Early the next morning, Christy sneaked away to her baby sister's grave. It was hard to stare at that marker, knowing her sweet little sister was underneath the ground. Christy knelt to the ground and gently laid eleven daisies on the base of the marker. Her sister would be eleven this year. Christy stared at the stone then ran her fingers over the engraved message. Her sister had been a wonderful little girl. She would have been an equally wonderful young woman.
"Rest in peace, sweetie," Christy whispered. Amelia Christine Huddleston. She had been named partially after Christy since young Christy had taken an immediate liking to the newborn. So they decided against Amelia Esther, for Julia's mother, and decided on Christine.
The sun was peeking over the tall buildings of Asheville. Christy could literally hear the city waking up. She rose from her knees and stood, gazing down at the marker. Coming back was always hard because she could remember the day she buried her sister.
The light was tumbling over building after building so Christy quickly made her way back to the house before she was missed. There was so much for her to deal with. She felt overwhelmed. The pressure of the entire situation was stressing her out. But Christy decided to bear it out, to not worry about herself but to take care of others. She was best at that.
Christy fitted the key into the back door and almost silently unlocked it. She opened it, only hearing a small protest from the hinges. She would have to get George to grease them. She stepped inside and stood close to the door as she just as carefully closed it. Christy stepped away then turned around, only to see Neil watching with interest.
"Late night rendezvous?"
Christy looked at him before brushing past. "Hysterical."
Neil turned to watch her leave before he said, "You know, I was thinking about taking a walk."
Christy turned to him. His voice was annoyingly calm and his eyes showed no emotion. The doctor was simply looking at her. Christy sighed. "Should this interest me?"
"I guess you're not taking hints today," MacNeill mused. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me."
Christy looked at him dubiously. Did she really want to go out alone with the doctor? She knew her hidden feelings. Christy knew that it would be a risk to her and she might make a fool of herself. But she had little choice in whether she agreed or not. She found herself agreeing after she changed. Christy went upstairs and wondered how she had not had any control over what she said. Dr. MacNeill tended to confuse her so she could hardly know her own name. She hoped she was not making a nasty mistake.
Christy went back downstairs and pulled a shawl around her shoulders as she went. She had woken George to tell him that she was going out with the doctor and not to worry. He waved her away, rolled his back to her, and went back to sleep. Christy had backed out of his room and then went downstairs.
They walked in complete silence. Neil had said for her to pick a direction so they started uptown. They had no destination. They were just walking. They did not even say anything. It went back and forth between being a comfortable silence and an uncomfortable silence. Neil kept his hands shoved deep in his pockets and Christy clung to her shawl. They were conscious movements, at least on Christy's part she knew, to keep her body completely away from his.
"I, um...." Neil began. She was surprised he was at a loss for words and they stopped on the sidewalk, turning to each other. Christy looked up at him as a train blew its way into the city. The whistle drowned out any other sound so he did not say anything. It was a lucky break for Neil. He had no idea what he would say to her, anyway. He just knew he had to attempt to explain. Lying did not bother him at this point. Neil had to keep her from wondering, that was all he knew. He could tell she was seriously distracted and had to take one subject off her mind. "I know you couldn't tell from the silence but I actually wanted to talk to you," Neil said when the train had puffed to a stop. Christy's eyebrows raised. "Out of the house."
Christy removed a hand from her upper arm as she griped the shawl and glanced around briefly before returning her eyes to his. "Well, this is about as out of the house as we're going to get in Asheville."
"We have an unfinished conversation," Neil reminded her. "Which I want to finish."
"Which one?" Christy asked.
"The last real one we had," Neil said. "Or tried to."
"Ah," Christy said, pretending she just realized what conversation he meant. "That one." It was taking all her willpower to remain unemotional on the surface. Underneath, she was being tortured.
"Yeah, I wanted to explain why I went," Neil said, preparing himself to lie.
"There's no need," Christy lied.
"No, I do," Neil said. "I was worried about you. You just left my cabin and I was concerned." That was the best excuse Neil had come up with while they were walking together in silence. It should be acceptable.
Christy nodded slowly. "OK," she said. She had a feeling that he was not being entirely truthful but she did not want to flatter herself. Besides, Neil was already married.
Neil thought she accepted it too easily. But so long as she did not question further, he was all right with it. He could not tell her that he had run after her because Margaret had told him, in desperation, that she was going to marry David. Neil had been furious when he found out she lied but he should not have been surprised. Neil wondered whether she had made up her mind yet or not. He hoped for her happiness but he also hoped she would not make a mistake and choose a man she did not love. Even if she did not love Neil.
"Now you want to tell me why you were out there?" Neil asked, trapping her in a corner.
"Do I need permission?" Christy asked with light sarcasm, dodging the question. Neil watched her silently for several moments. Christy barely had the power to hold up under his intense eyes. "What?" she asked.
Neil studied her eyes. He was drowning in them like he used to. Like he had wanted to that afternoon in the school yard. The dawning sun danced off her hair and sparkled in her eyes. Neil had to look away before he was caught staring and gawking.
"How's Margaret?" Christy asked, referring to her earlier determination in order to be able to ask that question. Margaret was one of her least favorite people but Christy had to remain impartial and be a friend to Neil MacNeill and Alice Henderson.
"Living and breathing," was all Neil said. She was doing horribly, in truth. She was getting weaker every day. Some days, she would do better. But Neil could see the strength draining out of her. It made him feel bad, wondering what might have happened if they really had loved each other, if they really had tried at their marriage. Neil would like to think their marriage would last. The marriage had been of sweet rebellion. But it rapidly had turned into bitter rebellion. Margaret began resenting him, Neil realized that she had only thought of him as a mate, not a husband. The marriage became impossible after that.
"I didn't ask that," Christy said quietly.
They stood awkwardly for a moment, staring at each other. It seemed like hardly any time at all but a few minutes had passed. "She's not doing well, is she?" Christy inquired softly.
Neil bit the inside of his cheek for a second. He looked down at her. "No," he admitted.
"I'm sorry," Christy added, her tone quiet. That Neil would admit it meant that it was very true. Margaret could not possibly be doing well. Neil tended to look to the more optimistic side of medicine and relate it to people. Christy found herself genuinely wishing that Margaret would recover fully. It would break Miss Alice's heart. To lose her daughter again by death. Margaret had put everyone through so much. Still, Christy hoped she lived. She did not want Alice and Neil to go through more.
"We should go back," Neil said, turning to walk back. Christy stayed where she was, holding the shawl around her body. Neil had taken a few steps before turning back to her. She was watching him. "Coming?" Neil asked, half sarcastic.
Christy looked evenly at him briefly before walking to his side. They had taken two steps when they heard Christy's name. They turned around to see David jogging across the street. Her brow furrowed, simultaneous with Neil's. What was David doing here?