Page 42 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
To: Bri Johnson
From: Liz Dawson
Subject: Confessions of a Wannabe Brave Girl
Bri,
I’m in the car and trying not to hyperventilate as I send this from my iPhone. It was good to see you just now. I am impressed with how you just handled Melody. I don’t know what I was expecting, but you were firm, yet friendly. You were welcoming, yet honest. Frankly, you were amazing. Why am I surprised though? You always are.
Also, there’s something I didn’t tell you. I asked Rose to support me while I attempted to drive the other day. Before you get too excited, it didn’t work out. I threw up before I even cranked the engine. Rose had a field day with that. Now she keeps brown paper bags handy in case I want to hyperventilate or vomit. It’s supposed to be a joke, but I’m always halfway tempted to reach for one.
I want to be brave. I want to be bold and fearless. I want to be more like you. It was so nice to see you today. I miss you already.
xx,
Liz
CHAPTERTWELVE
LIZ
Liz couldn’t relax in the passenger seat no matter how hard she tried. It didn’t matter who was driving. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for ten and then exhaling. It was just another trick in her toolbox of self-calming strategies. Then she grabbed her phone and tapped the screen in quick succession.
After a couple of minutes, Melody looked over and asked, “Who are you texting?”
“Eyes on the road,” Liz practically snapped.
“Okay. I know.”
“Sorry. I’m used to riding with Rose these days. She’s still new at this whole driving thing.” Liz blew out a breath and forced herself to relax as much as possible.
Melody kept two hands on the wheel along with both eyes on the road. She drove the speed limit, but it was only a couple weeks ago that she’d swerved into Liz’s car.
“I’m not texting. I’m sending Bri an email through the prison’s system.”
Melody glanced over again. “An email? But we just saw her.”
“I know.” Liz hit SEND and shoved her phone back into her purse. “This is what we do.” Liz saw a smile curve along Melody’s face.
“What did you just tell her?” Melody asked.
“That it was nice to see her. And I confessed that I tried to drive yesterday.”
Melody looked over again. “You did?”
“Eyes,” Liz warned.
“Right. Are you going to try again? With driving.”
“Yeah. I mean, that’s the plan. If I want to be a professional photographer, I need to be able to drive myself to the bookings, right?”
“Presumably, yeah. You could have asked me, you know,” Melody said, looking over again.
Liz had to restrain from ordering her to face forward. Melody probably would have been a better teacher than Rose. “You’re leaving Sunday. And I don’t think one lesson would have been sufficient.”
“I’m not leaving forever though. I’ll be back.”
Liz wanted to believe that was true. Only time would tell though.
