Come and Find Me A Novel of Suspense - By Hallie Ephron Page 0,3
“You are kidding.”
“But I had you going, didn’t I?”
“One day I’ll get really sick and then you’ll be sorry.”
“I’m looking forward to it. In the meanwhile, I’ve got a meeting that’s supposed to start in”—Diana checked her watch—“Shit. Four minutes.” She started for her office door.
“You’re having a business meeting in Mom and Dad’s bedroom?”
“So?”
“So, I’m just asking.”
“You know it’s my office now.”
“Yeah, but when are you going to let me see it?”
Ashley had been the one who’d convinced Diana to move back into their childhood home soon after she lost Daniel. Life in the farmhouse where she and Daniel had been living was spartan, and all she’d brought back with her were a few pieces of furniture and the computer equipment that had filled the railway container where they’d worked.
But since then, Diana hadn’t let anyone, not even Ashley, into the safe space she’d created where no one could reach her unless she invited them in.
Diana began to key in her security code.
“You plan to lock yourself in or me out?” Ashley asked.
Diana paused. “What is that? Multiple choice?”
“I mean the house is barricaded enough. Why do you bother with locks on inside doors too?”
“I lock doors.” Diana turned around. “I do a lot of crazy things because it makes me feel safe. Gives me the illusion that I’m in control. I know you think that’s nutty.” She could hear her voice rising, turning shrill, but she couldn’t stop herself. “And I would agree. But I do it anyway. Okay? Okay?”
“Okay!” Ashley held up her hands. “You don’t need to jump down my throat. Hey, it’s your life. You do whatever. It’s just that, you know, it doesn’t make sense.”
“What’s logic got to do with it? You’ve been in therapy. Fear’s not rational. And sometimes, being rational isn’t the most rational thing to be.”
Ashley’s mouth dropped open. She blinked and reared back. “Ouch.” She reached out her hand to Diana. “I only . . .” Her eyes teared up. “I just . . .” And just like that, Ashley turned the tables and she was the aggrieved party.
Diana took Ashley’s hand and squeezed it. “I know, I know. You only want what’s best for me. But let me be the judge of what’s best, would you?”
Diana tried to drop Ashley’s hand but Ashley held fast. “You’re right,” Ashley said. “After all, you never judge me . . .” Ashley held on long enough for Diana to catch the irony.
“You’re impossible,” Diana said, but she was laughing.
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist. You stepped right into that.” Ashley bit her lip and stared past Diana at the locked door. “So, can I at least come in and watch your meeting? I’ll be quiet as a mouse.”
“Ha! You have never, in your whole entire life, been remotely mouselike.”
“Come on.” Ashley held Diana’s gaze. “Sweetie, seriously, don’t you think it’s time you let someone in?”
This time, Diana blinked first.
Ashley gave her a look of mock surprise. “Besides, leave me out here and I might open your package. Or even worse, neaten up the place.”
As Ashley glanced about the living room, still furnished with pieces they’d grown up with, Diana registered the discarded clothing, cereal bowl with congealed oatmeal, a week-old mound of clean laundry that she’d never put away. On the mantel over the fireplace was a simple brass urn that contained Daniel’s ashes.
“If you’re not careful,” Ashley added, “I might even fold your towels and sort your underwear.”
Diana turned back to her office door. She started entering the security code again. The door clicked and swung open a few inches. She could feel Ashley peering in from behind her. It really was past time to let another human being into her inner sanctum.
She held the door wide open and Ashley stepped past her and stood in the doorway.
“Wow,” Ashley said. “I didn’t realize you broke through the wall. This is a great space.”
Soon after she’d moved in, Diana had spent days swinging a sledgehammer, venting her rage on the wall between what had been her parents’ bedroom and her own. It was better than lying comatose for days on end, under a mound of Daniel’s clothing. By the end, she’d been coated with plaster dust, her face streaked pink from tears. She’d patched and painted the walls and ceiling, and pieced together oak flooring to fill the spots where wall had been ripped out.
Ashley continued into the room. “Gorgeous,” she said, running her fingers over the wall hanging that Diana had picked up