“Your wife. Do you have a phone number? I can call her if
she’s not here. Tell her to come for you.”
The thing was, if she gave Jenny the number and she called,
Giana would come. She would come with all that concern and
tenderness in her eyes. She would come to fix things because
she was strong like that, even when she didn’t remember.
She’d take charge. She’d fight for Coralyn. She’d be what
she needed. She’d be her strength. She wanted to be better.
She wanted to fix things. She wanted to be a loving partner. It
was all a lie. So why was the thought so comforting? Why did
the thought of being held by the woman she’d thought of as an
ice queen melt the frigid wrath holding her own heart in its
talons? Giana was willing to slay monsters for Coralyn, but the
most monstrous thing of all was that none of it was real.
Coralyn moved in a daze. She reached for her purse and
found her phone. Unlocked it and brought up Giana’s contact,
and she handed it to Jenny. Instead of leaving, Jenny took the
phone and held it to her ear.
Maybe Giana wouldn’t answer. Maybe she wouldn’t come.
Maybe she wouldn’t be there, and Coralyn would be truly
alone. Alone with the reality of her dad’s death. With the
arrangements that had to be made. She didn’t feel strong
enough. She needed someone. She needed to borrow that
strength right now. She wanted comfort. God help her, she did.
She was a thin veneer holding all the pain and panic in. She
was coming undone. There was no balance.
Giana must have answered because Jenny was talking.
Explaining. She hung up quickly and passed back the phone.
She wasn’t smiling, but her face was still so incredibly kind
that it made Coralyn want to break down and sob.