Chapter 29
"Welcome home!" Jackson Montgomery swept open the front door of their home and helped Erica into the foyer. Their respective children – even Bianca and her daughter Miranda – were waiting for them inside, along with a handful of their close friends.
Erica saw the happy faces, but she didn't hear anything anyone was saying to her. Her eyes were locked on the round table in the center of the foyer. She'd put her keys there, along with her phone and her papers and her purse. Her chest tightened, and she felt her heart begin to beat faster. She'd been about to leave for her meeting at the Valley Inn when a delivery man rang the doorbell. Had that really only been just a few days ago? It felt like a lifetime ago. She tried to draw a deep breath into her lungs, but her body seemed incapable of doing so.
'It's over. He's dead. He's gone. You're okay,' she told herself.
She was grateful when Bianca walked forward and pulled her into a tight hug. She held her daughter close and closed her eyes to avoid looking at that round table.
"Mom, oh my God! I'm so glad you're back!" Bianca exclaimed. "You can't begin to understand how worried we all were!"
Erica forced a smile for her daughter. She didn't want to think about how panicked her daughters must have been. "You really didn't need to come all the way home from Paris sweetheart," she said, "but I'm so glad to see you. Where is that beautiful baby girl of yours?"
Bianca grinned and helped Erica into the living room, pausing so Erica could hug Kendall and then Reggie. Because of her sprained ankle Erica was mostly stuck sitting on the sofa while everyone milled about her, wanting to talk to her, hug her, tell her how happy they were that she was home and okay. Was she okay? She didn't feel okay, not yet anyway.
She made the proper polite responses to everyone's questions and comments, but she felt incredibly uncomfortable. It got a little better when Bianca placed a sleepy Miranda in her arms. Erica held her granddaughter as the toddler drifted off to sleep. Somehow you weren't expected to make as much conversation if you were holding a sleeping child, and that was perfectly fine with her.
"Uncle Jack, how is mom, really?" Bianca asked Jackson quietly as she glanced over at her mother. Erica was seated on the sofa cradling Miranda and ostensibly talking to Myrtle, but Myrtle seemed to be the one doing all of the talking while Erica nodded every once in a while.
"To be honest kiddo, I'm not sure," Jack admitted. "She was in a total panic when she woke up in the hospital – she ripped out her IV and was convinced I wasn't really there, that everything was a drug-induced hallucination."
Bianca's eyes widened in surprise and concern and Jack instantly regretted his words. He didn't want to give her anything else to worry about, not when she had Miranda back and had put her own life back together.
"And then she was furious that the police and the FBI arrested Hayward, and it was everything I could do just to keep her from jumping out of the bed and running to his aid," he said quickly, deciding it was better to discuss David Hayward than it was to dwell on how terrified Erica had been when she awoke.
"Well, he did rescue her. I can understand that she'd feel like she owed him," Bianca said. "I just can't figure out what possessed him to do it. Don't get me wrong – I'm really glad he was there – it's just that he and mom haven't exactly been on good terms since I got Miranda back."
"No, they haven't," Jack said with a slight laugh. "In fact, I'd say them not being on good terms is more than a bit of an understatement."
"So did she see him?" Bianca asked.
"Yeah, she did, but only for a few minutes. I have no idea what happened in that room but when the nurse brought her back, she seemed….upset isn't really the right word given everything she's been through, but she definitely wasn't satisfied with the outcome."
"She wouldn't talk to you about it?"
Jack shook his head. "She refused to discuss it with me. Said it had been a waste of her time to try to talk to David, but that she was glad he wasn't going to jail."
Later that evening, Myrtle pulled Jack aside.
"I think we need to put an end to the festivities," she said.
Jack raised an eyebrow at her.
"Our girl is becoming more and more withdrawn. She's not really even talking anymore. She's just sitting there with sweet Miranda," Myrtle said. "I think maybe it's too much all at once for her. She's only just come home from the hospital."
Jack took in the scene and was forced to agree with Myrtle. Erica was sitting quietly on the sofa, her head resting against Miranda's, her eyes focused at some imaginary point in the distance. Opal and Kendall were seated on either side of her, attempting to draw her into conversation, but Erica wasn't really participating.
"I don't know what to think Myrtle, but I'm worried about Erica," he admitted.
