Annie leaned forward. “Kevin? No! He didn’t know. The last time he saw her she didn’t recognize him.”
“And suddenly she’s better?” She flipped her mane again, her attitude returning. “Well, then. It’s a bloody miracle.”
She hurried away as Annie called after her. “Taylor. Stop. Please don’t make a fool of yourself. Now isn’t the time.”
But she stalked off, a woman scorned.
* * *
Annie stayed on the rooftop garden, trying to regain her mental balance, if she had any left at all.
Not your circus . . .Murphy whispered, letting Annie know this was neither her show nor her responsibility. It was nice to know her old friend was back to hovering.
Tipping her head up to the heavens, Annie wanted, needed, conversation. And no one was around to see her talking to the air.
“But we’re talking about innocent people, Murphy. Meghan was doing what she thought was best. She didn’t know until recently that she really was going to be okay. And she felt guilty about losing the baby. And Kevin . . . well, Kevin’s been trying his damnedest to make a new life. God knows that what he’s been through before today has been tragic, too. The bottom line is, Taylor’s never been my best friend, but she’s an innocent party, too, caught in the middle of something no one was aware of. So this is no circus, Murph. It’s just life, I guess, and people—none of whom set out to hurt anyone, or to be hurt.”
Um . . . I already know those things. I see everything from here. And I think it’s time to let love happen—or not happen—as it will.Then Murphy’s words trailed off, drifting up to the orange sunrise sky. Though Annie didn’t feel much better about the situation, she at least felt as if she were no longer on her own in this . . . whatever “this” turned out to be.
She took her time going back into the hospital. When she stepped into the corridor of the ICU, she fully expected to see Taylor in Kevin’s room. And that Meghan would be standing in the doorway, watching.
Moving stealthily, Annie went to the glass wall of the room. Kevin was lying in the bed, his face turned in her direction. His eyes were closed. And he was alone.
“He looks peaceful, doesn’t he?”
Annie jumped. She pivoted on one foot and saw Meghan approaching.
“Sorry,” Meghan said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Shaking it off, Annie replied, “I’m just . . . it’s just . . .” She knew she had to tell her that Taylor had been there, that she’d had come back with Kevin.
Meghan reached Annie and stood next to her, her eyes fixed on the figure in the bed behind the glass. “I know Taylor’s back,” she said. “I know she was here.”
Annie’s throat started to flutter; it felt as if she’d swallowed a tiny bird. She feared if she spoke, her words would come out in small chirps. “I’m so sorry, Meghan,” she managed to say. “I had no idea that she’d come back with him.”
Unlike tall, lofty Taylor, Meghan was petite; Annie hoped that the contrast between what looked like strength versus fragility was deceiving.
“I told her,” Annie said. “I told her you’re here.”
Again, Meghan nodded. “I know. She told me. She saw me in the waiting area. She introduced herself.”
The bird inside Annie threatened to take flight. “How did she know who you were?”
Meghan shrugged. “Kevin’s the only one in the ICU. She saw me. She must have figured it out. Maybe he’d told her what I look like—my eyes, my skin color, who knows?” She turned from the glass and put her hand on Annie’s arm. “It’s okay, Annie. I’m okay. What will be, will be, right?”
Part of Annie wondered if Meghan had been talking to Murphy, too. She looked back at her brother, thinking how upset he’d be if he knew he was causing so much anguish to the people he cared about. “Can I interest you in coffee? Somewhere outside the hospital? I think it’s safe to safe to assume that Kevin isn’t going anywhere.”
“Maybe.” She pressed a palm against the glass. “But let’s wait until the doctor comes, okay?”
“Absolutely.”
They went back to the waiting room and sat, passing the time with minimal conversation. It was mid-morning before Doctor Mike arrived.
“He’s doing okay,” he told them. “I’m still concerned about the possibility of bone fragments, so let’s see how today goes before we wake him up.” It looked as if he was smiling behind his mask. “Patience isn’t always easy, but sometimes it’s the best medicine.”
Annie figured that Meghan already knew that.
* * *
