“I miss him so much,” Chloe said.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe,” Daria said.
“And I’m sorry you’ve had to keep this all to yourself.” She was worried about Chloe, not just because of what she’d revealed, but because she feared that her sister would come to regret having spoken so openly. She knew Chloe’s confession would never have been given without the protection of darkness and the peculiar atmosphere of the night.
Chloe drew a deep breath, then seemed to pull herself together. “I have a lot of soul-searching to do in the next few weeks,” she said.
“A lot of praying to do. I can’t bear the thought of no longer being a nun, but at the same time, I can’t live with the restrictions… and I can’t live with what those restrictions did to Sean.”
“How can I help?” Daria asked.
Chloe nearly smiled.
“Just be patient with my… preoccupation,” she said. Then she suddenly pressed her hands to her temples.
“I can’t believe I told you all of this,” she said. She looked embarrassed.
“I’m sorry I dumped so much on the two of you.”
“I’m glad you could, Chloe,” Rory said, and Daria was touched by the tenderness in his voice.
Chloe looked at Rory.
“I apologize for blowing up at you the other day when you suggested Sean’s death might have something to do with your conversation with him,” she said.
“I was in a lot of pain then. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“And I shouldn’t have talked to you about it right after he died,” Rory said.
“I knew you were grieving. I just didn’t realize to what extent.”
“I want to go upstairs,” Chloe said, suddenly hugging her arms across her chest. “I just want to sleep through the rest of the storm. I want to wake up in the morning and find Shelly…” Her voice broke yet again.
“I want to find her home and safe.”
“I know,” Daria said, squeezing her shoulder.
“We’ll find her in the morning, once the storm has passed.”
Chloe got to her feet, and Daria handed her one of the flashlights.
“Take this with you,” she said.
She and Rory were quiet as Chloe climbed the stairs. It was a few minutes more before Daria found her voice.
“I’m in shock,” she said in a near whisper.
“It’s very sad,” Rory said.
They were quiet for another minute, still trying to absorb all they had heard, when a sudden loud crack of thunder made them both jump.
Daria drew her feet into the couch and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs.
“God, Rory,” she said.
“Where is Shelly?”
IVain pounded against the roof and battered the plywood covering the windows. It was scary to be in a stilt house right on the bay with this storm raging outside, but Shelly was safe in Andy’s arms. He’d promised her his house could endure anything the weather threw at them, and she believed him. She always believed him.
They had made love in the pitch-black darkness, the thunder cracking through the sky outside, and now they were nestled together beneath the coverlet on Andy’s bed. They were nearly alone on the bay. Andy’s foolhardy nextdoor neighbors had refused to evacuate as well, but she guessed that these two houses were probably the only ones occupied on this stretch of water.
Andy kissed her temple.
“You know we’ll have to tell Daria soon,” he said.
Shelly stiffened against him. She had taken the pregnancy test just that morning, and the results were positive. It was no surprise to her, but now she had to face reality.
“I’m afraid to tell her,” she said.
“I know, but we have to,” Andy said.
“We really should have told her long ago.”
“She’ll try to break us up,” Shelly said.
“That’s what she’s always done before.” “Well, this time is different. First of all, she likes me and she didn’t like those other guys you were seeing. Second of all, this time there’s a baby involved.”
“She’ll probably make me have an abortion.”
“She can’t make you do anything.”
Shelly snuggled closer to Andy. It felt so good to know he would stick by her. She would not be battling Daria
