Accidentally Yours
Page 26
“Mom!” Robin cried out, alarmed.
“It’s all right, Robin,” Faye soothed, her fingertip pressed to Julia’s throat with the expertise of the nurse she was. “It’s just the sedative kicking in. She’s got a strong pulse.”
Robin lowered her chin to her chest. “It was more than medication, Faye. Did you see that wild look in her eyes?”
“She probably realized that, in spite of all that bragging she did, that she was about to pass out. Of course, if I hadn’t known she’d been given a sedative, I’d be in the hall screaming for a doctor right now,” Faye said with a laugh.
Robin joined in. “That’s a relief. For a minute there, I thought she was reacting to hearing Vernon’s name.”
“Just a coincidence. I mean, how crazy would that be?”
The nurse brushed aside the curtain and stepped into the cubicle. She confirmed Julia was asleep and informed the sisters that she’d be transported to the procedure room at any moment now. “Come on, Robin,” Faye said, “They’re about to take her in. Let’s go to the waiting room.”
*****
Julia saw vivid images in her sleep. There she was, fifty-five years ago, a young woman of twenty-one, shaken from the sight of what instinct told her were Vernon’s feet sticking out of that rolled-up rug in her father’s office. Scenes from both before and after that pivotal moment replayed themselves.
She didn’t mention a word of what she’d witnessed to anyone...not the next day when she sent a message to her mother...not when she talked to her boyfriend, Melvin, the next day; and not even when visiting Lorraine at the hospital and her friend mentioned Vernon’s family members saying he’d disappeared. The Paces, and Lorraine as well, believed he’d skipped town to avoid being arrested for assault or worse, since Lorraine’s injuries resulted in the death of her fetus. Then she kept hearing Robin saying, “His name is Vernon Pace...Vernon Pace...Vernon Pace.”
She could still hear the name when she opened her eyes after the reversal of anesthesia.
Part of Julia dreaded seeing her daughters. She remembered being shocked to hear Vernon’s name again after so many years, but nothing after that. Damn that anesthesia. Had the alarm she felt shown in her face? If it had, Faye and Robin were sure to ask about it.
What on earth would she tell them?
*****
Secrets and Sins by Bettye Griffin…coming later in 2013 to eBook retailers everywhere!