“He doesn't understand that. And he told Bjorn that he thinks Allie's dead, and you're all lying to him. He says he's sure of it. I'm sorry, Page. I thought you ought to know that.”
“I guess I should have let him see her.”
“That's a tough call. I'd have done the same thing you did. I didn't have any choice with Bjorn, and Chloe was in better shape. Besides, Bjorn is older, and his case is a little different.”
“We'll come and get him.”
“Why don't you let Bjorn and me bring him home? He's having some hot chocolate. I'll bring him home when he's finished.”
“Thank you,” she said gratefully, and went to tell Brad what had happened.
“I guess we have to say something to him,” Brad said unhappily.
“I think we have to face it ourselves. We can't go on like this for much longer.” She sighed deeply then. “And I guess I'm going to have to take him to see Allie.” She went to call the police then, to tell them that Andy had turned up at a friend's, and they told her they were glad to hear it.
And half an hour later, he came home with Bjorn and Trygve. He walked into the house looking very sad and very pale, and Page burst into tears when she saw him. She pulled him into her arms and told him how worried they had been, and how much they loved him.
“Please don't ever do that again. Something terrible could have happened.”
“I thought you were mad at me,” he said, crying, glancing up at Brad too, who was fighting back tears of his own, as Trygve and Bjorn stood with them in the kitchen.
“I wasn't mad at you,” Page explained, “and neither was Daddy. And Allie isn't dead. She's very, very sick, just the way I told you.”
“Then why can't I see her?” he asked suspiciously, but this time Page surprised him.
“You will. I'm going to take you tomorrow.”
“You will? For real?” He beamed from ear to ear, he still didn't really understand what he would see there, that she would not talk to him, would not even look like the sister he loved and remembered. But maybe he needed this, maybe he needed reality too, just as she did.
“He thought Allie was dead,” Bjorn explained for him.
“I know,” Page said, thanking him for taking care of Andy.
“He's my buddy,” Bjorn said proudly.
She took them both into Andy's room, and Bjorn helped her put him to bed. She kissed Andy then, and Bjorn went back to the kitchen to find his father.
“Is Daddy going away?” Andy asked her worriedly, once she had put the lights out.
“I don't know.” She didn't know what to say. “When I know anything, I'll tell you. But whatever happens, it has nothing to do with you. No one's mad at you. It just has to do with me and Daddy.”
“Is it Allie's fault?” He was looking for someone to blame, but sadly enough, there was no one.
“It's no one's fault,” Page continued to explain. “It just happened.”
“Like the accident?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Yeah. Like that. Sometimes things just happen.”
“You kept saying you were tired, that's why you and Daddy were yelling.”
“We are tired, but there's other stuff too. It has nothing to do with you. Just grown-up stuff. Honest.” He nodded, none of it was good news, but it was easier to cope with the truth than his fears. He had been so sure that it was his fault. “I love you very, very much …and so does Daddy.”
He nodded, and put his arms around her neck and kissed her. “I love you too. Will you really let me see Allie?”
“I promise.” She kissed him again and started to leave the room and he asked her to send Brad in. And when he went in, she said good night to Bjorn and Trygve. She thanked them again for finding him, and Trygve smiled at her as they left.
“Good night, Page,” he said quietly, and she felt as though their bond to each other had deepened. She had no secrets from him, and their families seemed to be becoming slowly intertwined. Brad felt something too. He glanced at her as he came back into the kitchen.
“Something going on between you two?” he asked bluntly, and she shook her head.
“No. But that's not the issue.”
“I know. I just wondered. I like him. I figured maybe you did too. He's a decent guy.”
“We've spent a lot of time together at the hospital in the last few weeks. He's a good father, and a good friend.”
Brad looked at her quietly across the kitchen. “I guess I haven't been there much for you …” His eyes filled with tears and he looked away. “I can't stand seeing her like that … so broken … so changed …she doesn't even look like Allie.”
“I know. I try not to think about it, just about what has to be done for her.” He nodded, admiring her, he just couldn't face it.
“What are we going to do about us?” he asked, and then opened the door to the garden. “Why don't we talk out here so no one hears us.”