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Lana. Harriett. Calliope. Lucille.
Never forgotten as they rest in peace.
But I believed Jolie, and after a second of silence for each of them, a wish for exactly that—their peace, I let her pull me away.
Jolie walked me through the doors to Beyond Heaven. Medical staff fluttered around, moving from one room to another. Patients drifted around, all heading towards the social room.
“Let’s ask at the desk if they know where to find Ollie.” Jolie pulled me forward, but again, I remained glued to the spot, and this time, I wasn’t budging.
She twisted to me slowly, carefully keeping her hair in place in this busy space. “What is it?”
“Remi comes here a lot, right?”
“Yeah. He has a friend here.”
“Do you know her?”
“No.”
“Me, either. But I want to.”
“Then you should probably ask him to introduce you.”
“When I mention her, he changes the subject.” I swallowed, trying to suppress the sick feeling rising up my throat. “Do you think she’s more?”
“I really believe you’re everything to him and that there isn’t anyone else. The situation with the baby proved that. I know if there were better news, he’d have done everything in his power to reunite you. And he’d have even helped with diaper changes, and that is not Remi. But he’d do it for you. He’d do anything for you.”
“Except introduce me, and the constant visits and the secret of who she is, it’s tearing me apart.” Another tear fell, and Jolie wiped that with a gentle thumb. “He’s my husband, Jolie,” I stared at both rings, beautiful and shining on my finger. “I need to know who she is to him. I mean, was he ever dating someone else?”
“Not for as long as I’ve known him.”
“She’s here, in this building.”
Jolie took a big breath, and I felt it hit my face. “Ollie will freak if he comes looking for us, and we’ve gone wandering around.”
“I know, but wouldn’t you want to know if you were me.”
“Yes.” She let out another deep breath. “Which is why we have to be super quick.”
I’d have smiled if the fear over who this woman was wasn’t weighing down every emotion.
“Come on.” Jolie led me by the hand up what felt like a thousand steps. She couldn’t do the elevator, something about enclosed spaces that she didn’t disclose.
This floor was quieter. No feet traipsed the hallways. No nurses giggled at door fronts.
“How do you know which floor?” I couldn’t remember it.
“Woodrow called in with him on the way home from getting his voice.”
Jolie didn’t wait for me, walking over to the desk where the receptionist smiled, knowing her face from a previous introduction. “Hi, Gladys. I have a message from Remi—sorry—Mr. Cole, he can’t stop by today. He’s very busy—.”
“I know. He has a lot going on. That’s quite exciting for him.”
“I’m not sure he agrees.” Jolie laughed. “He has a friend here…”
“Yes. I think she’ll be disappointed that he has to raincheck again. She’s started looking forward to him showing up. Do you know if it’s being streamed? She might like to watch.”
“I don’t believe so.”
