. And yes. For sure.
* * *
An hour later, Joann came into the room with Dustin trailing behind her. “Linus! Oh, my son! I’ve missed you so much!”
“Hi, Mom. How are you?” Linus’s voice had gotten even stronger in the last half hour.
“That’s for me to ask you.” Joann took his hand and held it like she never planned to let go. That was a mother’s prerogative, Diana guessed.
“I’ve been better.” His gaze reached past her and landed on Dustin. “Hey, there, buddy. I hear you’ve moved in with us while I was sleeping.”
Diana straightened in the chair. She hadn’t told Linus that just yet. How did he know?
“Is that okay?” Dustin asked sheepishly as he stepped closer. “I mean, now that you’re awake, do I have to leave?”
Linus offered his hand to the boy.
Dustin hesitated before taking it. “No way. I’m excited about having a new roommate. I hear you got to go shopping at the store for Christmas too.”
Diana hadn’t told him that either. Not while he was awake, at least. “Where did you hear that?”
Linus glanced over. “You told me.”
“But . . . but you were in a coma. You heard what I said?” she asked.
Linus’s dark brows dipped. “I guess I did. Being in a coma is strange. I had this bizarre dream.”
“Dream?” Joann took a seat on the edge of his bed. “What kind of dream?”
Linus seemed to look off in space as if he was trying to put the sequence of it in order. “I was reliving the same day on repeat. It was kind of bizarre. And I kept getting hit by a delivery truck at the end of it.”
Diana covered her mouth with one hand and reminded herself to breathe.
Joann looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
Diana couldn’t tell them the truth. Not the full truth. She shared a look with Dustin. He wasn’t planning to pipe up about that day just yet either. It was their little secret to keep. “It’s just . . . I had the same dream,” Diana told them, her eyes burning.
“How odd is that?” Joann asked on a laugh.
Diana swallowed past a tight throat. “It was terrible.”
