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I look at her. “I really do. And I guess I just wish there was more I could do for them. That’s all.”
She sets the mug down on the small table between our chairs and folds her arms in front of her chest. “I understand that,” she says as we sit and watch everyone play. “But there’s only so much you can do as a person.”
“I know that.”
“And did I understand Nick correctly?” She continues. “When he said that you’re having lunch with the girl that put you in the coma?”
“Her name is Geani,” I say, feeling slightly defensive. “And it wasn’t on purpose. We had a good talk when she came to my hospital room. She apologized and I heard all about how she was basically on the run from a man when she collided into my car. It was a horrible story.”
Rachel is gawking at me. Nobody expects that kind of thing to happen in real life. Only in Nora Roberts novels.
“But I’ll tell you what,” she says like she wants to quickly change the subject. “When I walked through your house, I didn’t even recognize it.”
“I know,” I say, grinning. “Pretty clean, eh?”
“I could eat off of your floor, Dee!”
I laugh. “It’s amazing what I can get done when I’m motivated to keep my family happy.”
“A coma can change a person,” she says to me with a wink. “But in all seriousness, I’m glad you’re back. I’m glad you’re okay, and I’m glad I have my drinking buddy!”
“I’m glad I gave you back your drinking buddy,” I say, reaching to take a sip from my mug.
“And you quit your retail job, I hear,” she says.
“I sure did!” I say. “That was a huge weight lifted. I hated that place. Those women are just plain miserable.”
Rachel looks at me as a way of saying that I wasn’t too far off. I ignore it and look at the kids as they loop the loop around the swing set.
“I’ll be right back,” I say to Rachel. “I haven’t peed all morning.”
She nods but is more focused on the fact that Nick just slipped and fell while chasing Carter.
I get up and head inside, down the hall, and toward the bathroom. As I’m washing my hands, I look up at myself in the mirror and almost frown at my reflection.
“You definitely look different in this life,” I say to myself.
I pat my hands dry on the bath towel and pull the collar of my shirt out, looking down at myself past my bra.
“No nipple rings,” I say, sighing. “No abs. No hip tattoo.”
I hate that I’m almost disappointed. I guess when you feel that good about yourself for that long, you get used to it. Then it almost hurts when it’s taken away.
I head back into the hallway and walk toward the back porch, looking and smiling at the family photos that hang on the wall.
“It is good to be back,” I say quietly.
As I walk back outside and close the sliding glass doors, I’m greeted by the laughter of my family and I feel happy again.
“Feel better?” Rachel asks.
“Like I lost ten pounds,” I say.
Jenna and Laura race up onto the stairs and crouch down behind us. “Don’t look at us. We’re playing hide-and-seek,” Jenna says.
“I won’t give away your position,” I say.
They giggle as Nick walks past us, pretending not to see them. “Listen, Dee,” he says, putting his hands on his hips. “We have to get us some new kids. The ones we have are too good at this game.”
