Page 101 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Nerves bound Liz’s chest tightly. Bri would be here any moment.
Melody had volunteered to the do the honors of driving up to the prison to pick Bri up while Liz stayed back to make sure the event of the century went off without a hitch.
It was supposed to be a surprise party, but Melody and Liz had both decided that was maybe too much for Bri right now. Sometimes even happy surprises could be stressful, and knowing what was just around the corner was preferable. Bri had argued against the party, at first, but then she’d agreed on just a small homecoming with Liz’s family, Melody, Christopher, Matt, and a few others, including Danette Rhodes. Mr. Lyme was going to stop by as well.
“The car just pulled in.” Matt turned from the window and caught Liz’s eye.
Liz’s insides lit up, half from the anticipation of Bri walking through the door, half from Matt himself. They were dating these days, double dating with Melody and Christopher some of those days.
Matt flicked the switch to turn the lights off.
Liz was about to object. That wasn’t part of Melody’s plan. Since Bri knew they were here, there was no reason to hide. Before Liz could say anything though, the door opened and Bri stepped through.
“Surprise!” Matt and a few others said.
Bri’s smile was hesitant, growing warmer as she glanced around the room.
When she finally looked in Liz’s direction, Liz grinned. “Surprise,” she mouthed.
Bri laughed quietly. Freedom looked good on her. Her skin was glowing and her eyes were bright. “All this for me?” she asked, gesturing at the decorations that Melody had hung around the room. There was a table of gifts as well.
“Why not for you?” Danette asked, her head bobbling as usual. “You deserve it.”
“I deserve it because I made it out of prison?” There was a note of sarcasm in Bri’s voice.
“No, because you’re you. The same you who grew up around here and the you you’ll always be. The one we know and love,” Danette said.
“Words of a wise woman,” Christopher said with a nod.
Danette’s smile dropped. “Are you calling me old?”
“I wouldn’t dare, Danny,” he said with a laugh.
Liz just watched, soaking up the moment. She’d wished for this moment for years and she’d never thought it could be like this, with all of them together again. Almost all of them at least.
Bri hugged each person as they stepped forward. Then, when all the hugs had been doled out, Melody directed folks to the tables that were set up. One might think today was a graduation ceremony or retirement party of some sort. It was fancy, yet simple. Perfect in a word.
Melody walked toward Liz. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”
“Yeah. I was just taking a few pictures to document the afternoon.”
“If you spend the whole time behind your camera lens, you’ll need those pictures to know what happened. Come on,” Melody said, reaching for Liz’s hand.
As they reached the table where Bri was sitting, Mr. Lyme stepped up as well.
“Bri, glad to have you home.”
Bri nervously twisted the charm bracelet on her wrist. Liz suspected that Melody had handed it to her as soon as Bri had walked out of the prison. There was a lot of making up for lost time to be done. “Thank you. Glad to be home.”
Mr. Lyme reached into his jacket pocket. “Jo gave me something to give you once you were out. She had clear instructions that you should have it immediately.” He handed Bri a small black box with a blue bow adhered to the top.
“What is it?” Bri took the box and looked down at it, not moving to lift its lid just yet.
“Well, you’ll have to open it to see.” Mr. Lyme chuckled. “Jo would have a fit if I ruined the surprise before you laid eyes on it. Go on.”
Liz noticed how Bri’s hands shook as she grasped the lid and lifted it up. Then a soft gasp tumbled out of her.
“It’s beautiful.”
