Page 73 of Beautiful Dreamer

“I want us to change things between us. We can take baby steps atfirst if you want. Like two gals in therapy together.” Elizabeth stared at theground, because it was hard to buy in. “I know I should have done more for youwhen I moved back.” Her typical smile faltered. “I was nervous being around youagain, if I’m fessing up. Don’t much like the way it feels to see how much ofyour life I missed. At first, well…I wasn’t sure how I could ever make that upto you, so I just didn’t.” She sighed and pulled on a strand of red curly hair.“Then I tried, but not enough.”

“You have a lot on your plate,” Elizabeth said. In this moment,she could convict her mother of everything she’d ever done to make Elizabeth’sheart hurt, explain to her all the ways she’d failed and do so quite easily.Yet Elizabeth just couldn’t bring herself to go there. Not when she stood infront of someone who looked so sad, so vulnerable. She just didn’t have it inher to lash out.

“Not too much for you.” Her mother gestured to the casserole.“You’ll be getting more of those, since this is the first time in a whileyou’ve accepted an overture from me. Yes, sir. I think I found my ticket.Casserole will be comin’ out of your ears, missy.” She laughed nervously, andElizabeth softened. She couldn’t help it. She’d always had a bleeding heart.

“Thank you for bringing it by.” A pause. “And for the chat.”

She watched as a smile sprang back onto her mother’s lips, as ifit radiated from the inside out. “You might have just made my whole week.” Sheswatted away the sentiment. “I’ll get out of your hair now. Know when to quitwhile I’m ahead, and who wants old ladies getting soft in their kitchenanyway?”

Elizabeth chuckled and walked her out. “Drive safe, okay? It’sgetting dark.”

“Will do. You take care of that sweet pup and that head turneryou’re running around with. Still can’t get over that face. Not that it hasanything on yours.”

“Thanks, Mom.” She gave Scout, who pressed against the outside ofher knee, a head pat. “That’s my plan.” With a final wave, her mother washeaded home. She stood there, stuck in her entryway. She had just survived aone-on-one visit. No, not just survived. Dare she say she’d flourished andenjoyed their small exchange, even? She wasn’t ready to jump back into any kindof deep mother-daughter relationship, but to be paid this little bit ofattention actually felt nice.

“What did you think of her?” she asked Scout, who now lay on herback, four paws in the air, as she scrunched and slid around on the carpet.“You seem more interested in that back scratch you’re giving yourself. But I doknow someone who I want to share this with.” It took her only a moment to placethe call.

Devyn didn’t even say hello, jumping right to the point, whichsurprised Elizabeth. She wasn’t even sure if Devyn would remember the plansshe’d made with her mother. “Did she come?”

“Surprisingly, yes. And…it wasn’t awful.”

“Well, not awful is an improvement, isn’t it?”

Elizabeth smiled and joined Scout on the floor. “It is. She didn’tstay very long, but she met my dog and complimented my house, which made mefeel good.”

“I’m so happy it went well. I was prepared to lay down my life inapology if it didn’t. I’ve been sitting over here nervous as hell.”

Elizabeth grinned and stared at the patterns of her ceiling. “Youdeal with millionaires daily and this makes you nervous?”

“Well, yeah, because it’s you. The idea of you sad makes me…”

As she trailed off, Elizabeth’s grin grew. Those kinds ofconfessions didn’t come naturally to Devyn, but Elizabeth could feel how muchshe was truly trying.

“I know,” she said. “I feel the same way.”

They talked for an hour, which was silly because they wereliterally moments away from each other in two separate houses in the same smalltown, but Elizabeth enjoyed talking to Devyn on the phone. The more theytalked, the more they laughed, and the more they confessed. There was a safetythere, in not seeing the other person’s face.

“I’ve been trying to remember everything I can about you from highschool,” Devyn said. “I still wish I’d known you better then.”

“Oh, I remember a lot about you,” Elizabeth said. “You and yourfriends would always make your weekend plans in Mr. Maguire’s precal class. Iwould listen in.”

“Really?”

“It’s true. You guys would always head to that sand pit near thebeach, and someone would volunteer to bring the wine.”

“Usually Cricket.”

“And there would be boys invited. It sounded so sophisticated tome. My Fridays involved my dad, the television, and occasionally a sleepover atKC’s. Not that those weren’t fun. Some of my best memories.”

Devyn paused. “If I knew myself then the way I know myself now, Iwould have spent that time with you instead. I missed out.”

Elizabeth’s heart fluttered pleasantly. It had to be one of thenicest things anyone had ever said to her. “Well, we know each other now.”

“I consider myself lucky.” Another pause. “Are you going to giveher a chance? Your mom?”

Elizabeth, feeling on a high from the events of the evening,considered the question. “I’ll be cautious, but…yeah. I think I might crackthat door open a touch. And, Devyn?”

“Yes?”

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