him?â
âThat you were going to be fineâbut there would be some serious recovering to do and it could take months.â
âGood. And how is he?â
âYou know, I didnât even think to ask. But I assume heâs fine. Divorced a few years ago I heard, and still teaching and coaching. Do you ever see him or his parents?â
âIâve run into him a few times,â she said. In fact, if there hadnât been that terrible indiscretion, she mightâve spent a lot of time with the Rayburns, when they could have helped each other get through Mikeâs death. âThat was nice of him. To call.â
And thatâs another thing to take care of, she thought. Put it on the to-do list. Get divorced, find a job and make a point of seeing Pete to put that whole business finally in the past. He probably needed it as much as she did.
Three
S arahâs little shop was in the center of town, and she typically put in very long days there. It was customary for her to open the art supply store at around ten in the morning and close at six, but after dinner with her dad she would go back to work in her studio, which was behind the store, sometimes until quite late. In fact, she could get lost in some projectâa woven throw, an oil painting, a sculptureâand forget time altogether, looking up only when her eyes burned with exhaustion, finding suddenly it was two or three in the morning. She was so focused when creating, the outside world seldom intruded.
That was before the accident, three weeks ago. Since then, Sarah had spent minimal time at the shop. She put a sign in the window: Illness In The Family: Call 555-2323 For Todayâs Hours Of Operation. Most of her customers were regulars who knew the family and were aware of the accident. Most of the town had heard about the accidentâit made the papers.
Sarah opened the shop for the sale of art supplies a few hours a day, spending the rest of her time with Clareat the hospital. Worry had clouded her usual single-minded drive to create.
But today, a beautiful and sunny April day, as she closed the shop before five, there was a special lift in her heart because after three weeks, Clare was finally coming home. Clareâs town house was out of the question, given the stairs to the bedrooms, so George was bringing her home to his house. His and Sarahâs house. And the relief Sarah was feeling was tremendous. The whole family would be at Georgeâs to welcome her.
Of course, Clare wasnât well yet. She was up walking, but still in pain, unable to sleep through the night without drugs. Sarah would gladly get up to make sure she was medicated and comfortable. The bed in her old bedroom at Dadâs was too soft and low, so George rented a hospital bed. It could be a long and difficult few months, most of the summer at least, through which Clare would struggle with pain, physical therapy, making slow but steady progress; Sarah would do anything to help.
But Clare would be home. After nearly losing her, this was paramount.
Of course Jason was coming to stay, as well. Heâd been at Maggieâs for three weeks and Lindsey and Hillary were on his last nerve.
When Sarah got home she was so happy to see all the cars in the drive and on the street. It looked as though everyone was present and accounted for, including Clare. No one would ever know how much seeing Clare in that hospital bed had shaken her. Besides her art and her shop, all she had in her life was the family. She didnât have girlfriends or boyfriends, and that was perfectly all right with her because her days and nightswere busy with her little business and her creative projects. Her dad, sisters, nieces and nephew were everything to her! Her sisters were always trying to coax her into being more social, but she honestly didnât know where sheâd find the time. And she certainly wouldnât take it from family.
Her sisters were her best
William Mirza, Thom Lemmons