Winners (21 page)

“Put that on the list,” Carole said to Joe, who was sitting next to her, and listening to the conversation with interest. He had noticed how impeccably groomed Carole was. “Hair salon. Or maybe an arrangement with a local hair salon to bring people out to do the girls’ hair and mani pedis a couple of times a week. Or field trips to a salon in town.” They were the things that made young girls feel good. “I was sick last year,” she said to Lily, “and I couldn’t have manicures because of the risk of infection, and I really missed them too.” She smiled conspiratorially at Lily, who really liked her. Carole was warm, open, and direct.

They talked about Craig then and the activities Lily was doing there. Carole was enormously impressed, and even more so when she heard that Lily had started skiing, and was planning to enter the Paralympics.

“I was training for the Olympics when I got hurt,” Lily explained.

“I know. The Paralympics are impressive too. I went once, and it’s every bit as stunning as the Olympics, maybe more so. How did you get interested in it?”

“My physical therapist here showed me a DVD. And he arranged for me to go skiing. I’m going to enter in Alpine racing. My dad’s not too keen on it,” Lily said, glancing at Bill. “He’s afraid I’ll get hurt, but he never worried about that before. And I didn’t get hurt skiing.”

“Yes, but things are different now,” he said with a worried look.

“They don’t have to be,” Carole said clearly. “People with spinal cord injuries can do just about what everyone else does, with some adjustment.”

“They teach scuba diving here,” Lily said with a grin, “and a whole bunch of other stuff. A lot of people play golf. My friend is entering in quad rugby. I wish there were a girls’ volleyball team here, but there aren’t enough people who want to play right now.” She sounded like any other seventeen-year-old as they sat there, talking about the sports she enjoyed, and her passion for downhill racing. She said it worked well for her with the chair and monoski and was a lot easier than she’d expected.

“When are you going back to school?” Carole asked her.

“In May.” Lily’s face clouded over as she said it.

“You don’t like school?” Carole asked gently.

“I used to. It’s been weird here. My friends don’t come to see me. I’ve lost touch with everyone. I think my injury scares them, or they’re nervous about coming to rehab. They’re always busy. I thought they’d visit me while I was here, but they don’t.” It was a common occurrence, and Carole heard it often from her patients.

“It’ll be different when they see you again every day. They can’t ignore you then, and they’ll get used to seeing you in the chair.”

“Yeah. Maybe,” Lily said, but she was obviously upset about it. She felt forgotten by them all.

They stayed for a long time, and then Lily escorted them around to show them the facility. Carole had heard about Craig for years, but had never been there and was interested in it, and she enjoyed talking to Lily. They stopped at the main cafeteria to get something to drink, and ran into Teddy.

“Where’ve you been all day?” she asked plaintively.

“Painting,” he said happily, and then she introduced him to Carole, and he greeted everyone. “Where were you?” he asked Lily.

“Shopping,” she said with a broad smile. “We went to the supermarket this morning, which was boring. Then we went to Neiman’s, Nordstrom’s, and Macy’s, it was really good.” Teddy laughed and looked happy to see her.

“Are you the friend who’s going to compete in quad rugby?” Carole asked him, and he nodded.

“I was thinking about basketball, but I can’t use an electric chair. I might do hockey. I haven’t decided yet.” Hockey and rugby were both brutal sports, and all three of the visitors were impressed.

He joined them for the rest of the tour, and finally they were back in the lobby, and Carole turned to Lily.

“I really enjoyed meeting you,” Carole said warmly. “I think The Lily Pad is going to be a very exciting place. I want you and Teddy to think of everything you want there. Your wish list will be our command,” she said, doing a little mock bow, and Lily smiled, admiring her beautifully cut dark hair again.

“Thanks for coming to see me,” Lily said politely, and then kissed her father and Joe goodbye. They left, and she and Teddy headed back to her room. “I bought you CDs today,” she told him.

“Which bands?” he asked with a delighted look.

“Green Day, Blink-182, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory,” Lily ran down the list with a grin.

“All right!” he said, and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, and she laughed. She had had a good day, and so had he. He was happy with his paintings. “I liked your dad’s friend, by the way,” Teddy commented as they got to her room.

“Yeah, me too. She’s a psychologist from Mass General, who specializes in SCI kids. My dad wants to hire her for The Lily Pad.”

“She seems smart.”

“I love her hair, and her nails,” Lily said dreamily, and Teddy laughed at her as she spread out the CDs she had bought him on the bed so he could see them.

“You’re pathetic,” he teased her. “The woman is a psychologist at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country, and you like her hair and nail polish.”

“Well, those things count too,” Lily said staunchly, looking at her pale nails that hadn’t seen polish in four months. She was too lazy to do them herself, and she hadn’t been anywhere to buy nail polish in ages, until today, but she hadn’t thought about it. She had bought two sweaters, a jacket, and the CDs for Teddy, and new Nikes to wear in therapy. They were hot pink.

“She’s a lovely girl,” Carole said about Lily after they left Craig. She could see easily why Jessie liked her so much. She was bright, kind, polite, nice to talk to. She was obviously devoted to her father, and comfortable with adults. And it was clear that Bill loved her deeply, and wanted to help her in every possible way.

“I worry about her skiing again,” Bill admitted, “and competing. She’s been through enough.”

“It’s what she loves,” Carole said gently.

“It’s her life,” Bill said.

“Do you ski?” Joe asked her then. He had been admiring her quietly from the backseat.

“I used to,” she said, smiling at him. He was a quiet man, and less forceful than Bill, but she could see that he had great depth to him, and she liked his suggestions about their project.

“You should bring ski clothes the next time you come out. There’s skiing very close to the city.”

“I don’t have much time while I’m here,” she said regretfully, “which reminds me, is there a department store where you gentlemen could drop me off? I want to do a quick errand. I can take a cab back to the hotel.” Bill said they were fairly close to Neiman’s and offered to take her there.

“Are you up to dinner tonight?” Bill asked her. “It might be fun to go to one of the local restaurants.”

“That would be nice,” she said, smiling at him, wondering if Joe would come too. She wasn’t sure she wanted to have dinner alone with Bill. It might give him the wrong impression. This was a strictly professional trip for her, but she didn’t want to decline and be rude.

“What about Table 6?” Joe suggested to Bill, and he seemed to like the idea, which gave her the impression that Joe might come along, which she preferred. Besides, they might have more ideas for their rehab center at dinner. She wanted to use every moment for work.

Bill dropped her off at Neiman’s a few minutes later and told her they’d pick her up at the hotel at eight.

“Thank you again for today,” she said as she got out and waved at them both, and then hurried into the store. She knew just what she wanted, and went to the cosmetics department. She picked four nail polish colors, including the one she was wearing, a small manicure kit, quick dry spray for nails, some hair conditioners and gels, and a relaxing face mask. She had them put it all in a box and gift wrap it, and she dropped it off by cab at Craig for Lily a few minutes later and went back to her hotel. She had time to lie down and relax for an hour before she dressed for dinner. And she took her wig off while she lay down. She had seen Lily staring at it that afternoon and wondered if she knew. She would have told her if the men hadn’t been there, but she didn’t want them to know. She rubbed the peach fuzz on her head, and closed her eyes and took a nap. She still got a little more tired than she used to, but it was getting better, and she was enjoying her life fully these days.

And at seven o’clock she put on a different sweater, a skirt, and high heels, washed her face, put on fresh makeup, brushed her wig, and put it back on. And she was in the lobby when Bill and Joe came to pick her up. Both men were wearing sport jackets, and Joe had worn a tie. He still looked very New York, and Bill was more casual. She liked the way they both dressed. They were handsome men. Her husband had looked like a slightly younger version of Joe. He had the same very eastern style. It suited him, and appealed to her, but Dylan had turned out to be a bad guy. Her life was much better now.

“I want to thank you,” Bill said, as soon as Carole got into the car. “Lily called me—she didn’t know how to reach you, or what hotel you were staying at. Apparently, you dropped off some fantastic stuff to her at Craig. She was all excited about it, nail polish and hair stuff and I don’t know what else. She loved it. I gave her your e-mail address so she could thank you. I hope you don’t mind.” And as he said it, a message popped up on Carole’s BlackBerry, and she checked it. It was an ecstatic e-mail from Lily, thanking her for everything. Carole smiled.

“I’m glad she liked it. She kind of woke me up to how important those little things are. Sometimes I forget.” She had missed manicures too when she was sick. Now they made her feel human again. And she had already forgotten until Lily mentioned it that afternoon how much she missed getting manicures and having her hair done when she needed it most. They were the little feminine touches that made a big difference.

The restaurant Joe suggested had a quiet cozy atmosphere and great food, and they had a relaxed, easy conversation and somehow wound up on the subject of marriage. Carole and Joe both said they were divorced, and Bill that he was widowed, which Carole knew from Jessie.

“My wife ran off to Nepal to follow her guru,” Joe said with a wry look. “A midlife crisis, I think. Or maybe I drove her to it,” he said, laughing. He was feeling better about it now that he had moved to Denver, and had a new project with Bill. Life had looked extremely bleak for a while, but he didn’t say that at dinner.

“My husband ran like hell when I was diagnosed with cancer. Apparently, statistically that’s pretty common. I just didn’t enjoy being one of those statistics,” she said. “But I’m fine. I’m healthy again, and life is good.” She seemed to have a very sane attitude about it, which impressed both men. They were both shocked by the story.

“That’s a pretty rotten thing to do,” Bill commented sympathetically. “You’re very reasonable about it. I’m not sure I would be. In fact, I know I wouldn’t. I hope you stuck him for a fortune,” Bill said, and she laughed out loud.

“No, I didn’t. Maybe I should have. I was too sick to care about the money. And now I’m fine.” She looked happy and at peace, and optimistic, and in fact, she was grateful to be alive. She had a positive outlook that seemed to permeate everything she did. And all three of them were enjoying the evening together.

And as they finished dinner, Lily was painting her nails the same color as Carole’s, thanks to her thoughtful gift. She was a happy girl that night, and Teddy pretended to scream in terror when he rolled into her room and saw her in the face mask.

“Is that what you look like without makeup? Shit, Lily, you’re scary.”

“Don’t make me laugh, I’ll crack the mask,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, whatever, Countess Dracula,” he said, shaking his head, and motored back to his own room.

Chapter 16

Jessie finished work late, as she did every night now. She could never seem to get out of the office early enough to get home, relax for a few minutes, talk to the kids, and cook a decent dinner. Instead, she was always running behind, the grocery stores were closed, the kids were fighting over something when she got in, homework wasn’t done, and there was nothing in the house to cook except frozen pizza or hamburgers. Tim had been dead for exactly ninety-one days, and she felt as though her life was out of control.

Adam and Jimmy were fighting over the PlayStation in the living room when she got home, Chris was nowhere to be found but his car was outside so she knew he was in, and Heather was on the phone in her room, paying no attention to her younger brothers trying to kill each other. And the house looked a mess. Jessie went straight into the kitchen and stuck two frozen pizzas in the oven, for the third time that week, feeling like someone was going to report her for child abuse, or neglect at the very least. There was no one to pick up the slack for her now, and the kids didn’t do it. They were upset too. Heather’s grades had been in the toilet for three months since her father died. She might as well have stayed home from school. Her last report card was all incompletes, Ds, and an F, in PE, for not even showing up.

“Not pizza again!” Adam said with a look of disgust as he walked into the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I had an emergency at six o’clock, a kid with a concussion. I had to admit him.” She talked to him like he was a fellow physician, instead of a child who needed a mother and a decent meal. “Tell everyone to come down to dinner,” she said with a look of despair. She felt like she was getting Fs too, in mother, provider, and cook. The only thing she still seemed able to do decently was work. She hadn’t killed any of her patients yet.

Chris came to the table, looking worried, and Heather gave Adam a shove when he helped himself first.

“How was your day, Mom?” Jimmy asked her politely, and she smiled. He was the only bright spot in the group, and she knew he was missing his father too. But he was as sweet as Tim had been and as nice to her.

“A little rocky,” she said honestly, and looked around the table. “How about all of you? Decent day?” They didn’t look it, but you never knew. Miracles could happen. “Did you go to PE?” she asked Heather, who made a face. “Does that mean yes, I hope?”