The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby

Author:Tanya Anne Crosby [Crosby, Tanya Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fiction Studio Books
Published: 2016-04-07T11:42:45+00:00

Chapter Twelve

e

You Musta Forgot

Not to frighten her, they said, but to illustrate the gravity of the matter, the staff at the hospital recounted stories of patients who’d arrived in better shape than Zoe did and then had taken turns for the worse, suffering cardiopulmonary arrest and neurological damage.

Zoe’s doctor was only mildly concerned about the possibility of late onset pulmonary and cerebral edema. Additionally, sometimes infections occurred after immersions like hers. Fortunately, by the following morning there was little evidence of any of these complications so, on Tuesday, they released Zoe to go home.

It surprised her to discover that, while the week of her homecoming had come and gone, seemingly without notice, the same could not be said for her release from the hospital. The news of her accident made the local paper. As promised, Nick arrived to claim her from the hospital. He drove her home and let her into a house that had been straightened to perfection in her absence. Beth and the girls scrambled to the front door to greet them.

The windows were open to a balmy breeze. Copious vases, filled with flowers, adorned the kitchen counters. Pies—yes, plural—sat cooling there as well, along with a casserole or three, all with polite note cards tucked beneath the tins.

Despite the lack of furniture in the house, there was a certain hominess to the place that Zoe had never been able to achieve in any of her houses—not those she’d shared with Chris nor any of her own.

With happy giggles, Anna and Parker led her down the hall to unveil Zoe’s “new” bedroom, where a tulip-shaped vase filled with flowers had been placed upon the bedside table—also new to the room, although she recognized it. It was the same curio table that had once held her mom’s roses out on the porch.

The bed was properly made, adorned with small, lacy pillows that were not previously there—one from each of her nieces, decorated with felt hearts and red glitter.

“Oh my!” Zoe released their hands, tears stinging her eyes as she stumbled into the room, straight to the pillows, inspecting each in turn. Drawn in marker, they sported unique messages: One said, “Welcome home, Zoe,” signed “Anna.” The other, “We love you,” signed “Parker.”

Zoe’s throat felt too thick to speak. She forgot to breathe. Her lungs protested a sudden lack of oxygen. But each ache and pain was worth it, she decided, as she returned the pillows to the bed, positioning them neatly against the larger shams.

She ran her fingers across the bedspread, the familiar white cotton chamois that had once graced her Nana’s bed. It fit well with the new coat of November Rain on the walls. A new set of airy curtains adorned the windows as well . . . simple white cotton. Because the room faced west, the sun in this room was rarely overpowering in the morning. Nick would know this.

Moved by each of these thoughtful gestures, Zoe fell to one knee, groaning as she invited her nieces into a bear hug.

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