“You’ve had some bad luck.”
“Guess we all have.” Caroline looked toward the TV. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim light. They had yet to adjust to Becky’s sunken cheeks and pasty complexion. “I understand my brother’s been here.”
“Yeah. I called him yesterday, after I checked in. Checked in to check out,” she said with a wry chuckle.
“I’m surprised you called him.”
“Why?”
“Well, neither of you was exactly the other’s biggest fan.”
Becky shrugged, her head falling back onto her pillow. “We needed to talk. I owed him that.”
Caroline waited for her to continue and was almost relieved when she didn’t. Whatever unresolved issues Becky and Steve had between them were none of her business. If Becky felt she owed Steve an explanation or an apology for slights either real or imagined, then who was she to argue? If wiping her marital slate clean allowed Becky to die in peace, then she was entitled to the opportunity. Caroline only hoped her brother was mature enough to listen to whatever his ex-wife had to say. “Is there anything I can do for you, anyone you want me to call?”
“No. I never had a lot of friends. You were pretty much it.”
“I’m sorry we lost touch.”
“It wasn’t you.”
Caroline nodded. Becky was right. It hadn’t been Caroline who’d pulled away. For whatever reasons, their friendship had hit a speed bump after Samantha’s birth, and it had pretty much crashed and burned after she’d disappeared, both women too preoccupied with their own problems to make the effort necessary to get it up and running again.
“I owe you an apology,” Becky said now.
“For what?”
“I was so jealous of you. Your perfect marriage, your perfect children, the way you just popped those babies out. You had the perfect life.”
“Not so perfect, as it turned out.”
“No. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Caroline said, repeating Becky’s words.
Becky closed her eyes.
“Do you want me to leave and let you get some sleep?”
“No. Please stay. There are things that need to be said.”
Caroline remained in her seat, saying nothing, watching Becky’s chest rise and fall with each labored breath.
“You didn’t deserve what happened,” Becky said after a long silence.
Caroline shrugged, even though she knew Becky wasn’t watching. She pushed back the tears that threatened.
“Not just Samantha disappearing, but everything that happened afterward. The suspicions, the accusations, the way the press treated you…”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
“You lost everything—your marriage…your friends…” She opened her eyes. “What am I talking about? I treated you just as badly. Worse—I was supposed to be family.”
Caroline shook her head, dislodging the tears that had been hovering. “Please don’t feel guilty.”
“I think about her, you know. Samantha. Not a day goes by that I don’t picture that sweet little face and wonder what happened to her, how her life turned out.”
“You think she’s alive?”
“Don’t you?” Becky asked, pushing herself back to a sitting position.
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, Caroline. You mustn’t give up hope.” Becky reached for her hand, her fingers fumbling for Caroline’s. “You want to know what I think? I think Samantha’s alive. I think she’s alive and beautiful and happy.”
Caroline gasped, her breath catching in her throat, blocking further sounds.
“I don’t think she was taken by some pervert,” Becky continued, clutching tight to Caroline’s trembling hand. “I don’t think she was murdered or sold to a pedophile ring, like the papers speculated. I think whoever took her was just desperate for a baby, like I was, and that she’s being well cared for and loved.”
Caroline realized how badly she wanted to believe what Becky was saying. “You really believe that?”
“I really do.”
Caroline felt a flurry of faint hope flutter in her breast. “Thank you.”
“No. Don’t thank me.”
“Thank you for what?” Steve asked from the doorway.
Caroline turned toward the sound of his voice. She’d been caught so off guard by both Becky’s pronouncement and the fervency with which it had been uttered that she hadn’t heard the door open. She saw Steve leaning against the doorframe, resplendent in a pale blue shirt and black pants. “Becky thinks Samantha is alive. She thinks she’s being raised by a good family who loves her.”