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was
somewhere in the middle and, once standing, she held onto the door
frame to make sure she was stable before stepping away from the
car.
    As she stood there, Fae saw a skinny kid with
amazing long red hair dash down the path and disappear into the
trees. She wasn't shuffling her feet as if she was being dragged,
the way a lot of kids her age seemed to do now. Nor was she even
simply walking. She looked as if she was dancing the whole way. As
if she was the happiest girl on the planet and had moved beyond
cheerful and gone straight to exhilarated.
    Fae smiled. She didn't often see such open,
unadulterated joy and it made her feel as if time had stopped. For
that moment she felt as if she lived in a wonderful world where
people were kind and bad things didn't happen to good people.
    Fae wondered if the girl was like that all
the time or maybe only let out that joy when no one was looking.
Part of her hoped the girl was like that all the time. That she
didn't give a damn what anyone else thought. Unlikely, but Fae
wished it all the same. In any event, she hoped the girl could hang
onto that feeling even after she became an adult. Even if it was
only in private.
    Smiling, Fae closed the car door and walked
over to the Lodge. The ground was uneven and she moved slowly and
carefully. It made her feel as if she was nearly one hundred
instead of in her forties. She had been thrilled when she had been
able to stop using her walker several weeks ago, but the cost was
having to pay attention to what she was doing. Otherwise, she
started to feel as if she would slip or tip over.
    Fae grinned. She thought of how she had
walked like this in her twenties on the one occasion when she had
accidentally imbibed a little too much wine. Now, all these years
later, she could walk like she was tipsy without the joy of the
margarita or glass of chardonnay.
     
     
    When she reached the dining room, Fae asked
for Jessica and then collapsed onto a chair near the entrance. It
had been a long day and she would be glad to get home and lie down.
Jessica came over a few minutes later.
    "Hi, Fae," she said. "I'll run in back and
see how your dinner is coming."
    "Thanks." Fae smiled gratefully as Jessica
hurried away. She didn't know what she would have done without
Jessica's help. Until Fae had been able to start driving again,
Jessica had run Fae's meals over to her on the days when Fae hadn't
been up to cooking. Her willingness to help had made it Fae's
recover a lot easier. Not to mention something to hang onto when
dark moods had occasionally swung in like unwelcome summer
storms.
    Jessica came back a moment later, another
woman in tow. "Just a few more minutes, Fae. Sorry. It's been kind
of crazy tonight."
    Fae smiled. "That's okay. I'm not moving very
fast tonight anyway."
    "I could drive it over to you when it's
ready, if you like."
    Fae shook her head. "Naw. I don't mind.
Really. Besides, I just took something for the pain, so I should be
fine."
    Jessica hesitated. "If you're sure..."
    "Absolutely. Don't worry about it. A few more
minutes isn't going to put me back in the hospital."
    Jessica grinned. "Okay. In the meantime, I'd
like you to meet our new manager, Karen Nelson. Karen, this is Fae
O'Neill. She lives next door and eats here a lot."
    The new manager was so perfectly put
together, she reminded Fae of a mannequin in an expensive boutique
window. The look startled Fae. Most of the people up here were a
lot more informal. Then Fae mentally slapped herself for the unkind
thought. Maybe the woman was only trying to make a good impression
and would relax after awhile. Fae didn't get up, but smiled and
reached out to shake Karen's hand. "Hi. Nice to meet you."
    Karen hesitated an obvious long moment before
taking Fae's hand. She shook it briefly and then dropped it
quickly, as if Fae's fingers were made of serrated blades. Her
smile was as brief and sharp as her handshake and didn't reach
anywhere near her eyes. "Nice to meet you, too."
    Fae