An ache gnawed in her stomach. Or maybe it had been there all along, since the gun went off, since she saw Kevin’s blood ooze over her bedroom floor. As she watched the big boat set off on its latest crossing—every trip, every journey a new story—Annie knew she needed to tell Meghan’s story to the others: John, Earl, Claire. And Lucy. Because Kevin was the one who mattered now. And if he was going to get better, Annie knew he’d need everyone to rally around him, talk to him, show him that they loved him. And as important as Annie knew she was to him, Meghan no doubt would be the real catalyst to help him to get well.
Unless he was so shocked by her presence that it made him worse.
You can’t control everything,Murphy whispered, then added,Or anything, really.
“I know,” Annie said quietly. “If I could, you’d be right beside me now.”
Then pretend I am. You can do it. You pretend all the time, remember?
Annie felt her mouth curve just a little, into a half-smile. “Thank you, my forever friend.” Then she rose from the soft cushioned chair and made her way back to the waiting room, finally knowing what she had to do next.
* * *
John had left the hospital to return to the station. Annie’s first thought was regret that he wouldn’t be there to hear the truth about Meghan. Her second thought was that she wouldn’t relish having to repeat it to him, to watch his eyes narrow as she told him while he silently questioned why she hadn’t shared it sooner. Like as soon as she’d found out.
She hoped that he would not take notes.
Claire and Earl and Lucy listened dutifully to Annie’s introduction, when she said she had news that was going to come as a shock, but that it was good news. She guided them to a cozy corner of the waiting room; she asked them to please sit, then take a deep breath and slowly let it out. The ladies complied; Earl did not.
“Get on with it, lassie,” he said. “I’m not getting any younger.”
So Annie said, “I think you all know the story about Kevin’s wife?”
The small group exchanged quick glances with each another.
“She was killed, right?” Lucy asked.
“No,” Claire chimed in. “She had some sort of accident at work. Construction, wasn’t it?”
Annie nodded. “Scaffolding collapsed underneath her, and she fell several stories. She was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury; she was in a coma a long time. A couple of years.”
“And when she came out of it, she didn’t know who Kevin was,” Earl added, scratching at his chin.
Nodding, Annie said, “After the accident, he was devastated. He found a really good rehab place for her in Western Mass.; he sold his business and put the money into a trust fund for her care.”
“Yup,” Earl said, “he told me.”
“I didn’t know that part . . .” Claire said.
Annie smiled. “It was difficult for him. He loved her very much. But several months later, when she still didn’t know him, the doctors advised him that his visits agitated her. They also said that chances were, her condition was permanent. So Kevin stopped going. I can’t imagine how tough that was for him. A long time after that, he knew he needed to get a new life.”
“Is that why he came here?” Lucy asked.
“Yes. Well, it was a while before he was able to pull up stakes and leave Boston. But all that time in between, unbeknownst to him, Donna had been going to see Meghan. She became her support system.”
“Donna, as in your mother?” Earl asked.
Annie nodded.
“Cool,” Lucy said.
“I liked that woman from the day I met her,” Claire said.
“It must have been difficult for her, though, because Meghan made Donna promise not to tell Kevin; she said no one could predict what her chances were going forward, and she didn’t want him to get his hopes up. She also said that if she ever got to see him again, she wanted to be whole—as whole as she could be. She didn’t want him sitting by her bed, waiting for the minutes to slowly tick by until she was able to walk again and be healthy again. She said she’d rather have him find someone else who would make him happy than to think she was causing him more misery.” Annie did not mention that Meghan had been pregnant. As far as Annie was concerned, that would remain between Meghan and Kevin, where it belonged.
Silence filled their little corner of the waiting room. Silence, framed by anticipation.
Annie looked away from the little group. She hoped what she’d say next would be all right, and that Meghan would know she’d done it out of love. Clearing her throat, Annie set her jaw and turned back to them.
