Message from Nam by Danielle Steel Page A

way and with the time difference, it was almost midnight when she got home, and everyone was sleeping. Her brother had come to pick her up, but her mother had gone to bed with a bad head cold. Only Queenie was sitting up waiting for her, with hot chocolate and Paxton’s favorite oatmeal cookies fresh from the oven. The two embraced without a word, and just holding her old friend, Paxton wanted to share her happiness with her. She had thought of Peter constantly on the plane, and now she could hardly wait to tell her. But George seemed not to want to go. He seemed to feel dutybound to wait until she finished her hot chocolate. He told her the news of people around town, and told her that her mother had been given an award by the Daughters of the Civil War, and Paxton tried to sound excited for her. But all she could do was look at Queenie and smile, telling her with her eyes how much she loved her.
    And at last, she went upstairs to bed, and George went home, and she lay in bed thinking of Peter, and trying to feel at home there. But nothing felt the same, nothing felt inviting and warm, and all she could do as she lay there was think of Peter and California. It took her hours to fall asleep, and when she did at last, she felt lonely without listening to Gabby.
    And in the morning, things were worse. She felt like a stranger when she had breakfast with her mother. She congratulated her mother on her award, and after a cool nod of thanks, her mother fell into an awkward silence. They seemed to have nothing to say at all, and Paxton kept struggling to find things to tell her about her classes. She never asked about Paxton’s roommates at all, and there was no way in the world she would have mentioned Peter to her. She did mention that George had a “new friend,” and told her that she would meet her that night at dinner, although George himself had said absolutely nothing about her when he picked Paxton up at the airport. And Paxton was reminded again how different her own family was from the Wilsons. And she couldn’t help wondering how different they might have been if her father were still alive, to warm their hearts and make them all a little more human.
    It was late afternoon before she managed to find Queenie alone in the comfortable kitchen, and she told her all about Gabby and Peter and the Wilsons.
    “You ain’t done nothin’ you’ll be sorry for, have you, girl?” she asked her sternly, and Paxton shook her head, but the thought had crossed her mind, and now that they had admitted how serious they both were, it was reasonable to believe that, sooner or later, something “serious” could happen. But she answered Queenie truthfully, and knew that there were some thoughts you didn’t share, even with Queenie.
    “No, Queenie, I haven’t. But he’s wonderful. You’d love him.” She told her all about him again, and the old woman watched her with a tender heart, her eyes alight as she talked about the boy she’d fallen in love with in California.
    “You like it there? Are ya happy?”
    “I really am. It’s wonderful. It’s so exciting.” She told her about the classes she was taking, the people she had met, the places she had seen, and Queenie could see it all from her descriptions. And then, in a conspiratorial whisper, she asked her about George’s new girlfriend.
    “You’ll see.” The old woman laughed. “I think this one may be for real though.” But somehow, Paxton sensed that Queenie didn’t like her.
    “What makes you think so?” Paxton looked intrigued, but Queenie only laughed, and two hours later, Paxton could see for herself why Queenie didn’t think much of her. George’s new friend, Allison, looked like their mother’s double. She wore her hair the same way, had the same cool airs, the same prim, southern-lady manners, only she was much, much more restrained. And everything about her was so taut, she seemed in danger of breaking. But George looked totally at ease with her. He