Prologue
It was Saturday. Daphne had been thinking about today all week long, and as she began to pack the few things that were left to pack, she reflected on how nice it would be to leave her tiny room, the big house it sat in, and the well-kept yard out back. It had, she assumed, become her home, but as of lately it hadn't felt like it.
Daphne tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she plopped one of her nearly-full suitcases onto her bed. She got dressed and put her nightgown in the bag; then went into the her bathroom and gathered up the last few things around the sink. Finally, with a feeling of intense relief, she zipped up her suitcase and put it on the floor.
The last thing to do was say goodbye to Mrs. Hurst, the woman she cared for. She opened the door and there stood tall, dark-haired Leo. "Daphne," he said softly. "Mom just told me you were leaving."
"Yes. I just decided this earlier this week," she told him, pulling up tall.
"Two months?" He asked.
"Yes. Your mother didn't seem to mind. I told her where to go for help with her physical therapy. And you'll be around."
"Daphne," he touched her shoulder. "Please don't take this out on mom."
"It's just a vacation, and I wouldn't do that." She gently pushed his hand away from her.
"I still care about you."
"You told me."
"And you told me that you understood."
"I do."
"Why are you leaving, Daphne?"
She sighed, hanging on the edge of frustration and anger. "It's just a bloody vacation."
"Promise me you'll be back."
"I promise, Leo. I'll be right back here in two months. At the end of the summer."
"Let me carry your bags down." He took her suitcases from the floor and carried them down the winding stairs. At one time, talking with this man had been like a daydream to her, and now each conversation was only slightly short of torture.
Thin, dainty, elegant Mrs. Hurst stood at the bottom of the stairs, smiling in her green bathrobe. "I hope you a have a lovely time, Daphne," she said as Leo put Daphne's bag down. The two women embraced and the elder whispered in her soothing voice, "Relax. Don't worry about anything around here."
"Thank you," Daphne whispered with a genuine smile.
Leo insisted on carrying Daphne's bags to her car, and after they were safely in the trunk, he looked at her, and she looked back. "Don't stay too long," he said. "I'll miss seeing you, Daphne."
"Goodbye, Leo," she said, getting in her car. She leaned her head against the headrest as the tears began to well, in anger and in sadness and in whatever else. Gripping the steering wheel, she forced her feelings back and reminded herself that this was what she was getting away from. This was what she wouldn't have to deal with for two months.
She started the car and drove away.