Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain

Author:Diane Chamberlain
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 1999-07-26T21:00:00+00:00

She called Dylan that night from the phone in the skylight room, where she lay stretched out on the floor pillows. The night was thick with clouds, but the moon appeared from time to time, peeking through the smoky veil.

“Emma spoke today,” she said.

“You’re kidding!” Dylan said. “Tell me all about it.”

“Well, I had to take her to Sarah’s apartment with me this morning, and while I was in the bathroom, I overheard Sarah asking her—”

She suddenly heard a woman’s voice in the background, calling “Dylan?”

“You have someone there,” she said, chagrined. “I’m interrupting.”

“No, don’t worry about it. Hold on.”

She heard muffled voices and knew he had cupped his hand over the receiver and was talking to the woman who was…his date? His lover?

“Hi,” he said, coming back on the line. “So, you had Emma over at Sarah’s and Sarah was asking her something?”

“Yes. I was in the bathroom and Sarah kept calling Emma ‘Janie’ for some reason, and all of a sudden, Emma said, very indignantly, ‘I’m not Janie!’”

Dylan laughed. “All right, Emma! Then what? Oh, hold on another second.”

She heard the woman’s voice in the background again, her words indistinct, and this time Dylan didn’t bother covering the phone when he answered her. “They’re in the closet,” he said. “Top shelf. The stool’s right inside the door there.” Then to Laura, “Okay. I’m back.”

“I am seriously interrupting you,” Laura said.

“No, you’re not. So, did she keep talking? Is she talking now?”

“No. She stopped when I came out of the bathroom.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That must not feel too good.”

The compassion in his voice surprised her, brought her to the brink of tears yet again. “At least she spoke,” she said. “At least I know she can still do it.”

“Could Sarah have called her by another name in an attempt to get her to speak, do you think? Maybe she knew perfectly well what she was doing, and was just trying to provoke Emma.”

She hadn’t thought of that. “You know, she told me about a mute patient she had when she was a psychiatric nurse. The psychiatrist got her to talk by taunting her.”

“So maybe Sarah was doing the same thing.”

It seemed unlikely. “I don’t know. Sarah’s not that clearheaded.”

“Maybe she’s more clearheaded than you think.” He paused. “I’m going out in a few minutes,” he said, “but when can I see Emma again? If she’ll see me at all after I screamed at her about the guns. Wish I had that morning to do over.”

“How about coming over Monday evening?” she suggested. “Emma and I have a therapy session with Heather in the morning. I’ll be painting the living room in the afternoon, and I’ll probably be a paint-speckled mess by the time you get here, but we could order pizza or—”

“I’ll come over in the afternoon and help you paint,” he said.

“Oh, no! I don’t want you to do that.”

“It’s my day off,” he said. “I’ll be there around one-thirty, okay? You have an extra roller or should I bring one?”

“I have one.

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