"Good news?"
"Excellent news. Jane can come home."
She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly.
"Finally! You must be so excited! Well, come on, let's go pick her up right now. And we can watch a movie with her when she gets back. If you'd like to, of course."
"I would like that," I chuckled. "I think you're more excited than I am. But she can come tomorrow. I’m going to settle into my usual chair here by her bed and I’ll call you in the morning."
***
We pulled into my driveway, and Jane's face lit up, beaming a huge smile. "Daddy! We're home! We're home!" She was still sick but was much better than she had been.
Vivienne was waiting for us on the front steps when we got out of the truck. It was wonderful to see her so happy, and from the broad, warm smile on Vivienne's face, I could tell she was feeling the same thing.
"Yes," she said to Jane. "Welcome home! Are you happy?"
"Very, very, very, very happy!" exclaimed Jane, still gushing with joy. "I don't like the hospital. I don't want to go there. I want to stay home! I like home!"
Vivienne hugged her. "Don't worry, sweetheart," she said in a soft, reassuring tone. "You won't be going back there. You'll be staying at home."
"Will you stay here, too, Vivienne?" asked Jane.
Vivienne and I exchanged a glance, and we both smiled.
"I will tonight if it’s okay with your dad," she said.
"And tomorrow night?" asked Jane excitedly. "Can we have ice cream? And will you stay here again?"
Vivienne laughed warmly. "Well, maybe! We'll see. Now come on, let's go inside. You want to watch a movie, don't you?"
"Yeah! I wanna see a movie!"
Vivienne turned to me. "I'll take her in while you put your truck away."
"Thank you," I said, handing her the spare house keys.
She leaned across and gave me a quick peck on the lips, and then picked Jane up and took her to the side door.
Things felt like they were finally falling into place. I parked the truck and killed the motor. As I was about to grab Jane's bag and get out, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.
It was from an unknown number, so I opened the message and started to read.
"Hi, Ev. It was great to see you again yesterday. Ever since I saw you, I haven't been able to get you off my mind. I hope we can see each other again soon. Really, really soon, actually. XXX – Liza."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vivienne
“Have you ever seen The Little Mermaid, Jane?” I asked as I settled her on the couch with a blanket.
“What's a mermaid?” she asked, looking perplexed.
I chuckled. “I guess that's a 'no,' then. Well, sweetie, a mermaid is like a fish, but also like a girl. She lives in the ocean.”
“She likes swimming?”
“Yes, she does. She spends her whole life swimming under the sea.”