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She takes her dog from Conner and cradles him, kissing his head. Total, however, seems no worse for the wear. He pants happily and shares a doggie smile.
“Remember what I said about protecting your ribs,” I tell Conner and duck into the car.
Within two seconds of flipping the ignition, there’s a knock on Lita’s window. Conner motions and moves his lips.
I press the control to lower the glass and he pokes his head in. “You didn’t say goodbye.”
“That’s right. I didn’t.” I shift the car into drive.
Conner snorts a laugh before backing up.
Lita is staring at me. She waits until we’ve turned a corner before saying, “What was that about?”
“Personal joke.”
“I see. You have a few of those, don’t you? You and the quarterback.”
No easy answer comes to mind. I stall by flipping on the music.
Lita snorts and punches the radio off. “My brain might have put me in a coma but it hasn’t melted, little sister. Cough up the drama.”
“It’s complicated. And you’re exactly a hundred and eighty seconds older than me. Doesn’t give you seniority.”
“Does too. Always has.” She gets quiet suddenly. Her smile vanishes. “Stop the car. Stop!”
Lita throws her seatbelt off. She hardly waits for me to brake at the curb before hurtling out the door and running through the grass.
“Lita!” The sight of her running away lights a flame of panic, like somehow I’ll lose her on a field of grass in the middle of the ritzy West Emerald enclave of our childhood.
She stumbles and falls to her knees before I catch up.
“You almost gave me a heart attack.” I drop into the grass beside her, my heart pounding.
Lita’s pale legs are splayed out, the hem of her dress riding up mid thigh. Her limbs are gaining strength every day with hard physical therapy but the muscle tone still needs some work. “Total only ran because he wanted to taste freedom for a second.”
“Total? Charlotte’s dog?”
“Yes.” She doesn’t object when I adjust the skirt of her dress to cover her bare legs.
“Do you feel like you don’t have any freedom?”
She stares into the distance. Not moving. Not talking. Just staring. That shouldn’t freak me out but it does.
Finally, she rubs her arms and exhales heavily. “I feel like I’ve been dropped into a dream. A dream about…” She trails off and frowns, shifting with frustration. This is what happens when the things on her mind are slow to ripen into words. “You are grown up. All of you. Tess and Micah have a baby. Dani and Gage are living happily ever after.”
Her chin quivers. She grabs a handful of grass and pulls, the blades tearing from the earth. “And Bree has a wife. I missed everything. There’s no going back.”
Somehow I was slow to realize exactly where we are. Beyond the open green belt where we’re sitting, I can see the wrought iron fences that enclose the grounds of West Emerald Preparatory Academy.
That’s why Lita jumped out of the car. She stares at our old high school as she shreds blades of grass in her long fingers.
When Lita woke from her coma I was ecstatic beyond words. The piece of myself that had been lost was found. I didn’t see right away what a difficult road she would have to walk as she coped with all she had lost.
The best I can do is tell her what I know. And stay beside her when she wants to cry.
Getting more comfortable on the grass, I look toward the school and sort through old memories I haven’t touched in a while.
“Your last class picture was blown up to poster size and placed on an easel in the courtyard. People left flowers and stuffed animals there every day. When the asshole administrators tried to take the display down Tessie wouldn’t let them. She started a petition to keep it and it stayed. Your name was called at graduation. The applause was thunderous. I was given an honorary diploma to keep for you. I still have it.”
