Page 42 of Love and Memories

“Camille, you can’t do that,” Bella said, helplessly watching her new friend slide the clothes into bags.

“Yes, I can.” She pointed at her chest. “Owner, remember?”

Bella’s breaths came quick and shallow. “I–”

“Just say thanks and forget about it,” Anna said. “Camille doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to.”

Bella sucked thick air into her lungs and blinked rapidly. People weren’t this nice. “Thank you,” she whispered past the tightness in her throat.

“You’re welcome,” Camille said without looking up from her task. “Don’t think about it again. I have the means to help, and that means I’m going to.”

There was a gap between Bella and Camille as big as the Grand Canyon, but a new goal took root in Bella’s heart. She wanted to be able to help someone else one day. She wanted to give back this gift Camille had given her.

Anna wrapped her arm around Bella’s shoulder and turned her toward the door. “Thanks, girl. We might be back over the next few weeks.”

“See you soon. Anna, give Bella my number in case she has questions.”

“And I’ll get with you about your resources,” Anna said.

Bella followed Anna through the rest of the morning in a fog. Maybe the Lord Anna always talked aboutwashelping her. Maybe she already knew Him but couldn’t remember.

When Anna placed a phone in Bella’s hand, it jolted her out of her daydreams.

“What do you think about this one?”

Bella turned the phone over in her hands. “Is it cheap?”

Anna let out a long huff. “It’s the cheapest one they have. I’ve been paying attention.”

Bella nodded and handed it back to Anna. “Okay. I’ll take that one.”

“You don’t need a plan, so it won’t be too expensive.”

“I really need a job. Could you help me…”

Anna stopped and looked back at her. “Help you what?”

“Well, I was going to say help me put together a resume, but I don’t have anything to put on it.”

Anna stood in the middle of the store and propped her hands on her hips. “I know this all seems impossible, but we’re just going to take it one thing at a time. You’ll have a phone now, so that’s one thing checked off the list.”

Bella spotted a bench near the checkout and pointed to it. “I think I need to sit down.” Her head was spinning, and the lunch they’d eaten had threatened to come back up more than once.

“Sure. We’ll go home after this so you can rest. You look tired.”

A heavy weight hung around her neck like a ball and chain. The exhaustion that accompanied a concussion zapped every ounce of her energy.

With the phone in hand, Bella rode back to Anna’s house in silence. How was she supposed to get a job when she couldn’t spend the morning shopping without falling asleep?

Thinking about the obstacles standing in her way only drained her mental capacity. It was a dangerous cycle from bad to worse.

Anna’s mom called her again, and Bella tried to tune out the conversation. She’d met Anna’s mom, and the two had an interesting relationship–one where her parents wanted to be very involved in her adult life.

When the car engine turned off, it roused Bella from her sleep.

Anna touched Bella’s arm. “Go inside and take a nap. We’ll unload the stuff later.”

Bella nodded and walked inside in a haze. When she stepped into her temporary bedroom, she crawled into the bed and wrapped the covers around her, immediately sinking into sleep.

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