She sat up, and I could see that she’d been crying. My chest felt painfully tight as I handed her the phone and listened to her end of the conversation.
“Hello? Yes. Just lying in my bed. I had a tummy ache so Nana said to lie down. It’s still there. Can you come get me? Okay.” She handed the phone back to me.
“Hello?” I said.
“I’m coming to get her.”
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. “Okay.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but she doesn’t sound right. She said she has a stomachache. Can you take a look at her?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” She sounded stressed, and I didn’t blame her. It wasn’t going to get any better when she got here, either.
Suddenly I had an idea—I’d go to the inn and talk to her before she left. Explain to her what had happened and tell her not to panic. Things would be okay. I’d fix them.
Somehow.
“How’s that tummy?” I asked Abby, whose lower lip was sticking out. She has Hannah’s mouth.
“It hurts.” She cradled her belly.
“Where?”
She shrugged. “Everywhere.”
“Hmmm. What do you think would make it better?”
“I don’t know.” She looked up at me. “I heard Nana yelling at you. It made me sad.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t feel worse. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“Why is she mad at you?”
I sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Is it because of me?”
“Oh, Abby, no.” I sat down next to her and took her hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? No one is upset with you.”
“Abby?” My mother entered her room. When she saw me in there, her shoulders snapped back. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said, feeling guilty about her puffy eyes and red nose despite being angry with her. “I was just checking on her. Hannah will be here soon to pick her up.”
At the mention of Hannah, my mother’s mouth became a thin line. “Fine. Abby, darling, would you like Nana to read you a story?”
“Okay.”
I stood up. “I have to run out for a while.”
“Fine.” She didn’t even look at me.
Moving quickly, I took the stairs down two at a time, grabbed my keys, and hustled out the back door. On the drive to the inn, I tried to think of a bright side in all this that I could present to Hannah. Something hopeful to offer. Something that would make her feel like I could deliver on all the promises I’d made.
But I came up with nothing.
And by the time I pulled into the lot next to the inn, Hannah was already coming out the door, rushing through the rain toward her car.