Chapter 47 – Anna
Sarah opened the bedroom door, holding a cup of coffee and the newspaper in her hand.
“Are you awake?”
I sat up and blinked. Daylight filtered in through the sheer curtains. “What time is it?”
“Almost ten o’clock.” Sarah handed me the coffee and put the newspaper on the nightstand. “The reporters won’t take no for an answer. I had to turn the ringer off.”
I picked up her cell from the nightstand and turned it on. I’d shut it off after I talked to T.J. The screen showed eleven missed calls.
“They’re calling your cell, too. I’ll get my own phone as soon as I can.”
Sarah waved her hand dismissively. “No hurry. Maybe we can send David out to pick one up.”
I set the coffee on the nightstand and picked up the newspaper. Pictures of T.J. and I covered the front page. There were the same ones I’d already seen on CNN and several from the airport. The largest one showed T.J. kissing my forehead surrounded by smaller shots of us running hand in hand, embracing, and him wiping my tears away and holding me in his arms. For those who had speculated about the nature of our relationship, one look at the front page probably answered their most burning questions.
I handed the newspaper to Sarah. “If any reporters get through, tell them I’m not ready to talk, okay?” I picked up my mug and cupped it in my hands. Thoughts of my mom and dad filled my head and I started crying. Sarah climbed in bed and put her arms around me, handing me a box of Kleenex.
“It’s okay, Anna. I did that, too, after each of them died. It’s going to take a while before it stops hurting so much.”
I nodded my head. “I know.”
“Are you hungry? David ran out to get breakfast.”
The emotional turmoil ruined my appetite, but my stomach felt empty. “A little.”
“What do you want to do today?”
“I should probably make some appointments. Doctor, dentist, haircut.”
Sarah left the room and returned with the phone book. “Tell me who to call.”
Chapter 48 – T.J.
Ben burst into my room, holding the newspaper in his hand.
“One question,” he said, walking toward my bed holding his index finger in the air. “How old were you when you started bangin’ her? Because I’m pretty sure from these pictures that you are.”
If he hadn’t been looking down at the shot of me kissing Anna, he might have seen my fist coming before it connected with his left eye.
“Jesus Christ! What’d you do that for?” he asked, looking up at me from the floor where he was sprawled, holding his eye.
“That’s the first thing you say to me after three-and-a-half years?”
He sat up, his right eye already starting to swell.
“Fuck, Callahan. That hurt.”
I got out of bed and held my hand out to him. He grabbed it and I pulled him off the floor. “Don’t ever say something like that about her again.”
“T.J?” My mom stood in the open doorway. She noticed Ben holding his eye. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine, Mom.”
“Yeah we’re cool, Jane,” Ben said.
My mom looked at us but didn’t ask what had happened. “What do you want to eat, T.J.?”
“Anything, Mom.”
After my mom left Ben said, “So are you, like, in love with her or something?”
“Yes.”
“Does she love you?”
“She says she does.”
“Does your mom know?”
“Yep.”
“She freak out?”
“Not yet.”
“Well I’m glad you’re back, man.” Ben gave me an awkward hug. “I had a really hard time when they told me you were dead.” He looked down at the floor. “I spoke at your funeral.”
“You did?”
He nodded.
Ben could hardly stand up in front of everyone in our ninth grade speech class. I couldn’t picture him addressing the people at my funeral. Maybe I shouldn’t have punched him. “That was cool of you, Ben.”
“Yeah, well, it made your mom happy. Anyway, you’re gonna cut your hair, aren’t you? You look like a goddamned girl.”
“Yeah.”
My mom made me a cheeseburger and French fries, and Ben sat with me while I ate. My parents both hugged me a couple times and my mom kissed me. Ben probably wanted to make a smart-ass comment but he held some ice on his eye and kept his mouth shut. Grace and Alexis sat at the table for a while, telling me about school and their friends. I drained the last of my Coke.
“I can’t get you in with Dr. Sanderson until tomorrow. I thought maybe they would squeeze you in but apparently they’re overbooked.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I’ve waited this long. One more day isn’t going to matter.”
She wiped her hands on a towel and smiled at me. “Do you want anything else to eat?”
“No. I’m full. Thanks.”
“I’m going to make you a haircut and dentist appointment.” My mom turned off the stove and left to make the calls.
“So do you have a job or what?” I asked Ben. “It’s the middle of the day.”
“I’m in college. It’s winter break.”
“You went to college? Where?”
“University of Iowa. I’m a sophomore. You gotta come visit me. What about you? What are you gonna do?”
“I promised Anna I’d get my GED. After that I have no idea.”
“You gonna keep seeing her?”
“Yeah. I miss her already. I’ve been waking up next to her for three-and-a-half years.”
“Dude, if I ask you another question will you please not punch me?”
“Depends what it is.”
“What’s it like being with her? Is it true what they say about older chicks?”
“She’s not that much older.”
“Uh, okay. So anyway, how is it?”
“It’s incredible.”
“What’s she do?”
“She does everything, Ben.”
Chapter 49 – Anna
My hairdresser, Joanne, walked into Sarah’s living room.
“There are reporters downstairs,” she said. “I think they took my picture.” She shrugged off her coat and hugged me. “Welcome home, Anna. Stories like yours are why I believe in miracles.”
“Me too, Joanne.”
“Where do you want to cut her hair?” Sarah asked.
I had already taken a shower and my hair was still wet so Joanne had me sit on a stool in Sarah’s kitchen.
“What happened here?” she asked, examining the ends of my hair.
“T.J. had to burn it off when it got too long.”
“You’re kidding,”
“No. He worried he was going to set my whole head on fire.”
“How much do you want me to cut?”
My hair hung to the middle of my back. “A few inches. And maybe some long bangs?”
“Sure.”
Joanne asked me questions about the island. I told her and Sarah about the bat that had been stuck in my hair.
“It bit you?” Sarah looked horrified. “And T.J. stabbed it?”
“Yes. Everything turned out okay, though. It didn’t have rabies.”
Joanne dried my hair and smoothed it with a flat iron. She held up a hand mirror and I checked out my reflection. My hair looked healthy now, with smooth ends.
“Wow. That’s a big improvement.”
Sarah tried to pay, but Joanne wouldn’t accept any money. I thanked her for coming to the apartment.
“It’s the least I could do, Anna.” She hugged and kissed me. After she left I said to Sarah, “If we can get out the door without being mobbed, there’s someplace I really want to go.”
“Sure,” Sarah said. “I’ll call a cab.”
The reporters screamed my name as soon as Sarah and I opened the door. They were waiting on the steps and we pushed past them and slid into the waiting cab.