Lisa Scottoline - Save Me

“You’re not going, are you?” Leo turned, frowning. Behind him, coffee poured into the mug in a stream, releasing a rich aroma.

“Yes, I have to. I lined up a sitter.”

“You shouldn’t, babe.”

“What will it look like if I don’t?” Rose gestured at her computer. “You should see the email I’m getting. They think I’m heartless.”

“All the more reason you shouldn’t go. If we’re getting sued, we have to clam up and lay low.”

“But the whole town will be there. Everyone loved the teacher. You heard Mrs. Nuru.”

“My point exactly.”

“We’ll look disrespectful.”

“So send flowers, lots of flowers.” Leo handed her the coffee mug, and Rose set it down, letting it cool.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. Don’t go. Please. As a favor to me.”

“Come on. Don’t be that way.”

“What way?” A wounded look crossed Leo’s tired eyes. “You don’t know what can happen, or what they’ll do, what you’ll do.”

“What would I do? I won’t do anything wrong.”

“You could say the wrong thing.” Leo started to take a sip of coffee, then stopped. “Like how guilty you feel, or how sad that you couldn’t get them both out of the school. All the things you say to me.”

Rose blinked. “I might say that, but only to you or a friend.”

“Like who?”

“I don’t know. I guess Kristen, maybe. She’ll be there.”

“The gifted teacher? Who works for the district that’s about to be sued, who would testify against you or lose her job?” Leo’s eyed flared. “Babe, we don’t have any friends. Nobody knows us, and what they know, they don’t like.”

“We can’t just accept that. It could be our chance to show them that we’re not what they think.”

“No way.” Leo’s tone flattened. “It ain’t gonna happen.”

“It has to, Leo. You can go to the office every day, but this is my world. I have to make it work, for my sake and for the kids.”

“Not now, not tomorrow night. Stay home, will you? Haven’t you done enough?”

Ouch. Rose stood, stunned.

“Oh, jeez.” Leo rubbed his forehead, irritably. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, really.”

Rose turned away, hurt, and headed for the living room. “I’m going to the hospital. See you tomorrow.”

Rose walked down the quiet hall of the hospital, empty at this hour. There had been no press out front, and a janitor in baggy blue scrubs was shining the floor with a large rotating polisher. The nurses’ station held only the goateed intern, who was on the computer and barely nodded at Rose when she approached the counter.

“I’m Melly’s mother, back to stay the night.”

“No problem.” The intern glanced up from the computer, and Rose could see tiny playing cards reflected in his glasses.

“I understand there’s another child in the room.”

“Not anymore. A new bed opened up, and her parents wanted a private.”

“Great.” Rose looked around. “Is Rosie here, the nurse?”

“Saw her a while ago, but not sure where she is now.”

“Okay, thanks. See you.” Rose crossed the hall to Melly’s room and opened the door. It was still and dark, except for the vital-signs monitor, pulsing red, blue, and green digits.

“Mom?” Melly asked softly, and Rose felt a rush of tenderness, shedding her purse on the chair and coming over to the bed.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“You’re my mom.”

Rose smiled. “How you doin’, night owl?”

“You came back.”

“Leo’s with John. Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I’m not tired.”

“Well, I am.” Rose lowered the guardrail, kicked her loafers off, and eased onto the bed. “Roll over, Beethoven.”

“They said on the TV that cafeteria ladies died in the fire.”

I hate TV. “That’s true, sweetie, and a teacher died, too. Marylou Battle.”

“I don’t know her.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“Did they burn up?”

Rose shuddered. Another truth she couldn’t tell, another necessary lie. “No, the smoke got them.”

“The smoke almost got me, too.”

“But it didn’t, in the end.”

Melly fell silent, her breathing shallow. The oxygen tube was in place under her nose, and she’d been taken off the IV. “Did they go to heaven with Daddy?”

“I’m sure they did, Mel,” Rose answered. Bernardo had died when Melly was four, and she brought him up often, though he hadn’t bothered to see her much, after the divorce.

“If Amanda dies, will she go to heaven?”

“Yes.” Rose swallowed hard, caught unawares. “Absolutely.”

“I think so, too,” Melly said, after a moment.

“You look cute!” Rose was trying to make the best of things. She hadn’t gotten a change of clothes for Melly, so she’d had to buy her a pink Hello Kitty sweatsuit and flip-flops in the hospital gift shop.

“Nobody in third grade wears Hello Kitty.” Melly sulked at the end of the bed. She’d taken a shower and shampooed her hair, so the smell of smoke was almost completely gone. “It’s for babies.”

“You can take it off when we get home.”

“What if kids from my class see, like Amanda? She’s in the same hospital, you said.”

“She won’t see.” Rose hadn’t heard anything about Amanda, and she was hoping no news was good news. She hadn’t slept well and couldn’t wait to go home, having signed the hospital’s discharge forms and gotten a flurry of papers with instructions for aftercare.

“I wish I had my Harry shirt. The nurse said they had to throw it away, but I wish they didn’t.”

“We’ll see if we can get you a new one.”

“They don’t make that one anymore, Mom. It was from the first movie.”

“We’ll look on eBay.” Rose wondered if the Harry Potter shirts were such a good idea, anymore. “Now, listen, if there are reporters outside, don’t say anything to them. They’ll know your name and they’ll call it out, but don’t answer.”

“Okay.” Melly looked over as the door opened, and Leo came in, dressed for work and holding John, awake and gurgling, in a blue onesie. “Leo, did you bring my clothes?”

“No.” Leo looked from her to Rose. “Was I supposed to?”

“No, hi.” Rose was sorry they’d fought, but she still felt distant. John smiled and reached for her with wet, outstretched fingers, and she took him and gave him a kiss without meeting Leo’s eye. “How’s he doing?”

“All better. No fever. Slept like a baby. Ha!”

“Hugs, Leo!” Melly called out, and Leo scooped her up and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

“Wow, I like your cat shirt. Very fashionable.”

“Yuck.” Melly wrinkled her nose. “I wish I had my Harry shirt.”

“Aww, this is nice for a change. It’s pink, like cotton candy. You know I love cotton candy.” Leo buried his face in her neck and blew raspberries, sending Melly into gales of giggles. The sound made John laugh, and he reached for Melly, his chubby hand outstretched and flapping happily.

“Let’s go home.” Rose picked up her purse and went to the door. “Is there a lot of press outside?”

“Some.” Leo carried Melly out of the room and down the hall to the elevator, where he set her down. “Want to press the button, tater? Go for it. When we get inside, hit L.”

Melly pressed the DOWN button, then led them into the elevator cab when the doors slid open. They piled inside, and she hit the lobby button. “ Descendo! ”

“You okay, babe?” Leo asked lightly, after the doors closed, but Rose busied herself with John’s pacifier.