It was good to be home. The flight hadn’t been too bad, apart from Anne’s constant sniveling, which didn’t stop from their departure in Florida to their arrival in Maine and all the ride home from the airport. Lucy hadn’t boarded with them. Indeed, no one had heard a word from her since the big to-do. Not even Anne knew where she was, though Elinor was secretly glad to have dodged more gloating looks and comments—presuming there were any, since being cut off financially by Edward’s mother was no small thing, she imagined. For once, Lucy might have kept her mouth shut. Still, she would have liked to have seen Edward one more time, if only to find out how he was doing.
They dropped Anne off on the way home and watched as she traipsed into her apartment with her head bowed and her wings drooping. Elinor looked at Marianne to see what she was thinking, but Marianne was lost in a world of her own.
Finally, the taxi pulled up outside their lovely house, and they got out. Elinor paid the elf driver and thanked him. He gave her a wide grin as he backed up the drive. As shadows played over his face, she thought she saw Edward smiling at her, but that was just a trick of the light. Damn her stupid thoughts. She said hello to the trees, then followed Marianne inside.
“Oh, my girls, you’ve no idea how much I missed you!” Mary said as they dumped their cases just inside the front door. As she squeezed Marianne, their mother looked over her shoulder at her eldest daughter. Elinor had kept her up to speed on developments. Elinor shook her head but gave a little half-smile and a shrug, too. Marianne’s heart wasn’t healed by any means, but at least she hadn’t sniveled all the way back like Anne had.
Mary pulled away and held her middle daughter gently at arm’s length. “What’s this? All this time in Florida and no tan?”
“I didn’t like the sunshine, it was drying me out,” Marianne said flatly. She picked up her case and headed for her room, leaving Mary and Elinor to watch as she disappeared.
“Did you bring me a pressie?” Margaret looked just as pleased as their mother had to see her sisters return home. “I’m glad you’re back. It’s been so booooring without you. And Mom said if you go again, I can go with you!”
“That’s not quite what I said.” Mary smiled and tussled her youngest daughter’s hair, making her scowl. “I said maybe next time you can go.”
“That’s just as good as a yes,” Margaret said. “So what did you bring me?”
“Let me get in!” Elinor laughed. “There might be something in my suitcase for you. You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”
“Please!”
“Let me get a cup of tea first, will you? That was a long journey, and I’m parched.”
Elinor pushed gently past her excited baby sister and went straight into the kitchen. She longed for a cup of tea made with home water; theirs was much harder than the soft water down south, and she missed that special zing. A dryad needed her daily mineral nutrients.
“Mom, can I go play for a bit?” Margaret asked, still bursting with energy.
“Sure,” Mary said. “Just make sure you’re back in time for dinner. I don’t want to have to come looking for you.”
As Margaret scuttled off, Elinor set out two mugs and turned on the kettle.
“So, how is she?” Mary asked, lowering her voice and raising her eyes to the ceiling.
“I’m not sure,” Elinor said, truthfully. “She has her good moments, but then she goes all quiet again. I mean, it’s a little early to expect her to forget him, but I’ve never seen her this down in the mouth before, and it worries me. She spends almost all her time with her nose in the phone, though I don’t think she’s texting him anymore.”
“We just have to be a little patient with her. She’ll come around soon, I’m sure of it.”
Elinor hoped she was right. “Talking of texts, I got one from Chris earlier.”
“Oh?” From the look on Mary’s face, Elinor could guess what she was thinking. “Oh Mom, it’s nothing like that. We’re just friends.”
“If you say so.”
“Mom!”
“I just don’t know what’s wrong with you young ‘uns. I’d have snapped that one up in a heartbeat.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” Elinor laughed.
“Cheek. So, what did Chris want?”
“He wanted Edward’s contact info.”
Elinor had told Mary about Lucy, and her mother was wisely keeping her thoughts to herself on that subject. She took the mug Elinor offered and blew on the tea. “I wonder what for?”
“Dunno, I didn’t ask.”
“Huh. Well anyway, on to more important things, I want both you girls in dryad robes tonight. I offered up a prayer to the trees for your safe passage, and we ought to give thanks straight after dinner before it gets dark. As soon as you’re done with your tea, go and change—oh and tell Marianne to do the same.”
Elinor nodded and turned, spotting the herb and spice basket Mary had already prepared sitting in the corner. Good. She had planned on a little tree time anyway. It wasn’t the same in Florida; she didn’t have the same rapport with the local trees, and she wouldn’t feel truly at home until they had welcomed her back.
When Elinor looked up, Mary was studying her. She reached across the table and placed her hand over her daughter’s. Elinor knew what she was thinking.
“I’m all right, Mom, really I am. Or I will be. I won’t say it’s not hurting because it is, but I’ll get over it. Just give me a little time.”
Mary sighed. “None of this would ever have happened if your father were alive. He would have protected you, or at least gone after the stupid boys to make them suffer. Or make good on their promises.”
Elinor pulled her hand out and laid it over her mother’s.
“It’s okay, Mom. We’re doing okay. It’s nobody’s fault. No promises were broken, it’s not as bad as you think. Hey, do we have any of those nice lavender biscuits? You know how much you love those.”
Mary laughed. “Um no, I think I ate them all while you were away. I have some gingersnaps though. Do you want some?”
“Sure,” Elinor said, knowing dunking cookies would make her mother feel bucketloads better.
She rose from the table, and while she rummaged through a cupboard, Marianne came down from upstairs. She hadn’t changed from her travel clothes and looked like she might have been lying down on her face, it was so flushed.
“Want some?” Elinor asked, pointing to her mug.
“Not right now.”
“Actually,” Mary said, “I’m glad you’ve come down. I want to give thanks for your safe return.”
Marianne glanced over to the corner and saw the basket. “Sure, if you like.”
Elinor put an opened packet of cookies in front of Mary and noticed Marianne had her nose in her phone, yet again. What on earth could be so interesting? she wondered, but she didn’t dare ask in case Marianne bit her head off.
“Well, I’m going up to change,” Elinor said, grabbing her mug to take it with her. As she passed Marianne, she took a sneak peek over her shoulder and noticed Marianne was looking at a map. Hardly exciting. The print was too small to see what it was a map of, but at least her sister wasn’t brooding over some text or hapless love letter. Sensing Elinor had stopped, Marianne turned, and Elinor pretended to be waiting for her. “Are you coming?”
“In a minute. You go ahead.”
Elinor nodded, and after taking another sip of her tea, left her mother and sister to it. She needed to prepare mentally for the trees, which meant a little quiet time. That was something she couldn’t get down in the kitchen, worrying as she always did about everyone else. When she got to her room, she placed her mug on the bedside table, laid down on her bed, closed her eyes, and cleared her mind.
Elinor dreamed of her phone. Only it wasn’t a dream. She opened her eyes and reached over to grab her cell phone. Still half-dreaming, she swiped without checking to see who it was.
“Hel-lo,” she said, her voice broken.
“Elinor? Uh, hello. It’s, it’s Edward.”
That woke her up quickly. She rubbed her eyes and checked the clock beside the bed. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than five minutes.
“Edward, oh hey. Sorry, I must have dozed off. How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you.” He gave a little sigh. “Probably doing better than I deserve. How was your flight?”
“Oh, you know, nothing special. Not even one hijacking to spice things up. We complained to the airline manager.” Oh Gaia, why had she said that? “I’m glad to be home. Are you…still in Florida?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say “you and Lucy.” She wondered if he caught the pause.
“Yes, until tomorrow. It’s the only flight we could get at short notice. Everything was fully booked.”
He fell silent for a moment, and Elinor stared intently at the screen, wishing she could think of something relevant to say.
Edward took a sharp intake of breath. “I wanted to thank you for what you said to Chris Brandon.”
“What I said?”
“Yes. He called me a little bit ago and offered me a position in his company. I won’t be arrogant and assume it was down to my own merits. I presumed he must have spoken with you, but it was nice of him all the same. I confess, I do find myself in a bind now that Mom has cut me off, so I really appreciate your help.”
Elinor sat up straight in her bed. “No, you’re mistaken. Whatever you and Chris discussed had nothing to do with me at all. If he made you an offer, it was entirely down to his assessment of you and your experience. I didn’t even know about it.”
“Hmm, well, I’m sure on some level he must have done it because of you. I’d never spoken to him before today.”
“I couldn’t say. But I’m happy for you. I’m glad something has worked out.”
“Indeed. Er, he said he might drop by later to see you all got home safely. If he does, can you tell him thanks again?”
“I will.”
The line went quiet again. Another sigh. Was he feeling regret, or did he have asthma?
“Elinor, I wanted to tell you––”
But he couldn’t finish. Elinor heard Lucy’s hurried voice in the background. She sounded a little irritated, but she was too far from the phone to be heard distinctly.
“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” When he returned his attention to Elinor, his voice sounded a little lower. “Um, look, I’m sorry. I have to go. I just wanted to call to say thanks.”
“You’re welcome, I guess,” Elinor said, intently listening to catch Lucy again. Did she know who Edward was talking to? She could hear nothing.
“Goodbye,” Edward said.
It sounded so final. Suddenly, Elinor felt empty. “Bye.”
And then he was gone. Elinor kicked herself for not telling him that they saw Anne home okay, and that she was still upset and apologetic for her blunder and wanted to tell Lucy she was sorry.
Even as she went over their conversation in her mind, there was a knock on her door and someone rattled the handle. It was Margaret.
“Mom said to come down. Soup’s on the table and then we need to get started.”
“Oh, okay,” Elinor replied. “Tell her I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Don’t forget my pressie,” Margaret said and ran off.
Elinor slid off the bed and changed from her travel robes to her dryad dress. Her head wasn’t as clear as she wanted it to be, but that couldn’t be helped now. At least she knew Edward was all right, and that things were working out for him.
As she pulled her hair back into a braid, she tried not to think of Lucy being with him and what they might be getting up to even now. Such thoughts gave her no comfort, and as if to tear them from her mind, she pulled hard on her braids, seeking forgetfulness in the pain. Dammit, she would beat this heartache, she would rise above it, and all would be forgotten and go back to normal––in time. Though maybe not just yet.
She opened her suitcase and took out Margaret’s present, then put on her best smile and went downstairs to join her family.