Page 21 of Beautiful Dreamer

Devyn balked. “Doubtful. You have twenty-five fourth graders towrangle. I can’t even imagine. The runny noses alone would stress me out.”

“You’d survive. You’d have them organized into competitive teamsready to take on the other classes.” Devyn had to laugh. “The pay is a littleless, though.”

“Pshhh,” Devyn said. “Who cares about money?”

Jill leveled her gaze. “You do. You have enough.”

“Fine. I love money. It gets my fur up but I’m glad there arepeople like you in the world, willing to fight the good fight so I can be coldand calculating.” It was a joke, but not entirely. Hearing her words out loudstruck a chord. Sigh. Maybe she had gotten caught up.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that,” Jill said, picking up onher deflation. “I’m driven by people, and my connection to them. You’re not,and that is one hundred percent okay.”

“I didn’t take offense.” Devyn shook off the feeling that she’dsold her soul, knowing it was only a temporary impression anyway. She loved herlife in Philadelphia and was crazy about her job. Did it matter that she wasn’texactly warm and optimistic and out to change the world like Jill or ElizabethDraper? No. She made charitable donations on the regular. She did her part.“We’re just different. That’s all.”

Jill tucked herself back into bed more fully. “And different makesthe world go ’round.”

“Yep,” Devyn said, still trying to shake that self-assignedhollowness that encroached.

“Thank you for sitting with me tonight.” Jill tapped her pillow.“I think I’ll try and get some sleep.”

“Anytime.” Devyn killed the small lamp across the room andreturned to the recliner, her bed for the night. Alone with her thoughts, shestared into the darkness, now defenseless to her own self-recriminations. Herlife had purpose. It did. It had meaning. She had friends and colleagues toenrich it further. Wait. No, she didn’t.

She sighed. Self-awareness could be a total bitch.

* * *

“I don’t understand why Dexter doesn’t just dive in?” Jill asked.She moved her right arm in the circular gesture the way the physical therapisthad demonstrated an hour earlier.

“Eight more to go.” Elizabeth bit her lip as she thought on how toexplain. “He can be a man child. On one hand, it’s endearing, but when it comesto love and this new woman, he’s just being dumb. He needs to stop dating otherpeople and make her his forever girlfriend. Two more to go.”

Jill winced at what must have been a hit of pain, finished thefinal two rotations, and slowly lowered her arm. “What about you?”

“I have no love life,” Elizabeth stated simply. “I’m a boringwoman who watches too many game shows.”

“What about Thalia Perkins?”

Elizabeth sighed. “She’s…Thalia. She’s a hard one to pin down.”

Jill leaned back against her pillow and allowed her eyes to close.The workout had likely tired her. A smile graced her lips. “But you wouldn’tmind pinning her down.”

“Jill,” Elizabeth gasped, sitting forward and laughing. “Really?”

Jill was laughing now, too, and Elizabeth handed her a pillow toplace against her ribs. “I’m sorry. I just call ’em as I see ’em.”

“Am I that obvious?” Elizabeth asked. “It’s possible I pine forher a little. She’s…gorgeous.”

“I know it. At the Valentine’s Day dinner, you couldn’t take youreyes off her.”

Elizabeth nodded. “She wore that red dress.”

“That showed off her amazing rack.” Jill grabbed her own boobs andElizabeth laughed louder this time. It wasn’t so muchwhatJill said and did,but the fact that it was prim and proper Jill saying it.

“What has happened to you?” Elizabeth asked. “It’s the pain meds,isn’t it?”

Jill nodded, joining her in laughter. “More of those things,please. Keep the good drugs flowing.”

And then a voice from behind interrupted them. “Well, someone’shaving a good time.”

Elizabeth glanced behind her and saw Devyn enter the hospitalroom. She wore jeans, heels, and a plaid blazer. Much too dressy for ahospital, but that was Devyn, she’d found. Dressed and ready for the day, evenif it meant working from nowhere. “We were just gossiping a little.”

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