Hurricanes in Paradise (44 page)

Riley watched as tears surged to the corners of Tamyra’s eyes. She reached up and, as a mother would, wiped them away. “It’s okay, Tamyra. I’ll stay with you until your mother gets here. I won’t leave you.”

Tamyra’s eyes turned to Riley. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Winnie bent down and kissed the top of Tamyra’s head. “I’ll see you very soon, sweetheart.”

Riley stepped back so Laine could say good-bye. “You will be fine, Tamyra,” she assured her. “And you will always be beautiful. Because beauty comes from the deepest place in you.” Then Laine bent down and kissed her too. As Laine turned to walk away, Tamyra grabbed her hand.

“Thank you, Laine.”

Laine patted her hand and Tamyra let go.

Riley turned to her. “Let me walk them out and I’ll be right back.”

Tamyra nodded and waved with the tips of her fingers as they exited her room.

Outside the hospital, they stood beside an open car door. “You call me as soon as you know the arrangements,” Riley said, then reached out and pulled Laine into her arms. Laine’s hand patted her back softly as she laid her head on her shoulder.

“Pray for me,” Laine whispered.

“I haven’t stopped,” Riley said.

Laine straightened and climbed into the back of the car.

Winnie walked over and hugged Riley. “You take care of her, Winnie.”

“As if she were my own.”

Riley watched as the car pulled away. These three women had etched a place into her very fiber. They had come in like hurricanes and were leaving like familiar breezes. She wiped the tears that had fallen down her face with ease. Then turned and walked into the hospital to take care of Tamyra.

* * *

When Laine and Winnie reached the tarmac and the private plane, Roy Rogers stood at the bottom of the jet’s stairs.

“It’s that man.”

Winnie nodded. “Roy Rogers. You know him too?”

“Yeah, when I got here that first day, he said something about the waters here being full of healing.”

Winnie smiled. “He said the same thing to me.”

Roy nodded as they approached. “I can see you are leaving different from the way you arrived, ladies.”

Winnie stopped at the edge of the stairs and punched him playfully in the arm. “How can you tell?”

“You’re glowing,” he said.

“She glows perpetually,” Laine quipped.

Roy’s black eyes took her in completely. “And you. The tough one. You’ve let go of something, I believe.”

The tears burned as they rushed to the brim of her eyes. “Let go of my disease, Roy. And found a great deal in return. Healed, Roy. Healed.”

She saw the emotion on his face. And he nodded at them, waiting until they had ascended the stairs and let the flight attendant bring them in and close the door. When Laine looked out the window to catch one last glimpse of Roy, he was gone. Roy Rogers was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t know whether to be freaked out or not. Maybe with the stress of everything, her eyes were just playing tricks on her. But she did know she wasn’t leaving paradise the way she had come. No, these waters had been just like Roy had said. They had been healing.

* * *

Tamyra’s mother had gotten in about nine o’clock that evening. Riley had dozed on and off, fed Tamyra, talked to her when she had felt like talking, and had been told by the doctors that she would be able to go home in a couple of days. They just wanted to make sure the swelling came down in her nose so she could breathe okay. Riley felt as if her very bones ached as she pulled into the parking lot at her condo and turned off the car. She opened the car door.

“Mommy!” She heard the little voice ring from across the parking lot.

She looked up and saw Gabby run toward her. She dropped her purse and ran toward her little girl, letting her fall into her arms. She peppered her with kisses. “I’ve missed you so much. How is my angel girl?”

Jeremy walked out of the shadows of the darkness into the streetlight’s glow. “We took the first flight out we could get. We went by the office first to surprise you and the staff said you were at the hospital. Is everything okay?” His voice was filled with concern.

She shook her head and released Gabby from her arms, then stood. “Yeah, yeah . . . everything’s fine.”

“Well, we decided we’d come here and wait for you instead.”

Gabby tugged at her sleeve. “But first we went to Pizza Hut and had pizza and then we went to get a slush. I’ve got so much to tell you, Mommy! So much that we’ve done and all that Granddaddy did, and I just can’t wait to tell you everything, Mommy!”

All the weariness left Riley. “Let me grab my purse and you can talk until you can’t talk anymore.” She turned to Jeremy. “I’ll get you a room for the night at The Cove. We have plenty available. I’ll call, and they’ll have it ready by the time you get there.”

“That would be great, thanks. I couldn’t get a flight out of here tonight if I tried.”

“Sure. You head on over there and they’ll get you everything you need. Ask for Chandra; she’s on duty tonight.”

“I will. Thank you.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you so much for taking care of her.” She looked down at Gabby’s beaming face.

He patted her arm. “It sounds like it’s been a tough week.”

“Very. But beautiful,” she confirmed.

“I love you, Daddy,” Gabby said.

Her daddy took her up in his arms and kissed her. “I’ll see you soon, Gabby-girl.”

“Very soon?”

“Very soon.”

He put Gabby down and she grabbed Riley’s hand. The warmth of that tiny hand in hers refreshed her entire insides. “Let’s go talk,” Riley said. “Let’s go talk all night. I want to hear everything.”

“How’s Ted?”

Riley suddenly realized poor Ted hadn’t been fed or checked on in two days. “Fine . . . yeah . . . I’m sure Ted is fine.”

Gabby looked at her and gave her that gap-toothed smile. And with that one look, paradise was now perfect.

Epilogue

One year later . . .

Riley walked up to the low-country house; its charm fit like a picture in the historical district of Savannah. It felt so much like home. Balloons flew outside, and so many television cameras and trucks lined Abercorn Street that she had been forced to park two blocks over. She walked through the red-painted wood door into a bustle of activity. People scurried like ants on an invaded anthill. A young woman in front of her was busy writing notes on a notepad. She looked up as Riley walked by.

“Hello, I’m Savannah Phillips with the
Savannah Chronicle
.” The attractive young woman extended her slender hand.

Riley tried to suppress her smile.

The girl shook her head and gave an amused smile. “It’s okay. I get it all the time. You can say it.”

Riley covered her mouth and shook her head. “I won’t.”

“You’ll be one of the first. Are you a friend of Tamyra’s?”

“Yes, I am. We met about a year ago.”

Savannah’s all-American features registered a knowing look. “You were there during the attack?”

Riley wasn’t sure how much to reveal to someone from the paper. Obviously the young woman was astute at reading people.

Savannah put her pad down. “It’s off the record. I’ve already written that story. Tamyra and I have known each other for quite a while. My mother’s into pageants, which is a whole other story, one someone should write a book about one day, to be honest with you. But Tamyra and I have crossed paths quite a few times. She’s a remarkable young woman.”

“Yes, she is. And yes, I was there. It was a horrible scene.”

“She said she made some wonderful friendships on that trip.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Savannah stepped aside. “Well, I won’t keep you. Nice to meet you, um . . .”

Riley had forgotten her manners. She extended her hand. “Oh, sorry. Riley. Riley Manos.”

“Enjoy yourself, Riley.”

“Nice to meet you, Savannah.”

The young woman left her. Riley saw the back of Tamyra’s head and walked into the quaint anteroom where she was. Tamyra stepped to the side before Riley reached her and gave her an unobstructed view of Laine and Winnie.

Riley let out a squeal, ran over, and embraced her friends. They all did a happy dance in each other’s arms, knowing it was completely childish and immature and yet not caring who in the world looked on.

Tamyra squeezed Riley’s shoulder. “You look beautiful.”

Winnie gave Riley a wink. “All new brides glow that way.”

“You’d think we hadn’t seen each other in a year,” Laine spouted. “And we just saw each other four weeks ago.”

Tamyra laughed. “I know, but it’s never enough.”

“At least you waited a decent amount of time before you went off and got hitched,” Laine said, turning her attention to Winnie. “Hussy over here couldn’t wait six months.”

Winnie poked her. “When you’re my age, Laine, you don’t waste time. Plus, with the help of Viagra, we’ve got to take advantage of all of Albert’s good years.”

Their laughter erupted.

Riley turned to Tamyra. “We’re so proud of you. You know that, don’t you?”

Tamyra smiled and nodded. Riley saw a complete range of emotions brimming on the surface of Tamyra’s face. Her shoulders were slender and smooth as they stuck out beneath her yellow linen, sleeveless dress. And her face held little reminder of what had brought them here. She reached her hand out and took Riley’s. “Can I give you a tour?”

“I’d love it.”

Riley looked at Winnie and Laine. Winnie shooed her with her hand. “We just saw everything. You go.”

Tamyra took Riley through every room of the domestic violence center she had started. Each was immaculately designed, impeccably furnished, and filled with Tamyra’s warmth. “After the trial was over and I knew Jason was finally locked away . . .”

“He got twenty years, didn’t he?”

“Yes, they tried him on attempted murder,” she said, her heels clicking softly on the wooden floors as they walked.

“I’m so sorry, Tamyra.”

They stopped in the doorway of a children’s playroom. The primary colors were bold behind Tamyra’s silhouette.

“Don’t be. That trip changed me in so many ways. And that experience was so profound. Here I was thinking HIV was going to kill me, and then I realized my life could be snatched away at any moment. That I had to choose to live. And so after Jason was put away, I came home and immediately began raising the funds for this place. With the medication they have now, I could live for years with HIV. But I know, at the end of the day, I won’t leave this earth a day before I’m supposed to, regardless of how I die. So I decided to live. And I thought while I was doing it, it might be nice to help others do it too.”

Riley enveloped Tamyra in her arms. “You are an amazing young woman, Tamyra Larsen. And I am so extremely proud of you.” She finally released her. “Now let’s go celebrate a ribbon cutting.”

“Let’s.”

“Tamyra! Yoo-hoo, Tamyra, honey!” A voice came up from behind them. A woman pulled Tamyra to her and shook her as she spoke. “Oh, baby doll, I am so proud of you. Who would ever think that one of my girls would create something as wonderful as this.”

Tamyra all but gasped for air upon her release. “Riley, I’d like you to meet Mrs. Victoria Phillips. She is the head of the chamber of commerce and—”

“—and former Miss Georgia United States of America.” Victoria stuck her hand out in front of Riley, the ruffles from the edge of her cream suit jacket fluttering in front of her.

Riley leaned back slightly from the rapid approach. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Phillips.”

“Oh, wonderful to meet you, darling. I just love this young woman here. And I’m so proud of her. Do you know that we—”

Tamyra stopped her. “Miss Victoria, they’re about to do the ribbon cutting. We probably need to head out to the front.”

“Of course, honey. Yes, let’s get out there and cut that ribbon and get this house open and anorexics some food!” Her voice reverberated through the house.