Page 13 of Beautiful Dreamer

Her wrist was sprained, and three of her ribs were broken. Herbody was marred with cuts and bruises in various spots. However, her left legand hip had taken the brunt of the trauma. She would need surgery the next dayand pins and screws and many months of rehabilitation to be mobile again, andeven with all of that, she might never regain full function on that side. Devynanxiously tapped her foot. She didn’t like what that would mean for Jill, avery active elementary school teacher who spent most of her days up and aroundthe classroom, and she liked to go for jogs on the weekends. Devyn moved aboutthe room overnight, walking the darkened space, and decided those kinds ofdetails could wait. Right now it was about getting her sister through thesenext few days as comfortably as possible. She’d very seriously consideredhaving her moved to Philadelphia, to one of the top hospitals in the country,but Jill would hate the idea of being moved out of the Bay. For reasons Devyndidn’t share, she felt bonded to the slow-paced little town and loved it there.

She’d been at her sister’s bedside for only a handful of hoursthat morning when the first floral delivery arrived, followed by an additionalarrangement, balloon bundle, or stuffed animal every hour or so. The deliverieswere unending, and the back table of the nurses’ station where they were storedoverflowed. Word must have spread fast throughout town, but then that’s how ithad always been. Jill was loved by so many that of course her friends andneighbors would show their love in the face of such an awful accident. Thesentiment was nice, but the space was small. Devyn distantly wondered wherethey’d put all the stuff.

As the day moved forward, she couldn’t go over the details of theaccident anymore. They haunted her and left her feeling helpless. Tocounterbalance the grim thoughts, she checked her phone for any bites on theproperty she’d listed just three days before, a penthouse in one of the mostsought-after buildings in downtown Philly. With a private outdoor space mostwould kill for, she knew it wouldn’t last on the market for long.

Just as she would have predicted, she had a nibble from apotential buyer she’d shown the place to just days before. The agent wanted herto call him. Somehow, she had to get herself together enough to sound like ahuman on the other end of the phone, a successful one who couldn’t be fuckedwith when it came to negotiating. She didn’t feel like that person at all inthe present moment.

“Knock, knock,” a voice said from across the room, in place ofactual knocking.

Devyn glanced up to see Elizabeth entering, carrying a smallbasket. She was in a new set of clothes, slim-fitting jeans and a green Henley,and looked brighter, refreshed. A shower and some food will do that. Her hairwas pulled partially back and fell from the clip a little to frame her face.Light brown with highlights of blond and what appeared to be shades ofstrawberry mixed in, a most intriguing and beautiful color combination. It wastoo intricate to be anything but natural.

“Hi,” Devyn said, standing politely and smiling. She held up onefinger and, with the phone to her ear, tried to make it clear that she wasengaged in a call.

“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” Elizabeth whispered, and lookedover at Jill.

Devyn watched as the image of her sister, battered in that bed,took hold of Elizabeth. She knew the feeling and almost forgot herself on thecall. “Jared? No. No, I’m here. I hear you have an offer for me on EighteenPark.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth and closed it again. While Devyn workedon Jared to come in with a thirty-day close, Elizabeth quietly made her way toJill’s bedside and took her hand. Devyn swallowed at the caring gesture. Jaredpromised to see what he could do, and she clicked off the call. With a hand onher hip, she studied Elizabeth.

“You look like a person again.”

“Yeah, I got a few hours, but thought I’d head back up here. Seehow things were.”

“I was thinking overnight about how quickly you came in and tookcontrol yesterday. If you hadn’t done that…” Devyn realized there were tears inher eyes, but then there had been constantly for the past forty-eight hours.She couldn’t stop them.

“She’s okay, though.” Elizabeth’s arms were around Devyn’s neckimmediately. “Sorry. I just have this thing about people crying in my presence.I can’t not hug them.” She’d said it with an enthusiasm that Devyn wasbeginning to understand was her default. She’d not seen it while Jill wasmissing, but she vaguely remembered the exuberance from high school. She wassomeone who worked to bring cheer into almost every room. Those kind of peoplegenerally exhausted Devyn.

“It’s okay,” Devyn said, with Elizabeth pressed up against her.She let her hands rest on Elizabeth’s waist lightly.

“She’s here and she’s safe. Keep telling yourself that.” Shecouldn’t see Elizabeth’s face, but Devyn had a feeling she was smiling.

Devyn nodded as the tears flowed freely, landing in a smudgedcircle on Elizabeth’s green shirt. The warmth and steady feel of her body inDevyn’s arms was like a much-needed anchor. Cheerful or not, she didn’t want tolet go of Elizabeth. Yet, after the weighted moment passed, she forced herselfto.

“I’m sorry about that,” Devyn said, and absently smoothed herjeans. “I’m apparently getting used to you comforting me.”

“Stop that. It’s okay to be emotional.”

“I know.” Devyn wiped her face and stared at the ceiling. “Ifthere’s a time to cry, this is probably it. Still. Not like me.”

“That’s okay, too,” Elizabeth said, as Devyn put some spacebetween them. “You can’t be a badass all the time. No one can. And I was happyI was able to help with the search. It’s kind of what I do. I’m basically aprofessional when it comes to chairing committees. I’m a people person.”

“That part I remember about you.”

Elizabeth began ticking off one finger at a time. “Studentcouncil, Spanish club, Neighborhood Outreach, Big Sisters, and prom committee.Not to mention the yearly food drive. That was me in high school.”

Devyn smiled. “All of that while my friends and I were learning todo back handsprings, hanging out in the sand pit on the beach, listening tomusic, and drinking cheap wine. I think your time might have been betterspent.”

“I don’t know about that. You guys were out living life. It’s alittle embarrassing, my mundane résumé.”

“Well, I, for one, am grateful for it. Did you do a magic show atsome point, or am I making that up?”

“Sixth-grade talent show. I was Electrifying Elizabeth.”

“Oh, wow. You were. I remember now.” A pause. “You weren’t bad,but your costume—”

“Was a bit much.” She nodded. “I made it myself out of foundfabric and glitter and newspaper. Not a lot of help on the parental side ofthings. My dad worked a lot.”

“It served its purpose.” Devyn made sure not to share theless-than-kind things she and her friends had had to say about the costume.

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