Love You Forever (2013 Wattys Finalist)

Chapter 34 - The Invitation

Robert woke up, blinking because of the light coming in through the window.  He laid there for a moment, feeling like something wasn’t right, and then it hit him.  Georgie, he thought with alarm, sitting up in bed.  She hadn’t woken him the night before.  He threw off the pink floral quilt and got out of bed, immediately worried something was wrong. 

As soon as he had on his jeans, he pulled open the door.  Damn.  She wasn’t on the couch and neither was her bedding.  He immediately went to the kitchen with his heart in his throat.  When he walked in, she looked up from the kitchen table where she was drinking coffee with May and Marianne.

“Good morning, Robert,” she said with a smile.  He searched for signs she was still upset from the day before, but her smile seemed sincere and she looked untroubled.  May and Marianne looked up from their reading, and repeated the greeting. 

“Uh, morning,” he said tearing his eyes away from Georgie, not wanting her to know he was concerned about her. 

He walked over to the tea kettle, as if that was what he’d come to the kitchen for.  While he filled it at the sink, he couldn’t help wondering what had happened.  It was impossible he would’ve slept through her screaming.  Perhaps she’d still been affected by the test results and hadn’t been able to sleep. When he was settled at the table with his tea and a bowl of cereal, he snuck glances at her, trying to see evidence she’d been up all night, but she seemed perfectly relaxed.  In fact, the dark circles she usually had under her eyes weren’t quite as dark, but then her normally pale face had a little more color this morning. 

When she noticed him looking at her, she smiled, asking, “What?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly, dropping his eyes to his bowl.

“I think Robert sees what we all see, honey,” Marianne said as she folded her newspaper and set it next to her coffee mug.

“What do you mean?” Georgie asked.  Marianne got up and went her.

“You look like you got a good night’s sleep,” she said kindly, and bent down to give a her hug. 

“Oh, right,” Georgie said quietly with a smile, and Marianne gave her a kiss on the top of her head before leaving the kitchen.

Robert watched Georgie smiling at her mug, looking as if her mind was somewhere else.  There was something about her expression he’d seen before, but he couldn’t quite place it.  Then she looked up at him, her vivid blue eyes meeting his as she continued to smile, and the memories fell into place. 

He saw her in the tiny kitchen in the flat where the two of them were cleaning, saying, ‘When they come, I never have nightmares.  So that’s the reason why I didn’t have one last night.’  And then her drinking coffee on Christmas morning, saying, ‘My family came to see me again last night.’  Robert immediately dropped his eyes to his bowl. 

She must have dreamt about her family the night before, and he had no doubt she believed they’d really visited her.  It made him sad to know she still clung to the belief her family wasn’t gone forever.

“It’s done you a world of good, Georgie.  I’m glad to see you looking so well,” May said, interrupting his thoughts.  “Especially because you looked so sad yesterday.  I was worried it had something to do with that letter.”

“Oh, no.  That was just a letter from my doctor,” Georgie said quickly.  “It was good news – about some tests they did.”

“Oh, good.  I’m glad to hear it,” May said smiling with relief.  Georgie looked back at her coffee mug smiling to herself and Robert sipped his tea while he looked out the window so he wouldn’t see her.