Page 95 of Amnesty

“They released me from the hospital this morning,” Sadie said, glancing at my flour-covered attire. “We were on the way to see Eddie.”

I tried so hard not to be bothered by that.

I was. On all accounts.

“We thought we would stop in, get some coffee. See Joline and Jeremy.”

“Oh my goodness, is that Sadie?” Joline cried, coming out from the back. “Jeremy! Sadie is here!”

She rushed around me and swept Sadie into a hug. Jeremy was close behind her. They fawned all over her, talking and smiling. I was glad for it. I needed a few moments to compose myself. I hadn’t been expecting to see her here this morning. It threw me for a loop.

It was a jolt of reality in what started out as a pretty dreamy day.

Soon, the chatter calmed down and the pair retreated behind the counter to get some coffees and a few pastries for Maggie and Sadie.

The timer in the back went off. Joline perked up. “There’s our monkey bread, Amnesia. I’ll go pull it out. Then you can glaze it.”

Maggie came to my side, brushing the flour from my shoulders and hair.

I smiled. “We got a little carried away.”

“It’s nice to see you having such fun.”

“I got my first paycheck today,” I confided. “I’m supposed to be shopping.”

“The day is still young!”

My eyes drifted back to Sadie. She was taking a coffee from Jeremy and going to the nearby table to sit down.

“She’s coming home with me,” Maggie said, her voice hushed. “I would have told you, but I didn’t know she was being discharged until this morning.”

“It’s okay,” I said.

Maggie stared at me a heartbeat longer before nodding. “You have a good time today. I’ll get her all settled in.”

I nodded. Feeling her eyes, I turned my head, our stares colliding. She stared at me without blinking, her brown eyes holding something that made my toes squirm around inside my Adidas.

I wanted to run. To squeeze my eyes closed and forget she was there. I was afraid to remember. So afraid.

Instead, I stepped around Maggie and went to the table, dropping down in the seat across from her. “How are you, Sadie?”

“I’m good, Lily. It’s nice to be out of the hospital.”

My stomach dropped when she called me that. My hands grew clammy. I pushed it all back and focused on the current moment. I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I felt the same.”

“You live with Maggie, too?” she asked, taking a drink of her coffee.

I glanced at Maggie, who was at the register, handing Jeremy a few dollar bills. “Yes, since I got out of the hospital.”

“What about Eddie?” she questioned.

“The doctors all thought it was a better idea if I stayed with Maggie,” I explained.

She nodded, slow. “They told me the same thing.”

“You asked to live with Eddie?” The words came out before I could snatch them back.

“Of course,” she said, as if it should have been obvious. “We’re going to visit him right now at Loch General.”

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