“Has anything like that ever happened to you before?” Michael asked, concerned.
“No.” She held her hands over the map, a half inch away. Then she pulled them back and folded them in her lap. “But I’ve never actively searched for things before, either.”
“I have an idea,” Dune said. “A way to test this out. Emerson, think of something of yours Lily has seen before but hasn’t seen lately. Preferably not somewhere Lily could guess easily, but you need to know exactly where it is.”
Em thought for a few seconds. “Okay. I know what and where it is.”
Dune leaned down, and he and Em had a hurried, whispered conversation. After they came to some sort of agreement, he straightened.
“Map?” Dune asked.
Lily gave it to him, this time with no teasing.
Dune opened it to the side-by-side pages that featured a full map of the United States. “Okay, Em. Tell her what object you’re thinking of.”
“It’s a movie, My Fair Lady. We used to watch it over and over again in middle school,” she explained. “We both wanted to be Audrey Hepburn.”
Lily laughed softly. “We were so sad that neither one of us looked a thing like her. A curvy Cubanita and a tiny, little white girl.”
“We tried, though.” Em laughed, too, and the bond between them felt warm and solid. “Remember the hats?”
“And the cigarettes, with the long holders? I thought your mom was going to kill us.”
“She never forgave me for the hole we burned in the couch.” Em faltered, and tears formed in her eyes. Michael took her hand in his, and she leaned into his shoulder, quiet for a moment. “Anyway, the movie disc. I know exactly where it is.”
Dune put the atlas down on the table and flattened the crease. “Ready?”
Lily nodded and lifted her hands. They hovered a half inch over the shape of the United States before landing somewhere in the vicinity of Kansas. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she moved her hands, I thought of the motion people make when they play with a Ouija board. Back and forth, in repetitive figure eights.
“Anything?” Dune asked, dividing his focus between Lily’s face and the map.
She stopped and her eyes flew open.
“Thompson’s Hill?” Lily asked, referring to the next town over. “Behind the courthouse?”
Em bit her bottom lip and then nodded. “Yes. In storage, with the rest of my parents’ stuff.”
The memory cost Em. Her energy level dropped, and lines formed on either side of her mouth. Michael kissed her on the temple, and her low leveled out as he helped her carry the weight.
“That’s a good memory,” Lily said, wiping tears from her eyes. “And I’m glad you still have all their stuff.”
“Me, too. I had the breakdown before we could go through it. Since I came back here, I haven’t been ready. Neither has my brother. I don’t think Thomas or I will ever be ready.” Em stood up and took a glass down from the kitchen cupboard, filling it with water at the sink.
“Are you ready to try the watch?” I asked Lily, sensing the need to draw attention away from Em.
She bit her lip. “I think so.”
“Maybe everyone should clear out,” I suggested. “Lily and I are supposed to be working on this together, anyway.”
Michael met my eyes, and I saw the unspoken “thank you.” Dune … not as much.
When Lily and I were alone, I placed the map in front of her on the table. “Ready?”
“Wait.” She put her hand on my arm. “It was really decent of you to get Em out of here before we did this. We shouldn’t have brought up those memories.”
“I disagree.” I sat down beside her. “Sometimes, it’s good to remember, and you were the perfect person for her to do it with. If she didn’t totally trust you, she wouldn’t have felt safe enough to open up. She’s lucky to have you.”
She looked at me for a long minute.