Page 86 of All Autumn
We’d ordered a girl feast. French toast, bacon, both banana nut and apple cinnamon muffins, strawberries, blackberries, and—Savannah’s favorite fruit—pineapples. Also on the cart was her favorite breakfast drink, chocolate milk. For Jenn and me, there was a pot of coffee that we’d already started on while waiting for Savannah.
She was ten minutes late.
Jenn glanced at her watch. “She’s not coming.”
“She promised,” I said, although even as I said it, it sounded stupid since she wasn’t here. “So what do we do now? Spend today and tomorrow sightseeing until it’s time for our flight home? Or do we mount a rescue? She’s not happy, Jenn. You had to see that.”
“I did.”
Her voice sounded so sad that it brought tears to my eyes. “Do you remember when we swore that we’d be friends forever and that we’d always be there for each other? I think we were fifteen at the time. We promised that no matter what happened, if one of us was in trouble, we could count on each other to save us.” I’d been pacing the length of the room, but I stopped in front of Jenn. “She’s in trouble.”
“I know, but she has to want us to help her.”
That brought me up short. “Because if we kidnap her and take her home, the first chance she gets, she’ll just come back to this place that is killing her?”
“Probably.”
I hated the defeat I heard in Jenn’s voice, but I was feeling it, too. We couldn’t help Savannah unless she wanted us to. Before I could decide if I cared and kidnapped her anyway, we heard a knock on the door.
“She’s here,” I whispered as if Savannah could hear me from the other side of a hotel door.
“Don’t scare her away with your caped hero I-have-to-save-my-friend heroics,” Jenn said as she walked to the door of the suite we’d splurged on.
I couldn’t guarantee that wasn’t exactly what I’d do, so I kept my mouth shut. Not an easy thing to do when I’d always been the one who’d done and said anything that was on my mind.
Savannah came into the room, so obviously reluctant that I wondered if she felt like she was walking into an angry lion’s cage. My anger drained away, my only concern that she felt comfortable being with us. Yeah, I was raging mad, and so was Jenn, but if we didn’t hide our worry for her, she’d bolt like a scared rabbit.
“Thank God you’re here,” I said. “I’m starving, but Jenn wouldn’t let me eat until you appeared.” I turned to Jenn, waving my hand at Savannah. “There she is. Can I stuff my face now?” From the corner of my eye, I saw Savannah’s shoulders relax.
“How long do you have?” Jenn asked.
“Two hours tops.” Savannah eyed the cart, then went to the chair farthest from the food.
Two hours wasn’t good enough, but better than nothing. “I’m fixing you a plate.” And she was going to eat if I had to force-feed her. Her mother had watched her calorie intake like a hawk when Savannah was growing up, and I guessed that Jackson did the same. The sad thing about that was that Savannah liked to eat. As teens Jenn and I had snuck her food. Whether it was sandwiches and goodies from Mary or even a Georgia peach dripping with juice, she would devour them like someone starved.
Because I didn’t want to overwhelm her with a plate piled high with food, I cut a slice of French toast and a banana nut muffin in half, and then added some fruit. I took the plate and the glass of chocolate milk, setting it down on the table next to her chair. Not saying a word, I returned to the cart and made myself a plate. Jenn did the same, and the two of us sat on the small sofa.
“So what should we see while we’re in New York?” I asked. Savannah was no doubt expecting us to jump right in, giving her the third degree, and relief at my harmless question crossed her face.
“I want to go to Ground Zero and see the museum and memorial,” Jenn said.
“You should. It’s very moving.” Savannah picked up a slice of pineapple and nibbled on it.
“I want to go to the New York Design Center.” I glanced at Jenn. “It’s this huge building that’s full of furniture showrooms.”
“Why am I not surprised,” Jenn said. She and Savannah looked at each other and then laughed.
Savannah tore off a tiny piece of French toast and popped it into her mouth. “Remember how as soon as she could drive, she would watch for open houses and then drag us to see them?”
If we kept ignoring that she was eating, she’d finish off that plate. “Hey, y’all could’ve said no.” That made them laugh again, and just like that, we slid back into how we used to be.
Jenn rolled her eyes. “Saying no to you, Autumn, is like standing in front of a steamroller you have no hope of stopping.”
For an hour we reminisced, laughed, and ate. I don’t think Savannah even realized what she was doing when she walked over to the cart and picked up the second half of the banana nut muffin. Jenn apparently noticed, too, because she looked at me and smiled.
“Your mother must be happy about your success,” I said. Mrs. Graham wouldn’t be happy to see what Savannah was eating, but I wasn’t going to mention that.
Savannah’s gaze dropped to the floor. “She died last year.”
