Page 51 of Through the Snow Globe
“Mm-hmm. Just tired.” She forced a yawn for show. “I’m also a little nervous about the meeting with Mr. Powell.”
“No need to worry. You’ll be amazing. You’ve worked hard for this promotion. You deserve it,” he said, being the ever-supportive fiancé he was. After last night’s argument in the car, however, she knew he didn’t believe she actually wanted the job. And neither did Rochelle.
Linus rolled his bicycle out of the apartment where he kept it against the wall. He hopped on and waved before pedaling out onto the main street. Here went a repeat of the same awful day. Diana released a heavy sigh. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t she save Linus in the end?
“Good morning, Diana.”
Diana turned toward Mrs. Guzman out walking Leonardo. “Morning,” she said, wondering if her neighbor had any recollection of yesterday or the day before. Of course she wouldn’t. She was the one who’d started this whole mess and she couldn’t even recall what she’d done.
“Chilly out here, isn’t it?” Mrs. Guzman commented.
Diana took note of the weather. Cold, like yesterday, but maybe a degree or two warmer. At least it wasn’t sleeting.
“Perhaps we’ll have a white Christmas after all,” Mrs. Guzman commented.
“Christmas? That’s still three weeks away, isn’t it?” Linus had already confirmed the date for her, but Diana wanted to gauge Mrs. Guzman’s reaction.
“Plenty of time to get you a gift. Do you like wine?” the older lady asked.
Diana deflated a touch. Mrs. Guzman didn’t remember putting a spell on the snow globe or her discussion with Diana yesterday. “Yes, I love wine. I need to get off to work. It’s a big day. I’m interviewing for a promotion.”
“Well, isn’t that wonderful? I hope you get it. If you want it, that is.”
Diana found that to be a peculiar comment. “I wouldn’t interview for a position I didn’t want—would I?”
Mrs. Guzman shrugged. “Sometimes we don’t know our heart’s true desires. Sometimes we just chase things because we think we should. That’s why Leonardo here tries to go after the squirrels every day. If he ever caught one, he wouldn’t know what to do with it—because he doesn’t really want it.” Mrs. Guzman chuckled dryly. “See you later, dear.”
Diana stood there thoughtfully and then remembered Maria.Oh, crap!She picked up her cell phone and dialed her patient, impatiently waiting as the phone rang in her ear. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”
Maria didn’t answer so Diana dialed a second time.
“Hello?” Maria finally said, sounding out of breath.
“Maria! It’s Diana. Are you pulling things down from your attic?”
Maria coughed lightly. “How would you know that?”
“Hunch. Please stop, Maria. I will help you just as soon as I get there this morning.”
“Oh, no, you don’t have to—” Maria started to argue.
“Maria,” Diana said sternly, “no pulling stuff down from the attic. You’ll break your ankle.”
This time Maria huffed. “Fine, fine. I have no idea how you knew what I was doing, but I’ll wait for you to help when you come over this morning.”
“Good.” Diana exhaled as she headed back inside to finish getting ready. Afterward, she left her apartment and dropped a dollar in the sidewalk Santa’s pail as she hurried toward her car in the parking lot. Then she drove to Maria’s home, keeping to her schedule like the committed physical therapist she was.
“Come in, come in,” Maria said when she opened the door. “You must be frozen solid standing out there.”
Diana stepped into her patient’s home and turned to face Maria. No broken ankle. Why was she successfully changing fate for Maria and not for Linus? It didn’t make sense and it wasn’t fair. “How’s your arm today?” Diana asked as she normally would.
“Oh, it’s stiff. Must be the weather.”
Diana gestured toward the bed. “How about I stretch it for you and then I can pull down those boxes from the attic?”
“You are such a sweet girl.” Maria shuffled toward the bed in the corner of the room and laid back. She closed her eyes while Diana lifted her arm and held it for a count of ten.
As Diana led the woman through a series of stretches, Maria chatted more than usual. Diana only halfway listened, though. Her mind was on the next steps in the therapy session and the day. How was she going to get that promotion at work? What was she going to do to keep Linus from landing himself in the ER tonight?
