Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick Page B

the refrigerator.
    When Gabe came in a few minutes later, Evan on his heels, they found her trying to cut a slice of watermelon.
    â€œI’m glad to see you,” Lily forced herself to say the moment the outside door closed. “Will you please help me get some watermelon?”
    â€œSure.” Gabe was already headed her way. Although he had thanked her for rescuing them, it had been hard to leave her today. He had gone for a run on the beach in an effort not to sit around and stare at her. Evan had finished his laps in the pool, and they had come in together.
    â€œHow wide?”
    â€œMaybe half an inch.”
    It was hard to cut it that thin, so Lily ended up with more than she needed, but in a blissfully brief amount of time, she had a plate in front of her and was taking that first cool bite. It tasted so good that the nausea she had been experiencing immediately began to recede.
    â€œHow are you feeling?” Evan asked, taking a seat across from her.
    Lily stopped and thought. “My stomach needed food, so that’s better, but the burning is unlike anything I’ve ever known. I almost want to shiver at the thought of what happened to my skin, but then that would be moving, and I don’t wish to do that.”
    Evan blinked at the change in her voice. She still didn’t have much eye contact with them, but she sounded the most confident he had ever heard her.
    â€œDid you get some sleep?” Gabe asked, having started on his own slice of melon.
    â€œI did, yes.” Lily glanced up as she answered, absently wondering why it was easier to have eye contact with Gabe.
    â€œGood. And what will you do for the rest of the day?”
    â€œI don’t know. Do you know if my brother is calling today?”
    â€œI’m not certain. Maybe he will this evening.”
    Lily nodded, thinking that would make sense because Jeff was working. On the heels of that thought, she tried to remember the time difference on the mainland. While taking another bite of watermelon, Lily wondered, not for the first time, exactly where Jeff was.
    Suddenly she wanted cheese. She had eaten only about five bites of the fruit in front of her and might want more, but cheese sounded very good to her at the moment. Going against the feelings inside of her to keep to herself and wanting to make a genuine effort to make this “home,” Lily rose and went to the refrigerator again. She knew where the cheese was kept and pulled out a block.
    For a moment the pain on her shoulders was so intense that she halted. She shut the door to the fridge but moved no farther.
    â€œAre you all right?” Evan asked to her back.
    â€œI think I will be,” she said.
    Celia chose that moment to join them. She saw the food and went right to Lily.
    â€œI have cheese?”
    â€œCertainly,” Lily said, but her voice was strained.
    The men hadn’t even waited to hear from her. Gabe was not about to let Lily wait on Celia in her condition. So while Evan saw his daughter to a chair, Gabe took the cheese from Lily.
    â€œI’ll cut you some and put it on the table. You can sit back down when you’re ready.”
    â€œThank you.”
    Gabe hesitated. “Can I do something for you first?”
    â€œNo, thank you. I just need a moment.”
    Gabe took her at her word, although it took some effort, and returned to the table. He made himself carry on, but the horrible helplessness and blame was returning. He had told Jeff they would take care of her, and he’d let his friend down.
    It did much for his heart to see Lily eventually come back to the table and eat some of the cheese he had cut. It wasn’t much, but he figured her stomach might still be upset.
    And he was right. Lily would have enjoyed a little more food, but her skin still smelled like the hospital, and that was making her feel a little ill. She would have liked a bath but knew how much she would have to use her arms to get in