“Come in,” Owen shouted before Loralee had a chance to throw Merritt the tissue box.
“How is everybody this morning?” Gibbes asked as he approached Loralee. She was leaning heavily on the dresser and didn’t argue when he led her back to the bed.
“I’m much better, thank you.” She slid her legs under the covers, noticing for the first time the bathrobe she was wearing. “Good heavens. I must have really been sick if I let somebody put this on me.” She grinned up at Merritt and then stopped when she saw the pink slashes on her lips.
Gibbes pulled the covers up. It was probably too warm in the room for a flannel robe and a blanket, but Loralee was cold all the time now, as if her body lacked the insulation she needed.
Gibbes rubbed his hands together. “I put some pancakes in the oven on warm, in case anybody would like any—and I just put some bread in the toaster, if Owen would like to run down and bring it up on a plate with a glass of water for his mother.”
Gibbes smiled at Owen’s departing back and then appeared to notice Merritt for the first time. He hesitated only a moment. “Good morning,” he said, doing a really good job of not focusing on the lipstick. “Owen tells me you kept an eye on Loralee last night.” His gaze fell to the sweatshirt and his expression changed. “You still sleep in Cal’s shirt?”
She pressed her lips together. “I need to get changed. Excuse me.” She stepped toward the door, but he didn’t move out of her way.
“Before you change, I thought I’d ask if you and Owen and maybe Maris wanted to go out on the boat again today. I thought we’d head out to the sandbar, soak up a little sun, maybe even see what we can catch in a net. Loralee should probably rest, and I thought it would be a good way to give her some peace and quiet.”
Merritt couldn’t quite hide the panic in her voice. “I’ll stay with Loralee, just in case she needs something.”
“I’ll be fine, Merritt. Really. Probably sleeping most of the day so I can regain my strength. Besides, the sandbar is in the middle of the river—not in the ocean. And you’ll be with Gibbes and wearing a life jacket.”
Owen reappeared in the doorway with a plate of toast and a glass of water and put them down on the nightstand after Gibbes slid the pill bottles out of the way.
Owen must have overheard Gibbes, because he shouted, “I want to go to the sandbar! Maris said it’s the coolest place on earth. It’s in the middle of the river and you can see all sorts of fish and sometimes shrimp, too.”
“Shrimp?” Merritt asked, not as excited at the prospect as Owen seemed to be.
“Yes!” he said. “And dolphins, too. Maris says you can usually see them by the marina, but they’re everywhere.”
Merritt looked like a little girl, with her smeared lipstick, oversize shirt, and wide eyes. Gibbes must have thought the same thing, because he was trying very hard to hold back a smile.
“I really would like to stay here. If Loralee doesn’t need me, then I have to run out to an appliance store and buy a refrigerator—hopefully one that can be delivered tomorrow—and have the old one hauled away.”
“I already called Sears and they’re open until six,” Gibbes said. “I can take you when we get back.”
“Yay! I’m going to put my bathing suit on and call Maris,” Owen announced as he raced from the room.
“Thank you,” Merritt said stiffly. “I appreciate it, but I’ve already been out on the water once. The creeks and marshes are lovely, and I’m glad I had a chance to see a part of my new home. But I will never like or be comfortable near the water, and I wish you’d just stop trying to force me to do something I don’t want to do.”
Loralee spotted her pink journal just out of reach on the nightstand. She was filling a page a day now, as if she were in some kind of contest, or maybe a race, but without a marked finish line. At least, that was what she’d thought before, but now she felt like the finish line might be right around the corner. She closed her eyes, committing to memory the words that she wanted to put down on paper. Forget what hurt you in the past. But never forget what it taught you.
Very softly, Gibbes asked, “Did Cal know you were afraid of the water?”