‘You think?’ asked Violetta anxiously. ‘She seems the same to me.’
‘It was a serious injury, it will take time to come back from. And even if she does, things may not be easy for her,’ Jeff said gently.
‘I know, I just want her to wake up.’
Violetta gulped to hold down the tears. She was so tired and even though New York was fun, she really wanted to go home and sleep.
Violetta put her head back, hoping the tears would go back from where they came.
‘Your mom is due for another scan tomorrow,’ he said. ‘We will know more by then. Sometimes all we can to do is wait. It’s hard, I know, but it is the only thing.’
‘And us? I’m sick of waiting,’ said Violetta, looking at his face. Sick of waiting for Jeff to come to her. Sick of waiting for Birdie to wake up. She was tired of it all.
Jeff shook his head. ‘I know it’s hard for everyone.’
‘Do you think about me at all?’ Violetta asked suddenly.
Jeff sighed.
‘Do you?’ asked Violetta, feeling angry. ‘Or was I just a fuck to you?’ she challenged him.
Jeff grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the stairwell. He pushed her up against the wall and put his arms on either side of her. ‘I think about you first thing when I wake up and last thing at night. I think about you all day and even when I sleep you are in my dreams. So no, you weren’t just a fuck to me. You know how I feel, you must.’
Violetta felt his body against hers and her pelvis arched up towards his and she kissed him passionately.
‘Good,’ she said, and then slipped out from under his arms and left Jeff alone with his hard-on in the stairwell.
Inside Birdie's room, Violetta looked at her mother. Wasn’t her head turned towards the window before? Now it was turned towards the door.
‘Mom?’ asked Violetta. ‘Can you hear me?’ she asked, holding her breath.
But Birdie said nothing, there was no movement. All Violetta could hear was the whirring of the air-conditioning. She leaned down and kissed her mother. I must have imagined it, she told herself, and brushed the tears away from her eyes.
‘Bye Mom, I’ll be back tomorrow. Carlotta’s coming in soon,’ she said, and left the room quietly.
As the door closed Birdie turned her head again in the direction of the window.
But there was nobody there to see it.
*
Grace tugged at her Alexander Wang dress as they sat in the car. ‘You sure I look all right?’ she asked.
Frank looked her over. ‘You look like the New York lady.’
‘What does that mean?’ she asked quickly, as Frank leaned out and rang the buzzer on the gate.
‘Hello.’ Grace heard a man’s voice.
‘It’s me, idiot.’ Frank said into the speaker.
The man on the other end laughed. The gates swung open and they drove up the driveway to a gorgeous Spanish villa. A man came out and stood by the front door. Frank jumped out and ran towards him and hugged him.
‘Man, it’s good to see you.’
Grace stood awkwardly in front of the men in their jeans and T-shirts.
‘TG, this is Grace, Grace this is TG.’
