Lie, Lie Again(20)

As she was about to leave, she grabbed two books from her shelf—The Devil Wears Prada and The Da Vinci Code. Either would suffice to keep Sylvia’s mind off the pain. They were old, but she’d saved her paperback copies because they were two of her favorites. She’d read whichever one Sylvia didn’t want.

“Okay, are you ready?” she asked, collecting her umbrella from the closet.

Sylvia sighed. “I suppose. Let’s go.”



The drive to the urgent care took only ten minutes, but it felt like the last stretch of a long road trip. Rain poured down and sloshed against the tires. Sylvia was silent the entire way, staring at the blurry windshield as if her force of will could get them there faster. Maybe it was the pain, but Riki got the feeling she was uncomfortable for an entirely different reason, which in turn made her anxious. Her attempts at small talk crashed and burned.

It had to be the pain. Sylvia was always pleasant. That was such a weird word. Pleasant. Nice but untouchable. That’s exactly how she thought of Sylvia. It was like living below a famous person—not a movie star but a news anchor—someone who had an air of intelligence and commanded respect. Maybe it was because she was older and always looked so polished and professional. She had been very welcoming when Riki moved to the complex. Not like Embry, but perfectly nice. And after all this time, she didn’t know her nearly as well as she knew Embry. Riki tried to recall what Sylvia did for a living. Was it marketing? Something like that. Regardless, she worked at a place that made boxes for shoe manufacturers and pizza conglomerates. But that was the extent of what she knew. She didn’t even know if she had any family nearby, and Riki had told Sylvia all about her own mom, dad, and sister on their first meeting. Had she been so eager to talk about herself that she’d failed to ask Sylvia any questions? Her face grew hot. She really needed to figure out how to be a normal human being, not a clunky, awkward rendition of one.

Sylvia finished checking in at the front desk and took a seat next to Riki. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll Uber home.”

“I’m happy to stay with you.” She reached into her purse and took out the paperbacks. “Look. I even brought books for us.”

A sadness crossed Sylvia’s face, making it look as if she might cry, but it disappeared so quickly, Riki wondered if she’d imagined it. Probably so. She was always so contained and pleasant. There was that word again.

“I’m fine. I’d rather wait alone, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh. Um, okay. Do you at least want a book?”

“I have my phone. I’m fine. Really.”

“Okay.” She fumbled to put the books back into her purse. “If you need anything at all, you know how to reach me. The rain may make it hard to get an Uber, so please call if you need a ride after all, okay?”

Sylvia only nodded and remained in the waiting-room chair, her arm tucked into her body and her eyes glued to her phone.

Riki checked her own phone to make sure her ringer was on and saw three new texts from Chris. Shoot. She should’ve called him before they left.

So sorry! My neighbor fell and I took her to the urgent care. Can we do something tomorrow?

She watched the screen as the three dots appeared.

NP.

That was it? He couldn’t even write out no problem? Oh well. She couldn’t take his short response as an indication of anger. Maybe he was in the middle of something. Besides, it was nice that he responded quickly. She replied with a smiley face and tucked her phone back into her purse. As she drove home, rain slammed against the windshield, and she had to strain to see through the watery mess. She couldn’t help wondering why Sylvia would want to be alone. If the roles were reversed, she would’ve been begging Sylvia to stay. Well, not begging, but she would’ve immediately accepted her offer to stay. It’s what you did for a friend. And there was no chance she’d said anything that could’ve upset her, because they had hardly exchanged five words tonight. No, this was just strange.

Maybe she felt nauseated and wanted to be alone for that reason. Riki could certainly understand that. No one wanted to feel like they were going to barf in front of someone else.

She pulled into her parking spot and watched as the wipers shucked water from the windshield before she shut off the engine. The rain slammed the ground outside the safety of the carport. Flipping up her hoodie, she jogged down the driveway and turned left instead of right.

She rapped lightly on the door—just three times in case the babies were sleeping—and swept water from her sleeves as she waited. Footsteps sounded, followed by the rattle of the bolt lock. Embry opened the door, her curious expression replaced with a warm smile. “Riki! Come in. You must be freezing! It’s an absolute mess out there.” She peered past her. “Is Sylvia with you?”

“No, she’s still at the urgent care.” As she followed Embry to the kitchen table, she stole a quick look to see if Brandon was nearby, even though she knew he was out bartending. “It was so weird. I offered to stay with her, but she insisted I leave,” she said, peeling off her hoodie and smoothing her damp hair.

“What on earth? Why?” She handed Riki a kitchen towel and motioned to a chair at the table.

“I don’t know. She didn’t say much.” She took the seat Embry offered. “I would hate waiting by myself at the urgent care, but then maybe I’m a wimp.”