Page 114 of The Shell Collector
“Thank you.” She watched the nurse leave and shut the sliding glass door behind her. “I can’t eat. I’m too excited. My stomach is full of butterflies. Our trip is going to be so beautiful.” Maeve smiled so wide she could feel her bottom lip tremble.
Amanda picked up her phone. “Can I call Judy now and discuss it with her?”
“Yes. Use my phone. She may not answer if she doesn’t recognize the number. She’s funny like that.”
“Can’t really blame her,” Amanda said.
Maeve went inside and got her phone, then came back. She pecked the number on the screen. “Hey, Judy. Yes, it’s me. Of course I’m fine. I will be until I’m not. Yes.”
Maeve put her hand over the phone. “She’s a worrier.”
“Mm-hmm. No, we’re set, but I need you to talk to my dear friend Amanda. We want to change something about the ride down. Yes, I’m still coming.”
She handed Amanda the phone and watched her light up as she talked to Judy. Maeve almost wanted to pinch herself to make sure this moment was real. To see the beautiful moss-laden trees, in person, was the only thing that she’d never had the chance to do. She couldn’t wait. She couldn’t think of anyone else she’d want to do it with either.
“Yes ma’am,” Amanda said. “I’ll stay in touch the whole way. I’ll text you my number as soon as we hang up. Thank you for allowing me to butt in on your plans. This is really important to me. Maeve has been a life changer for me, a real angel. I can’t wait to share this with her.”
Hailey marched back up the ramp at a much slower pace with Methuselah in her wake. “We had a really good talk. He’s super excited. He asked if he could sleep in my room with me.”
“I see.” Maeve winked at Amanda.
“I don’t know. What do you think, Maeve?”
Maeve pursed her lips, as if really considering it. “I think he would love it. He has a doggy bed that he sleeps in just outside the kitchen, but I bet you could teach him to sleep in it in your room too.”
“Yes! Jesse can sleep with Denali, and I can sleep with Methuselah. We can each have our own dogs. The older one for me because I’m the oldest.”
Amanda’s head bobbed up and down. “That makes perfect sense to me.”
They ate their soup, and it was actually quite good. Maeve felt a little bad for the snarky thoughts earlier. That poor woman was doing a fine job. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t wanted, or even really needed at this point. There’d come a time when having a helper was necessary. May as well get used to it now.
When they finished eating, Amanda cleared the dishes, leaving Hailey sitting there with her. Maeve could see the questions rolling through the young girl’s mind.
“Mommy said you have to move away. That you’re sick.” Hailey studied her. “You don’t look sick. You’re old, but you always look that way.”
Maeve’s belly shook as she swallowed back the laugh. “Well, it’s not the kind of sick you see.”
“Mom said you two are going on a road trip next weekend.”
“That’s right. I’m going to live with my sister in Georgia. I won’t be coming back.”
Hailey looked out toward the ocean. “Are you going to heaven?”
Bless her little heart. It saddened Maeve that these children, at such a young age, already understood this kind of loss and what going to heaven meant. A knot formed in her throat. “Imost certainly am going to heaven. It’s going to be so beautiful.”
“The most beautiful place ever.” Hailey’s eyes widened. “No one hurts there, and all the animals are nice, even the wild ones, and the streets are gold. You might need sunglasses, because gold is really shiny.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll pack my favorite ones.”
“I’m not sure if they have shells there. I hope so.” Hailey tilted her chin up. “Please tell my daddy I love him and will never forget him. I’ll see him again one day. And you too. Will you look for me? You won’t forget me, will you?”
“No ma’am. I will never forget you, Hailey. Your daddy won’t either. I hope that every time you stand in my sunroom you think of me.”
“Is it okay if I call it our shell room instead?”
Our?“I’d love that.”
“I’m going to have you in my prayers every single day, and Jesse and I say prayers together with Mommy, so that’s prayers times three.”
