by Nan Dixon
“When you can pass the eye chart test, you’ll be able to drive again.”
“Tell me what I can do? I... I hate having to take a cab or have my girlfriend drive everywhere.” He wasn’t a kid. This grounding sucked.
“When you pass the vision chart.”
Sage pulled on his shirt with quick, sharp moves. Maybe he’d memorize the damn thing.
But that wouldn’t be truthful or honorable. And his honor meant everything to him. In his family, lying was worse than a felony offense. He couldn’t do it.
“Tell me the truth, no sugarcoating,” Sage said. “Will I ever get back to my job?”
“Yes.” Dr. Shaw nodded. “It may not feel like it, but you’re making amazing progress.”
Sage slipped off the table. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
“See.” The doctor pointed. “Two weeks ago, you were grabbing the table for balance.”
Sage blinked. The doc was right.
His spirits were lighter as he headed to Fitzgerald House. Even the blazing sun didn’t drill into his eyes like it had right after his injury. But he wouldn’t take off his sunglasses. That would be asking for a headache.
He tested his balance by climbing the stairs to Carolina’s apartment. And only caught himself once. But he’d stubbed the toe of his sneaker, so it might not be related to his injury. Grinning, he knocked on the door.
A pretty blonde answered.
“Is... Carolina here?”
“Are you Sage?”
He nodded. And didn’t have to stop because of pain. “Ella?”
“That’s me.” She picked up a purse. “Carolina is filling in for an hour or two for the other bartender. She wants us to come to the bar.”
Okay. He could do this. He could take the stairs back down without falling and cracking his head.
“How can Carolina live here with the scents from the restaurant?” Ella moaned as they headed to the restaurant door. “I’d be eating constantly.”
“If you think that’s hard, wait until you taste the food.” Sage held the door and led her to the bar.
“Hi, you two,” Carolina smiled at them.
And seeing her smile, his world settled. He grinned back, afraid his face would crack wide-open.
“Oh, oh.” Ella pressed a hand to her chest. “You guys are...” She trailed off and shook her finger in his face. “If you hurt her, I will come after you.”
“What?” He slipped onto an empty barstool.
“She’s in love with you,” Ella said. “Even I can see that.”
It was that obvious? “I would never hurt her. I’m crazy about her.”
He wasn’t going to tell Carolina’s best friend that they were in love. That was between him and Carolina. But maybe the way they looked at each other would keep the barflies from asking his girl out.
Carolina brought over his beer and some fancy drink for Ella.
“You remembered.” Ella took a sip and grinned.
“Hey,” Carolina whispered, her blue gaze locked on his.
“Hey.” He leaned over and met her lips. A brief brush.
“Enough.” Ella rapped the counter with her knuckles.
“How was your doctor’s appointment?” Carolina asked.
“I’m still grounded. Another two weeks.”
Carolina gave a small smile. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” He laughed, but even he could hear the bitterness. He wanted to get back to being productive.
Ella stared at them like they were crazy.
“I’ll explain later.” Carolina wiped the counter. “We’re eating at Fitzgerald House again.”
“Fantastic,” he said.
“Abby and I found the perfect piano.” Ella looked around. “Where’s it going?”
Carolina pointed to a corner. “Don’t dawdle over the drinks. Naomi should be here in about fifteen minutes.”
She moved down the bar.
Ella stood. “I’m going to check out the layout.”
He waved her away and went back to his favorite pastime, watching Carolina work. Her movements were smooth and delicate. He couldn’t wait to see her sing on the small stage being constructed next week.
“Hey, Sage.” Naomi slipped under the pass-through. “I’m wondering if we should give you a permanent seat here.”
“I wouldn’t mind.”
“I understand your girl won’t be behind the bar too much longer. Now I’ve got to break in another bartender.” Naomi gave a dramatic sigh with a hand to her forehead.
“Change is inevitable.” Even in his life.
Carolina did a handoff of whatever bartenders needed to do. Ella came back and they finished their drinks and headed to Fitzgerald House.
“I forgot to show you the picture of the piano.” Ella pulled out her phone.
Carolina smiled. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“But this is the first piano I’ve gotten to choose for performing. I’ve played so many baaad ones.” She dragged out the word. “Ones that would make the baby grand here sound like it was ready for a concert pianist.”
Carolina leaned over and looked at the photo. “It looks perfect.”
“It will be. And we will wow Abby and the audiences. And record producers will hear about us and come flocking to listen. And they’ll whisk us away to Nashville or New York or LA!”
Take them away? Was that Carolina’s dream? Sage’s breath caught in his throat.
Carolina glanced at him. Was that guilt crossing her face? “You know I can’t think of anything like that right now.”
Ella put her arm around Carolina’s shoulders. “I know. But...”
“No. No buts.”
So Savannah wasn’t permanent? He wanted a future with Carolina, but hadn’t counted on needing to worry about travel logistics and career expectations. The thought was like taking a kick to his chest from a horse.
“How was your mother?” He opened the door to the Fitzgerald House kitchen.
“Another seizure.” Her face twisted in pain. “Her stress is causing them.”
“What’s she worried about?”
A bleak look filled Carolina’s face. She swallowed. “There are...things she wants me to do. I just can’t do them fast enough for her.”
“Anything I can help with?” he asked.
“Or me?” Ella asked.
Carolina rubbed her temples. “Some of her requests are the tumors making her...”
He’d seen her mother’s behaviors. “Irrational.”
“Yes,” Carolina said.
“Hey, guys,” Abby called. “Grab something to drink from the wine tasting and bring it back. Dinner’s almost ready. Sage, you’re our token male tonight.”
“I can deal,” Sage said. “Carolina, sit. I’ll get a glass of wine for you.”
She nodded, her body curling in on itself.
He and Ella followed Abby’s directions to a library filled with guests. He checked out the wine selections and poured two glasses.
“She looks so beaten,” Ella said as they headed back to the kitchen.
“I know.” Sage grimaced. “I don’t know how to help her.”
Ella straightened her shoulders. “We’ll figure out something.”
“We will.” But he wanted to be Carolina’s hero.
Carolina was sitting with the three Fitzgerald sisters in the sitting area. And Abby was giving Carolina a hug.
Abby said, “I’m so sorry this is happening to you and your mother. I know I’ve said it before, but anything I can do...”
“Thank you.” Carolina’s eyes glistened with tears.
He hurried over and handed her a glass. “It’s prosecco.”
“Thank you.” Carolina swallowed. “Everyone, thank you.
”
During dinner the sisters kept the conversation lively, asking Ella questions about music and Nashville. Carolina barely said a word.
Sage squeezed her shoulder as he cleared their dishes. “Do you want me to take you back to the apartment?”
“No.” Carolina held his hand as they headed up to the Fitzgerald House music room.
“But you’re so quiet.” The sadness hadn’t left her face.
“Ella wants to run through a couple of songs. It will take my mind off my mother.”
The Fitzgeralds sat on facing sofas across the room. Ella was at the piano.
Carolina headed to the piano, but stared at something above Ella’s head.
He frowned. It was a small globe.
While they discussed what to sing, he moved to the bookshelf and picked up the globe. There was a plaque on the base.
“‘Así que siempre puede encontrar su camino a casa.’” He’d probably butchered the Spanish.
“So you can always find your way home,” Carolina whispered.
“What?”
“So you can always find your way home.” Carolina swallowed. “That’s what it...you said.”
“I always wondered.” Bess took the globe. “I kept forgetting to look it up.”
“I knew that.” Dolley came over, too. “I translated it years ago.
“Which of our forefathers bought this?” Dolley mused.
Carolina’s face went pale.
“Are you all right?” Sage asked.
She nodded, but it was jerky.
Ella started playing. Carolina opened her mouth but instead of the gorgeous voice he’d heard just a few nights ago, she croaked.
Ella stopped. “Start again?”
Carolina looked around the group. Tears filled her eyes.
Enough. Sage said, “I’m taking you back to the apartment.”
Abby gave her a hug. “I shouldn’t have suggested you sing.”
“I wanted to.” But Carolina’s tears soaked Abby’s shoulder.
“Come over and practice whenever you want.” Abby patted her back.
“Thank you. Maybe tomorrow.” And a new flood of tears streamed down Carolina’s face.
Sage pulled her away. “Come on.”
It was his turn to take care of her.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, Carolina held the song’s last note, making sure her breath sustained the tonal quality and shaped the sound. She didn’t belt it out. The guests in Fitzgerald House liked their rehearsals, but she wasn’t going to shake the walls.
“I have to pee,” Ella said as she finished the last bar of the song. “Too much coffee.”
She dashed out of the parlor, leaving Carolina alone.
The globe drew her to the bookshelf. So you can always find your way home.
But the globe wasn’t home. She’d barely slept last night, debating what to do.
Poppy’s father had given the globe to him. This was Castillo property.
Ella was down on the first floor. No one was in the hallway. She grabbed her tote, her heart pounding in her ears. This was for Mamá. The globe would bring her comfort.
She slipped it into her bag, tucking it under the sheet music she and Ella had already rehearsed. Then she zipped the pocket shut and collapsed on the piano bench. Done.
“That was wonderful.” Marion, the head of housekeeping, stood in the doorway. “The guests are thrilled. You might end up entertaining in both the restaurant and the parlor.”
Guilt had Carolina moving to the doorway. Would Marion notice the globe was gone? “I don’t know that I can sing that much.”
“Well, Abby is excited about next weekend’s opening.” Marion leaned against the doorway, not looking at the bookcase. “Will your mama be able to come?”
“I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “I’m hoping the seizures stop so she can. Sage promised to bring her.”
Ella came back up. “Ready?”
“I’ll leave you ladies to your work.” Marion walked away.
Carolina didn’t think she would be able to sing another note, not with the globe sending out homing signals from her tote. “I should go see Mamá.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Ella asked.
Absolutely not. “I’m good. I just want to see if she’s recovered from yesterday.”
“Wait. Did you have that new arrangement for ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’?”
She would have to dig through her bag. “Hang on.”
Carolina set the bag on the sofa so the back covered Ella’s view. God, this was horrible. She pulled out her sheet music, sorting through it.
Ella came closer.
“Here.” Carolina nearly shoved it at her best friend.
“You need to ease off the coffee, sweetie. Maybe take up meditation.”
“I know. I will.” Carolina gathered up the straps of the tote. “I’ll see you later.”
She ran out of the room. This had to be the last time she took something. The stress would kill her if Mamá asked for more.
Carolina headed for the hospital. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken the globe. Maybe she should bring it back. She rubbed at her brewing headache.
No. If reclaiming a family heirloom could stop Mamá’s seizures, she had to try.
* * *
MAMÁ SAT IN BED, the TV droning in the background. She rubbed the top of one hand.
“Mamá, how are you today?”
“Tired.” Mamá looked up, her eyes sunken into her face. “I’m always tired.”
“You had a seizure yesterday.” Carolina brushed a kiss on her mother’s cheek. “You need to recover.”
“I hate being here. Hate the needles. Hate the radiation.” She let her head fall back, closing her eyes.
“I know.” She wanted her mother to smile again. She wanted her mother to be healthy. That wasn’t going to happen. Soon she would lose the last member of her family.
“Maybe I should give up,” her mother whispered.
The words pummeled Carolina’s chest. Her heart skipped a beat. “Mamá.”
“It’s too hard. Life’s too hard.”
Carolina could bring her mother some joy. “I found it.”
Mamá waved her hand. There was an ugly bruise on the top of her hand from last week’s IV. “It doesn’t matter.”
She dug into the bag. “Look.”
Mamá sighed, not opening her eyes.
Caro wrapped her mother’s hands around the globe. The lapis was cool to the touch.
Her mother’s eyes went wide. “Poppy’s globe.”
“Yes.”
Mamá hugged it to her chest. “It’s back where it belongs. Thank you. Thank you.”
For the first time in weeks, happiness lit her mother’s face.
This was worth it. And since she’d taken back something that belonged to her mother, it wasn’t stealing—right? She bit her lip. In a house full of antiques, who would miss a globe with a message in Spanish?
Carolina whispered, “So you can always find your way home.”
Her mother crooned and cuddled the treasure like a baby.
“Please don’t...keep it out in the open.” No need to advertise, right?
“Of course.” Her mother’s expression slipped to a sly smile. “I’m so glad I have it back. It should never have gone to those witches.”
“Why don’t I bring it home?” Carolina asked.
“No.” Her mother hummed, smiling like she’d just won an award. “But I’ll make sure no one takes it from me again.”
This was worth it, wasn’t it? Her mother was happy. Maybe she wouldn’t have another seizure.
She swallowed the guilt choking her throat. The globe was home.
CHAPTER TEN
“THE SEIZURES HAVE stopped again,” Dr. Laster said.
Carolina nodded at Dr. Laster and the neurologist. “For good?”
“For now,” the neurologist said. “The combination of radiation and medication seems to be working.”
“I’m glad.” Carolina suspected it had been the globe. For almost a week, Mamá had been seizure-free. Wouldn’t it be nice if the globe could make her mother’s tumors disappear, too? “What’s her prognosis?”
Dr. Laster’s smile wilted. “It hasn’t changed. Eight months at best. If we keep her seizures from recurring, her quality of life will be—improved.”
“Improved. Versus stuck in the hospital?”
Both the doctors nodded.
“If she stays seizure-free until her final radiation treatment next week, she can go home.” Dr. Laster patted her hand.
Home. Carolina sighed. Exactly what her mother wanted. And she did, too. But moving back to Tybee meant she wouldn’t see Sage as often.
Oh, God. She swallowed. What a horrible daughter she was. She was worried about her boyfriend while her mother had only months to live.
“You asked about her going to your opening. If she’s seizure-free, she can go.”
Carolina pushed against her diaphragm. “Thank you.”
“Rosa’s excited,” Dr. Laster said. “She showed me her dress. It’s spectacular.”
Carolina smiled. “Very sparkly.”
Sage would bring Mamá to the restaurant. Carolina needed to hide the globe. He’d seen it at Fitzgerald House. Held it.
He wouldn’t understand why she had taken the globe. And since she couldn’t break her promise to Mamá, she couldn’t explain why the Fitzgeralds had a Castillo heirloom.
She swallowed. Sage had promised to tell her the truth. And asked her to do the same. But this wasn’t her truth to tell. Sage could never see the globe.
* * *
“MRS. CASTILLO, REMEMBER ME? I’m Sage. Carolina’s...” He hesitated. “Boyfriend.”
Mrs. Castillo wore the flashy red dress Carolina had brought from Tybee. She waited in the guest chair, her ankles crossed, her hands folded in her lap. “Of course, I remember. You’re here to take me to her opening.”
“Right.”
Teri, her nurse, helped her into a wheelchair. The nursing staff had suggested it would be better to have her ride to the waiting cab. “Have a wonderful night. If you get a chance, wish Carolina good luck. I wish I could be there.”