“Y’all ready to go home?” The doctor said, eyeing the food on my rolling table.
“Yup.” I couldn’t get out of the bed fast enough. It may have been a little too quick because I stumbled a bit as I stood up. Thankfully, no one noticed.
“Your friends said you were unconscious for a few seconds before they got you out of the water, so you need someone to watch over you tonight. Are your mama and daddy home?” he asked.
“No,” I replied.
“I’ll take care of her,” Eric said before I could continue on with my sentence. I appreciated his concern, but could handle myself.
“Remember, no activities for twenty-four hours and make sure she’s not sleeping for more than four hours,” the doctor told Eric. “This is very important. She could slip into a coma if you don’t watch her.”
“Yessir. I’ll take good care of her,” he replied while the doctor exited the room.
“You know, you really don’t have to stay tonight. I’m okay,” I told Eric from the raised hospital bed.
“It’s no bother.” I knew I wasn’t going to convince him otherwise and the conversation caused my head to spin.
The hospital staff insisted I exit in a wheelchair after I was discharged. Eric guided me down the stark white hallways and out the enormous glass doors. At the edge of the curb, he lifted me from the wheelchair and led me to his car.
We turned down Breezewood Road and then onto Chestnut - the street I had called home for eighteen years. The white Cape Cod at the very end welcomed me with open arms. Its weathered clapboard siding deserved a fresh coat of paint, but the splinters of faded wood that had fallen on the ground, embedded in the landscaping and gave it its charm. Two Adirondack chairs sat on the porch with a faded spot on the painted deck where Walter, our 6-year-old lab, would curl up.
Mama and Bill were out of town for a wedding, so I didn’t bother calling them to tell them about the accident. I just figured they’d see it for themselves when they got home tomorrow.
Eric walked me to the door and gently kissed me on the cheek. He was treating me like a sister, the way he always had.
“Seriously, Eric. You can go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I stood in the doorway with a look on my face that meant I wanted to be alone.
“You’re so stubborn,” Eric said. “You heard the doctor. You’re not slipping into a coma on my watch.”
“Fine.” I wasn’t happy, but he did have a point.
I was, however, happy to see Walter as I entered. His giant yellow body wiggled and spun with excitement, but I couldn’t stand to watch him since the motion made me sick. He was truly the oddest dog I had ever owned. If I left the bathroom door open when I was in the shower, Walter would almost always jump in with me and bite at the stream of water hitting him in the face. When he was a puppy, it was funny. But now that he was six, it was just annoying.
“Hi, buddy.” I tried to pet his head as he spun in circles. Eric led me to the couch because he could see that I wasn’t feeling well.
“Just lie down and I’ll get you some water.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate you staying with me. Set the alarm on your phone so you remember to wake me every four hours.” I curled up on the couch and took every pillow I could and placed them behind my head. It felt better to be elevated rather than lying flat.
“Already on it.”
Almost instantly, I was asleep.
* * *
“Caroline, we have to move.” There was a blonde woman who stood over me. She was next to the older woman whom I had seen before.
“The fire is getting bigger. We have to get out of here. Can you walk?”
“What?” I said.
“Can ... you ... walk?” she repeated deliberately.
“Yes.”
We ran down the dirt street and away from the fire. I looked around and noticed that all of the women wore bustled dresses that probably dated back to the late 1800s or early 1900s. I shook my head and squinted, trying to see if I could focus more on my surroundings and possibly come back to reality, but everything stayed the same. The buildings looked ancient, but new at the same time and everything seemed hazy and dark. The blonde stood next to me, her mouth gaping in disbelief, and my chest tightened with fear.
What was I doing here?
“Come on. Over here!” yelled the older woman who dragged the blonde woman behind her with me holding on for dear life. We were all linked together, desperately trying to escape the danger in the distance.
We got into a boat at the end of a dock and glided across the water and away from the chaos. As we sat out in the ocean for several minutes, I could see firemen trying to put out the massive fire in what looked to be a hotel or large convention hall. They had buckets of water and tossed them into the blaze. The only fire truck on the scene looked more like a buggy horses would pull. It was painted a bright red with gold accents and several firemen pulled a long hose from the back of it.
“Oh Caroline, I hope Robert is okay,” said the blonde as she squeezed my hand sympathetically.
Who the hell was Robert?
Chapter 3
The turn of a key in the door shocked me into consciousness.
“Hi, Dani. We’re home!” It was Mama. I stared at the digital clock on the DVD player under the television and saw that it was after eleven a.m. I had been asleep for over fourteen hours.
“Oh, hey,” I replied, barely awake.
“Oh my word, Danielle! What in the hell happened to your pretty face?” asked Mama. “Looks like you got yourself in a heap of trouble, young lady.”
“I’m fine, really. I just fell off water skis yesterday. It’s no big deal.” As I sat up, my nose thumped from pain.
“Did you go out on Brad’s boat again? You know how nervous that makes me.”
Mama never fully grasped the concept of letting me grow up. Once, last year, I arrived four minutes after curfew from a night at Shannon’s and she practically called the FBI. Her new husband, Bill, acted as the voice of reason when it came to calming Mama down from the hysterical mess of emotions that swarmed within. Southern women were known for their expressive nature, but Mama’s inability to cope with any normal situation made her completely obnoxious to the citizens of Sugar Hill - especially to her own daughter.
“It was the first day of summer, Mama. We just wanted to relax on the boat,” I told her with a definitive tone of annoyance. “It’s just a little bruising. I’ll be fine. How was the wedding?”
“Awww, it was beautiful. Your cousin was just stunning and they had this DJ that put leis on everyone in a conga line.” Mama demonstrated as she pranced around the room with her hands in the air, making waving motions. She stopped, scrutinizing my face. “You sure you’re okay, Dani?” Her fingers caressed my cheeks, inspecting the damage.
I pulled away. “I’m fine, Mama.”
She walked back into the kitchen to go through the mail. “Looks like Eric stayed the night.” I wondered how she knew. “He left a note on the table saying he had to go home this morning.”
“Yeah, I needed someone to stay with me and he volunteered.”
“That boy is so good to you.”
“I know.”
The phone rang.
“It’s for you,” said Mama as she handed it to me.
“Hey, Dani. Brad and I just had a huge fight. Wanna go to The Falls for a few days?”
“Sure beats sittin’ around here. Let me get my stuff. Can you pick me up?”
“Be there in an hour,” Shannon said. “You sure you’re feeling up to this? You heard what the doctor said.”
“I’m fine.” I hung up the phone. Even though my head throbbed, I’d rather be at The Falls than at home. I was sure Mama would object, but I didn’t want to sit around the house all day waiting for my head to stop pounding.
I ran upstairs to my way-too-pink bedroom in search of a bag to throw my clothes in for our two-day trip. As I packed for the weekend, I saw something shiny
peeking out from under a sweater on my floor. It looked like a necklace. I pulled at the gold chain and realized it was the gift Justin had given me for my sixteenth birthday. Two years had passed since his death. I expected this year to be easier than last, but it wasn’t. Memories swept back from a time when he was still alive. We had a good relationship and he protected me as a big brother should. In the second grade, this older girl cornered me on the playground and dumped my entire book bag out on the grass before school. Justin had been talking to another boy behind me and saw it happen. In an instant, he pushed this bully against the metal fence. He didn’t say anything to her. Overpowering her was enough and she never bothered me again.
I could still hear his laugh and see him bursting through my bedroom door to tackle me to the ground. Tears welled up in my eyes even though I tried to hold back my emotions.
Mama had never been the same after Justin’s car accident. When he hadn’t come home by three a.m., we knew something had gone very wrong. He always checked in. Our last conversation ate at me almost every day. I couldn’t recall what the fight was about, but I did remember telling Justin I hated him.
I was sure my Mama thought every day about her last moments with Justin as well. My parents’ marriage just didn’t stand the test of losing a child. Daddy and Mama stopped talking and I felt like I was caught in the middle of keeping my mama sane and my daddy sober. There wasn’t time to make sure I dealt with my brother’s death in an acceptable way. They had their own nightmares that haunted them.
Bill was a great person and it made me happy that Mama had found him after Daddy went off the deep end. One fall day in September, he left and never came back. When Mama woke up in the morning, most of his clothes were still in the closet. Things had been strewn all over the bathroom as if he had left in a hurry. Everyone reacts differently to tragedy, but I had always felt like he abandoned us. He had lost Justin, but so had we. Every fiber in me wished I knew where he was.
I stared at the necklace in my hands and wondered how it had gotten on the floor beneath piles of clothing. It didn’t really matter how it materialized there though, just that I had finally found it after months of searching. I had always kept it in my jewelry box on my dresser and then, one day, it disappeared. The only person, besides me, who knew where I kept it was Mama. I knew she had probably found it while cleaning my room. I pictured her sitting on the edge of my bed holding it with tears in her eyes. Maybe she had panicked when she heard Bill or me come in and dropped it on the floor.
Shannon held her hands on the horn of her VW Beetle loud enough to rouse the dead. I raced down the stairs as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. “See y’all in a few days!” I yelled just before I slammed the front door. I could picture Mama rolling her eyes as I ran out of the house. She thought I was being completely irresponsible. I didn’t even give her a second to object. I was eighteen and could do whatever I wanted.
We drove for an hour up to Tallulah Falls. It was one of our favorite getaways. Well, one of Shannon’s favorite getaways from Brad when they fought. I’d listen to her complain about him for a few days if it meant I could escape from Sugar Hill for a weekend before I started my summer job serving tourists ice cream all day.
Shannon had called ahead to reserve our cozy cabin. She had also made reservations at the best Italian restaurant in town. This only meant one thing - Shannon had caught Brad staring at another girl, then quickly dumped him for the millionth time, leaving her completely distraught and miserable. We only ate at Fiorentinos when they were fighting. Their relationship was something I’d never understand. I always thought love should be uncomplicated and gratifying.
“God, he just makes me crazy. I don’t even know why we’re together.” She slammed her hands on the steering wheel.
I’d heard this before. “What did you guys fight about this time?”
“He wants to take a break over the summer so he can find himself.” Shannon used air quotes around ‘find himself.’
“Well, maybe it’s a good thing,” I tried to explain. “Maybe you can do what you like to do for a change and be by yourself for a while.”
“What are you talking about, Dani? This sucks,” she replied.
“Okay, sorry,” I said, but I really wasn’t. I truly did think that Shannon could use some down time away from Brad. She had always been with Brad and it was about time she took a break to figure herself out. Isn’t that what we were supposed to be doing in college?
I had one boyfriend during my junior year of high school and that only lasted for a few months. He just got in the way. When I got to college, I really wanted my experience to be about friends and finding a career. In a lot of ways, Shannon and I were complete opposites. It was pretty amazing that we had stayed so close over the years. She liked fashion and I enjoyed reading books; she wanted to go to parties while I’d rather stay in. And then there was that one, huge difference - she was gorgeous and I was just average - the kind of girl who sat at the back of geology class, never looking up for fear that someone would notice.
We drove for a long time without saying anything and before we knew it, we were in the town of Tallulah. As we made our way past the brick visitors center, we wound around a wooded road driving by only one car on our way to check-in. The Falls - as we had termed it years ago - made me feel like I was completely severed from the rest of the world. The trees kept it cool all year round and a warm comfort came over me as we got closer and closer to the guesthouse where we could check in. We had turned the radio off about fifteen minutes before so we could just enjoy the drive with the windows open and the sounds of birds in the distance.
As we pulled up to the guesthouse, two miniature schnauzers greeted us. The owners lived in the house and their furry welcoming committee remembered us only by the treats we brought them each time we came. Our home for the next few days sat just around the corner. As we pulled up to cabin #10, memories of the four of us coming here after prom and before we headed off to Gainesville flooded my mind.
The air of the cabin never changed. It smelled like damp wood and musty sheets, just like every other time I had been a guest over the years. We wouldn’t be inside too much anyway since our main focus was hiking, swimming, and maybe a little shopping in town.
“What did you bring to wear to dinner?” asked Shannon as she opened the red door and stepped inside.
“Shoot. I forgot about dinner,” I replied.
“I figured, so I packed you a dress.” Got to hand it to Shannon. After nine years, she knew to bring a backup suitcase just for me.
“Let’s go for a swim before we eat,” Shannon said as she checked her reflection in the mirror over a dresser just outside the bathroom doors.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
We quickly unpacked and put on our suits, preparing for the mile walk to one of the many waterfalls of Tallulah. It was always so much darker in the woods and I greatly appreciated the quiet walk, only passing campers and a park ranger along the way.
A dirt path just inside a wall of trees took us over a small wooden bridge that would eventually lead us to the first of the falls. We couldn’t wait to settle into where the descending water met a pond, turning it into a Jacuzzi-esque oasis.
As I stepped carefully into the first pool of water, warm bubbles hugged my shoulders and I asked Shannon a very important question. I was dying to hear her answer. “What do you think you’ll do about Brad?”
“I don’t know. I think I’m gonna let him see what it’s like not to have me around for a few days so he knows how much he’ll miss me.”
“That hasn’t worked before, Shan.” I knew this weekend would end with apologies on the phone and a speedy drive back into Brad’s arms.
“Let’s stop talking about me and Brad. When are you gonna find yourself a nice southern man?”
“I don’t want one. I’m perfectly happy with my life as it is.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t you think it would be nice to have someone n
ext to you? Someone who can melt you into a puddle of pleasure like a true southern gentleman should do.”
“Ewww. I don’t want to be melted into anything,” I said.
This particular spot at The Falls was a place Brad, Shannon, Eric, and I always came to when we visited. We usually didn’t say much here since the sound of the plummeting water thundering into the pools below was too loud to talk for long. This time, however, as our bodies were immersed in the warm water, we did manage to talk about Shannon a lot. How she missed Brad but was still really mad at him; how she hated her hair and wanted to chop it off ... it went on for about an hour.
We sat in the water for over two hours before we realized the sun was setting and it was probably time to get back so we could make our reservations.
Walking with towels around our waists, we got a few honks along the way, none of which were for me. I was sure of that. Shannon and her perfect breasts had a way of attracting everyone who saw her. Plus, my oversized nose and purple eyes weren’t particularly appealing at the moment.
We quickly stripped off our suits and got into the dresses that Shannon had brought along. She laid out five options on the bed, which made me wonder how long she was planning on staying here. Of course, I didn’t fill out the dress she had picked for me with my size A chest, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
After an hour of Shannon prepping herself, we got into her little Beetle for the second time that day and made our way to the restaurant with our mouths watering for the best calamari in Georgia. When we were seated, we ordered two glasses of sweet tea and finally relaxed. It became apparent that this weekend would help take my mind off the pain of my face.
We talked about our first year at Gainesville State College for a while before our entrées were served. At the moment the waiter set down my plate, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a breathtakingly beautiful couple walk into the foyer of the restaurant. The man was the most gorgeous person I had ever laid eyes on. His dark brown hair, so dark brown it was almost black, was pulled back into a small ponytail at the bottom of his neck. I normally wasn’t attracted to men with longer hair, but he had a mysterious way about him - somewhat like a European college professor mixed with boy-next-door good looks. The candle on the table lit up his bright green eyes and I watched him pull his phone out of the gray vest he wore and set it on the table. Something was oddly familiar about him.
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