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“Turn on the light,” I say to her. “Sit down.”
She does as I say and looks around her like she’s not supposed to be here.
“You’re not wearing a hospital gown,” I say. “Did you sneak in? You’re not here during visiting hours.”
She shakes her head and wipes away a tear. “I just had to stop by and tell you how sorry I am. I should have been paying attention. I shouldn’t have been behind the wheel of my car when I was in a bad state of mind.”
I’m staring at her. Confused at what she’s trying to tell me.
“Okay,” I say after she’s silent for a minute. “I guess I’m just not understanding why you’re telling me all this.”
My name is Geani,” she says again. “And I was the one that hit you with my car.”
Chapter twenty-five
I'm Home
Threedayslater,I’mstanding on my back porch watching the kids chase Nick around the yard. He took a day off and allowed the kids to stay home so they could play in the sun. It’s one of the last warm days left of the year and I feel so happy in this moment.
“Hey,” Rachel says, closing the sliding door behind her as she steps onto the porch.
“Hey yourself,” I say.
“What are we drinking?” She asks.
“Mulled cider,” I say, taking a sip from my steaming mug.
“Mulled cider and…?” she asks, drawing out the last word as a way of saying she knows I have something more in my cup.
“Apple wine,” I say with a giggle.
She groans as she sits down on the chair beside mine. “That’s more like it,” she says. I hand her my mug and let her have a sip. “That’s delicious,” she says, moaning at me.
“You can finish it,” I say, crossing my arms in front of my chest while my eyes are still on my family.
We sit in silence for a moment just watching the laughter of the kids.
“How does it feel to be home?” she asks.
I let out a long sigh. “It feels good to be home,” I say. “And I’m happy that Nick is here with the kids.”
Rachel crosses her legs and leans an elbow onto the arm of the chair. “Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming?”
I shrug. “I just feel like something is missing. I feel like there should be more.”
“More to what? More to the story? Your story? The story of all those people you chased down at the hospital the day we came to take you home?”
I look at her. “I didn’t chase them down, Rach.” I clear my throat. “I don’t know. I’ll sound crazy if I tell you that I knew those people in my other life. The life I had while I was in the coma. They were real people to me.”
Rachel sits back in the chair and sips at the mug. “I’m sorry to hear about them though. It doesn’t sound like that Tommy guy is going to make it.”
I sniffle, not allowing myself to cry as I think back on all of them. “Yeah,” is all I manage to say. “Stage four pancreatic cancer will do that to a person I guess.”
“And what about that Amanda girl? You seemed a bit upset when you spoke to her.”
“She’ll be alright,” I say. “She had cancer, but she’s only there for treatments. She’s actually celebrating with her friends next week when she goes to her last chemo session.”
Rachel smiles. “You really felt for these people.”
