Page 4 of Always There For You

Something in Hadley’s expression made her sad, made her heart clench. “You okay? Tired from the flight?”

“I am but I want to sit outside. After dinner.” Eyes she could never look away from traveled over her face, Hadley’s gaze quietly intense. “Come with me? We’ll bring out blankets and I have one of those neat hand warmers you can use.” Hadley dug in her overall pockets and pulled out a charging cable. “USB and everything and it gets super warm.”

“Hads, I’ll be all right. The night’s aren’t too cold anymore.”

“Yeah, but the knife.”

Ah, that was it. The sharp, shining edge of danger that, had her slippers not possessed a hard shell, could have ended in stitches. Hadley knew Amelia’s daily life was pretty mundane, but that had been earned through years of trial and error, stress and pain. She’d been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in college and though she’d kept up with her classes and labs, she’d definitely slipped into doing just enough work to pass. The sourceless pain, the confusion, the memory issues, all of it new and scary and immediately written off by white coats blaming her monthly cycle or stress. Amelia had nearly given up at several points along the way, bouncing from appointment to appointment, filling prescriptions for drugs that left her worse off than before. It had been a terrible handful of years, and all she’ been left with was a medical term and a load of debt.

She'd grown more tired, more achy, and living on her own came with challenges. Hadley had moved in with her, helped her adapt her living setup for the days that were harder, and generally took care of her. Hadley had seen up-close how bad some days were, and how inexplicable it was that Amelia could be fine a day or two later. They were bound tighter by those weeks and months where Hadley was her second set of hands and eyes. And she’d bought Amelia her first pair of hard-shelled slippers. A silent, sweet gesture of understanding and worry.

Dropping a knife wasn’t dropping a towel. Amelia understood that. “Tell you what. We should make tea to go out with us, and you bring out the hand warmer. The spare bedroom has a closet full of blankets, big fluffy ones.” Hadley’s face lit up and if Amelia had been feeling poetic in the moment, she would have compared it to a cloudless, sunny day and the feel of the wind in her hair. Joy, unadulterated and beautiful.

After dinner, they washed up and Hadley got settled in the guest room while Amelia put the kettle on. She was deciding between oolong and honey green when Hadley came up beside her. “Okay so here’s that fabric. It’s cute! Polka dots for his stripes.”

It was cute; a light green fabric dotted with white and peach circles of different sizes. It almost looked like confetti across the seafoam green. “I like it. Do you still have those melamine orange buttons?”

“Oh, perfect, yes! I have a handful still. And since that’s settled…” And then out of Hadley's pocket came a small box. “Quick story before you open it. I went to this junk shop that was supposed to have the most strange, funky stuff. Usually those places are a bust, but I was already on my way through Dublin to the airport. So I swung in, and this was the first thing I saw.”

Amelia couldn’t ignore the heavy thump thump thump of her heart, or the way Hadley’s gaze turned expectant. Hopeful. A little fearful. Amelia sucked in a deep breath and gently pried off the lid. A neatly folded square of dark blue silk waited for her, and she pulled back a corner to reveal a key. Not any key; a thick thing of slightly tarnished silver, its teeth elaborate and oddly pleasing to the eye. But the top of the key was a maze of scrollwork, each curve and dip precise, gorgeous. The key had a sparkling silver chain threaded through the top.

“It’s a story, right? Putting new life into an old thing. Finally setting up your shop in a cute little brick building in a town that hasn’t had such a place before.” Hadley’s gaze went butter-soft, her mouth relaxed. She reached out to thread her fingers through Amelia’s. “A place that hasn’t had you before. And you are reviving your sommelier career, going back to what you love. Just because it got put away for a bit doesn’t mean it’s forgotten. New to old, old to new.”

Hadley. Hadley. Her poetess, her scribe. Her romantic dreamer who flitted about but always came back home, to her, to their …

She couldn’t finish the thought. Amelia crushed Hadley to her, swallowing her friend’s little oomph, Ames, damn in a shuddering breath that left her lightheaded. “It’s amazing. I love it.” It’s all she had to say between deep inhales of jasmine. “Thank you.”

And of course Hadley got her a chain with no fussy clasp. The necklace easily slipped over her head and she tightened the toggle until the key rested just below her collarbone. “Thank you,” she repeated while Hadley stared at her. “This is so beautiful.”

“Yeah, you’re uh…you’re welcome.” Hadley’s grip on her shoulders slid down until she could rub Amelia’s arms. “So if I give you more gifts, I’ll get more hugs. This is the lesson I’m taking away right now.”

She had to laugh. If she didn’t, she might cry and that would not be good. “You can always have hugs. You know that.”

“I know.” Hadley grinned at her. “Getting you to admit it is half the fun.”

“And I still hug you even after you make fun of me.”

“I am not making fun, I’m gently poking fun at your natural stoic self.”

“I’m not that stoic.”

Hadley danced away from her, laughing as Mr. Buttons swanned in front of her to go to the back door. “Not always! But sometimes.”

Hadley’s laugh carried on the breeze that wafted in when she opened the door, and Amelia shook her head. “Come back here and make yourself useful.”

“Hmm…” Hadley poked her head back around the corner. “Okay. You go outside and burrow into as many blankets as you want. I’ll bring the tea.” She held up a finger. “Don’t argue.”

Amelia didn’t argue. She let Hadley bring her tea and a very happy Mr. Buttons, and then curled up next to her on the cushioned glider bench. Their cups steamed in the early spring night air, and Mr. Buttons prowled the grey, dry garden beds for whatever he could find.

“This is perfect,” Hadley said after several minutes of silence.

“It is.” Amelia touched the key and smiled. “How long do you think you’ll stay?”

“I was thinking about that.” Hadley had been leaning into Amelia but now she reached over and took Amelia’s right hand in her own. Clever fingers began pressing into the meat of her palm. “It’s cute here. Maybe, if you need help past the opening, I can stay longer. Mum’s on another ‘extended holiday’ with the new rich beau, and she keeps sending money. Maybe I can earn my keep for a change.”

Wait. Really? Was Hadley really suggesting… “You want to settle down somewhere?”

“Maybe.” Gentle fingers worked their way up her wrist to her forearm. A pleasant buzzing traveled down her spine. It was Hadley’s touch and it turned Amelia into goo. Hadley always knew, somehow; always knew where her pain was and how to ease it. “If you think you’ll need me.”

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