“We’re hungry, Mom.” Hailey laid a hand on Amanda’s back. “Can we have yogurt?”
“Yes, baby.” Self-pity practically drowned her. I can’t do this. “Hang on, Hailey. Come on. I’m going to take you guys to breakfast.”
Wearing sweatpants and a tank top, she drove to Tug’s Diner. She went inside and straight to the counter. “Tug, I need a favor. Can I leave these guys with you? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“You can leave them with me anytime. They aren’t an ounce of trouble.” He came around the counter. “You two, get up on these very special stools.” They climbed up and he spun them around. “Are you ready for breakfast?”
“We’re starving,” said Hailey.
Jesse groaned melodramatically.
“Not for long.” He turned them toward the counter and waved Amanda out.
“Thank you!” She ran outside and drove straight over to Maeve’s. She meant to stop by yesterday, but then Paul came over. Now she couldn’t put it off another minute. Upstairs, she knocked on the door and waited.
The television was on. Footsteps inside plodded, too heavy to be Methuselah. As if on cue, he barked from the backyard.
Finally a middle-aged woman wearing royal-blue hospital scrubs answered the door.
That set Amanda back on her heels. “Um, I’m here to see Maeve.”
“May I tell her who is here?”
“Amanda. Is everything okay?”
“Just a second,” the woman said without answering the question. A moment later, she was back at the door and leading Amanda into the sunroom.
Maeve sat in a white chair, looking out toward the water. She looked pale dressed in a soft-blue bathrobe. Amanda had never seen Maeve wearing anything other than gem tones.
“Maeve, I was worried. I haven’t seen you, and Tug said you hadn’t been feeling well. What’s going on?” Amanda glanced over her shoulder. The woman in the scrubs was nowhere in sight. “And who is that?”
A pang of jealousy hit Amanda because the stranger knew more about what was going on with her new best friend. “You can always call on me for anything.”
“Now, Amanda, don’t be silly. You’re busy. You have Hailey and Jesse, and school is getting ready to start.” She motioned to the only other chair in the room. “Sit.”
Maeve’s speech rang oddly similar to the one Amanda had given Paul last night. She balanced at the front edge of the cushion of the small chair.
Maeve’s color seemed off, and she was quieter than usual.
“I’m worried about you.” Amanda folded her hands in her lap.
Maeve leaned in. “I’ll be fine until I’m not.”
Sounded just like something Maeve would say. “What does that even mean?”
“When Jarvis first died, I felt lifeless, and then I became so mad at him. But it all changed except the love. The love is always there. I’ve missed him for so many years, but my life has been very good. I’m not complaining. You’ve heard all this.”
She gripped Amanda’s hand. “My sweet friend, when I met you and saw that pain in your eyes…When I learned your story, it was like I was rescuing myself all over again. I didn’t handle losing my husband with the grace that you did.”
“I didn’t,” Amanda said, feeling ashamed. “I was a mess, but knowing you has helped—”
“You have managed this horrible hand with the ultimate grace, honey, and now you are beginning to live again.” Maeve’s head bobbed. “I once shut out the world. I really didn’t even know what to do with myself. My life was void of meaning without Jarvis.”
“I know that feeling.” Amanda fought back the tears. She knew the sentiment too well. How helpless it made her feel. How broken she’d been. Even just this morning.
“Meeting you has been so wonderful. It’s like a big finale with fireworks. You’ve brought real joy to my heart. And your children…oh gosh, they’ve filled a void I’d forgotten was there.”
“I feel the same way. I love our friendship, and you’ve reached that special spot that my mom doesn’t.” Amanda recalled a missed message from her mom this morning. If only Mom were as comforting as Maeve.
“That works both ways, Amanda. You have a part in fixing that relationship with your mother. I stand firm on that advice. I hope you’ll act on it.”
Amanda laughed. “I hear you.”
“Sweetie, I’m dying.”
It was like a sucker punch, leaving her off-balance. Amanda never saw it coming.
“I’ve been sick for a very long time. Fought for years, treatments and all that, and now the fighting is over.”
“How? What?”
“Does it matter? Cancer takes us all. Even old age is usually tattered with some cancer in the mix along the way, unless a fool doesn’t go to the doctor and just isn’t aware of it. I promised my sister, Judy, I’d come to her house when I got to this point. It’s time.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I found one of those shells with a message,” Maeve responded matter-of-factly.
“You did?”
“Yes. It said, ‘Say goodbye to the past, because it’s time to move on.’ My doctor had already told me it was time to get some help. I knew he was right. The shell just confirmed it.”
Amanda looked to heaven. Why do You have to take everything I love?
“Is Paul with the children?”
“No, I left them with Tug.”
“Paul’s a very good man. Just let things happen, honey. It’ll all work out as it should. You’re not driving this party bus.” She looked up to the sky. “He knows what He’s doing.”
“I know, but things are starting to get back to normal for me. I know it’s selfish, but what if he changes his mind? What if he realizes it’s guilt? He has that huge company to run, and we’ll keep him from that good work.”
“Amanda, he has capacity for you and those lovely children along with his good works. He’s sincere.”
“He wants
