They were still in the hall, but I could hear every word. I held up a finger to stop John talking and eavesdropped shamelessly.
“You’re being ridiculous, Chris,” Dawna hissed.
His voice rose in both volume and pitch. “Ridiculous? Seriously? She nearly died. She could’ve been permanently maimed—would’ve been, if it weren’t for those stupid gulls of hers. And she’s supernatural. You’re not. These people are playing for keeps.”
Dawna was firm, her voice steady and calm. I knew her well enough to know that Chris was on dangerous ground. When she’s irritated, Dawna will raise her voice and argue. When she gets quiet and calm, she’s seriously angry. “I’m just going to be working in the office, sitting behind a computer and doing a few meetings. There’s nothing dangerous about that.”
“Her last office—your last office—was blown up, remember? No, I want you out of it. It’s much too dangerous.”
“No.”
“No?” He kept his voice quiet, but his whisper was the equivalent of a shout.
“No,” Dawna repeated. Then she turned the knob and opened the door, effectively ending the conversation. “John, you’re here!”
“Just leaving,” he said. He gave my hand a squeeze and rose. “I’m glad you’re doing so much better, Graves.” His voice was gruff. Then, to my exasperation, he ruined the moment by saying, “Try to stay out of trouble.”
He was out the door before I could give the answer I thought he deserved.
Dawna took John’s place beside the bed. She was smiling broadly enough to light up the room, the tension of her argument with Chris vanished as if nothing had happened. She’s a great actress. I knew she was glad to see me and thrilled I was better. She was also probably glad to see that John and I were speaking again. She’s a definite Creede fan.
Her problems with Chris were real and painful, but if she didn’t want to share them, it wasn’t my place to push. I had no clue what to say anyway.
She sank into the chair as Chris sullenly clunked a floral arrangement in with the others on the windowsill. He turned to me. “Glad you pulled through, Graves. I need some coffee. Either of you want anything from the cafeteria?” His voice was gruff and his face was flushed, but at least he was trying to be polite.
“I’d love a can of Pepsi. They won’t bring me one before lunch no matter how nicely I ask.” I knew that from my last visit. I smiled at him.
“That’s ’cause it’s bad for you.” He snorted. “All right, one Pepsi coming up. Dawna?”
“Get me a Dr Pepper, please?”
“No problem.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Back in a few.”
She sighed as the door closed behind him, her expression an odd mixture of frustration, anger, and deep sadness.
“You okay?” I asked.
She sighed again. “Not really. But I don’t want to talk about it. Where’s Bruno? He’s practically been camped out here.”
“I’m pretty sure he went home to shower and shave.”
“Makes sense. He probably also has to arrange to have El Jefe cover a couple more of his classes.”
“Warren’s covering for him?”
“Yup, and Dr. Sloan and some of the others. Bruno said there were plenty of volunteers when everybody in the department heard what had happened.”
That was so nice. “When did you talk to Bruno?”
“Oh, one of the times I came to visit. They wouldn’t let anyone actually in to see you, but a lot of us came by anyway, to check on you. The desk nurse was talking about how many friends you have.”
Aw, that made me feel so good. Not good enough to want to stay and soak up sympathy, but good. “Anybody give you a clue how soon I can get out of here?” I asked.
“Nope. Sorry.”
“Damn it.”
“Relax, Celie,” Dawna ordered. “You need to heal. I can take care of the work stuff. Your gran and Bruno will take care of the rest.”
“Speaking of work, did you get a chance to check out your cousin?”
“Talia.” She supplied the name for me and nodded. “Everything I could find checked out. She could be a real asset.”
There was something in her tone of voice …
“But?”
“I just can’t get past that whole thing when we were kids. I know it’s stupid—”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not. People are who they are. They can change … but only if they’re willing to work at it and they really want to.” I firmly believed that, which was why I had so little hope for my mother. She didn’t want to change and she was practically allergic to hard work.
I shoved that thought away, focusing on the problem at hand. “Okay,” I suggested, “what if we hire her on a probationary basis, the same as we’re doing with Kevin? If she doesn’t work out, I’ll fire her. You can tell your family it’s all my fault, so you won’t get in hot water with them. I can take the heat.”
“You’d do that?”
“Sure.” I gave her a so-sweet-it’ll-rot-your-teeth grin.
“What?” she asked, rightfully suspicious.
“But you get the honors if we have to fire Kevin.”
“Oh … oh, hell.”
“Agreed?”
She gave me a sour look, but agreed.
We chatted for quite a while. I took a look at the breakfast tray and sighed. Liquids. Not even thick liquids. No baby food. I drank it, but I wasn’t thrilled. Still, by the time Chris returned, Dawna was in a great mood, laughing and telling me stories about office spaces she’d looked at and some of the new applicants, whose résumés were completely not what we needed on staff. We agreed that if we hadn’t found the “perfect” office in another month, we’d rent something on an interim basis. Not having an official place of business was getting old.
Chris had put the time away from us to good use as well. He wasn’t nearly as surly as he’d been when he’d left to get the drinks. Still, they didn’t stay long after he came back.
As the door closed behind them, I wondered if they’d be able to work through their problems. I hoped so. But I wouldn’t put money on it.
11
Two more days passed, slowly. I was getting better. I knew this not only because the doctors finally told me I was being released the following morning, but also because I was getting really, seriously, bored even though I had a steady stream of visitors.
Gran and Bruno took turns being with me. Gran and I spent a lot time reminiscing about Ivy, but we also talked about Gran’s new life on Serenity and my plans for the future. It was great, but when Gran offered to reschedule her flight and stay longer, I turned her down. I could tell she wanted to get back to the island and check on Mom. My grandmother might be mad at my mother, but she still loved and worried about her.
Bruno snuck me in a Sunset Smoothie for dinner. I was grateful. It tasted awesome compared to the thin, bland liquids the hospital had been feeding me. We chatted for a bit, but he was looking pretty worn out, so I sent him home to get some rest. He promised to be back bright and early to take me home.
Home! I couldn’t wait. I wanted out of there so badly, and I wasn’t looking forward to the long, lonely evening that stretched ahead of me once Bruno left. Fortunately, Dawna arrived, bringing clothes for me to wear at checkout tomorrow, and a surprise: one of her sisters—the hairdresser.
Mae, like Dawna, is tiny and pretty. But where Dawna is a more traditional beauty, Mae is edgier. She wears her hair very short in back, almost in a buzz; the front is streaked with magenta, and long bangs sweep across her forehead and over one eye. I’d met Mae only once before—she lives in San Diego and doesn’t visit the family much. I didn’t ask, and they didn’t say, but I suspected that Dawna had asked her to come up as a special favor. Mae took a long look at me, said, “It could be worse,” and set to work.