Firestone (19 page)

Heather smiled.

“
Our whole world revolves
around you, Blane,” Heather said. “You have to get
well.”

“
My whole world revolves
around you,” Blane said.

They hugged around Mack. When he didn’t
stir, Blane picked him up and took him to his crib in the corner of
their room.

“
We should get to sleep,”
Heather said. “Tomorrow’s the start of some very big
days.”

Blane held out his hands, and Heather let
him pull her from the bed. He hugged her tight.

“
Thank you,” he
said.

“
You made all of this,”
Heather whispered. “You just
have
to get well . . . You just
have
to.”

“
Then I will,” Blane
said.

“
Everything starts
tomorrow,” Heather said.

“
Tomorrow is going to be a
very good day,” Blane said.

“
I hope so,” Heather
said.

“
Me too,” Blane
said.

Thursday morning — 10:53 a.m.

Heather pulled into the parking lot on the
old Lowry Air Force Base. She drove past the Wings over the Rockies
Museum to a nondescript two-story building labeled “Lowry Air Force
Base.” She waited for a car to pull out before parking in front of
Endorphin Fitness. The spin class was just finishing up, so she
waited in the car.

She and Blane had seen his doctor early this
morning. The doctor had gone over the risks of Blane’s procedure
again. When they agreed, again, to do the procedure, he had them
sign all of the waiver forms. The process had begun. They had left
the office and were standing next to her car in the parking lot
when the doctor’s assistant tracked them down.

There was an immediate opening at the
hospital.

Blane could start the procedure on Saturday
or wait at least a month to get in. They’d both nodded, smiled, and
bravely agreed to start on Saturday.

Blane would go into the hospital tomorrow
night.

Blane would be in the hospital for a month
starting tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night!

Heather’s mind repeated these statements
over and over again. He’d held onto her hand for dear life the
entire drive out to Lipson Construction. She’d kissed him goodbye
and watched him walk to the building.

He was going to be in the hospital tomorrow
night.

He’d stopped at the doorway to Lipson
Construction and turned to look at her. She’d raised her hand to
wave goodbye. He’d smiled and gone inside.

“
He’s being brave for me,”
Heather had said out loud. “I’ll be brave for him.”

She’d put a smile on her face and driven out
here.

The spin class was over and gloriously fit
women spilled out of the building. They laughed with each other in
sweaty bliss. Someday, Heather would take a class like that.
Someday, she would laugh in the same kind of sweaty bliss.

“
Maybe when Blane is
better.
”

Her mind repeated her usual rationale for
not doing things. After all, she had a toddler, a baby on the way,
a new teenage daughter, a house, a job, not to mention Blane’s
acupuncture practice. She had plenty to do
without . . .

Blane was going into the hospital in
thirty-one hours.

Her heart seized with panic. She lowered her
head to take a few deep breaths.

Anxiety is the worst thing for the baby.

She heard Blane’s voice. He’d repeated this
like a mantra when she was pregnant with Mack. This time, they just
laughed about it. They were old pros at babies now. She smiled and
got out of the car.

She waited for another sweaty woman to leave
the building and went inside. Turning left, she went into the room
filled with spin bikes.

Abi the fairy, Fin’s partner and Tanesha’s
thirty-year-old-looking great-grandmother, was talking to a couple
of women at the front of the room. Heather waited in the doorway
until Abi was free.

“
Heather!” Abi said. The
tall, fit woman with milk-chocolate skin waved to Heather. “If
you’ll excuse me, my friend Heather is here. We’re going to
lunch.”

The women gave Heather a big smile and left
the room together. Abi gave Heather a quick, sweaty hug.

“
How are you?” Abi
asked.

“
Blane . . . um . . .” Heather
started.

Abi nodded. Her hand touched Heather’s arm,
and Heather knew Abi understood everything.

“
I need to clean up a
bit,” Abi said. “Do you mind? It will just take a sec.”

Heather nodded.

“
What do you think of
Jabari?” Abi asked.

She went down the row of exercise bikes. She
sprayed them with cleaning spray and quickly wiped them down with a
towel.

“
He’s adorable,” Heather
said. “If he weren’t Tanesha’s, I’d probably keep him for my
own.”

“
I know!” Abi said. “I
can’t understand what’s wrong with his mother, but then, I’m kind
of glad she’s so awful.”

Abi moved to the next row of bikes.

“
I know,” Heather said.
“If she were normal, he wouldn’t be here. Tanesha says her mother
is over the moon with him.”

“
Yvonne?” Abi smiled at
the mention of her granddaughter. “Yes, Jabari is just what Yvonne
needs. He’s a lost puppy in need of lots of love. What do you think
will happen?”

“
Why don’t
you . . .?” Heather waved her hand
around.

Abi laughed and pointed to the floor to
ceiling windows.

“
I’d rather the world
didn’t see me,” Abi said. “Plus, it’s nice to use my hands a bit.
Now tell me . . .”

“
About Jabari?” Heather
asked. “Oh, I think he’ll move in with Jeraine and Tanesha, and be
very happy. Tanesha is so strong. It’s what he needs, really. He’ll
become strong like she is, and soft of heart. My guess is that
he’ll forgive his mother someday. But I doubt if he will ever live
in Atlanta again.”

Abi looked up from the last row of bikes and
nodded.

“
But I’m
no . . . uh . . . What is it you call
Delphie?” Heather asked.

“
Delphie is a powerful
oracle,” Abi said. “I’ve never met an oracle with that kind of
power. Liban says that she remembers one, but it was a long time
ago — ancient Greece or something like that. We are lucky to know
her, and she is lucky to be so protected. It’s amazing, really,
what the Marlowe-Lipsons have done for her. I’m glad.”

Abi tossed her hand towel into the laundry
bag and set the spray on the floor. She picked up the bag and
carried it out of the room. Heather stood in place. Abi’s head
leaned back into the doorway.

“
Come on,” Abi said. “We
can talk privately and then we’ll go to lunch.”

“
Lunch?” Heather felt
dumbfounded that Abi would spend time with her.

“
You’re my
great-granddaughter’s best friend,” Abi said. “Of course we’re
going to lunch.”

Abi flashed Heather a smile strikingly
similar to Tanesha’s, that Heather followed her out of the room.
They went into the back where Abi started throwing towels into the
machine.

“
I love these machines,”
Abi said. “Just adore them. I do the towels at every location I
work at just so I can play with the machines.”

Heather smiled.

“
You have no idea how
lucky you are,” Abi said.

Abi closed the door to the washing machine
and stood up.

“
You’re worried about
Blane,” Abi said.

“
I came to ask you if you
could help with . . . uh . . . his
procedure,” Heather said. “You know, like Jill fixed his
liver.”

Abi looked confused. She shook her head.

“
Jill didn’t fix Blane’s
liver,” Abi said.

“
Well, Liban,” Heather
said. “You know, Jill got wishes and—”

“
Did Jill say she healed
Blane’s liver?” Abi asked.

“
No, but—”

“
Jill didn’t heal Blane’s
liver,” Abi said.

“
Who did?” Heather
said.

“
You did,” Abi
said.

“
What?” Heather
asked.

“
You really don’t know?”
Abi asked. “Fin said you had no idea, but I was sure you
had
to know. I mean, how
could you not know? Huh.”

Abi gave a slight shrug and walked out of
the back room. Heather had to trot to catch up with her. Abi picked
up her purse and phone from behind the desk, and they left the
building. Abi locked the door.

“
I can drive,” Heather
said.

“
Great,” Abi said. “I just
had Fin drop me off this morning before he went to
school.”

“
Why?” Heather
asked.

“
I don’t like the whole
driving thing,” Abi said. “Fin loves it, but I—”

Heather opened the passenger side of her
Subaru and went around to the driver’s side.

“
I’d rather fly,” Abi
said. “Plus, I knew you were coming.”

“
How?” Heather asked. “I
thought future prediction wasn’t something fairies were very good
at.”

“
Oh, we’re not,” Abi said.
“Delphie told me you were coming last night after
dinner.”

“
She did?” Heather
asked.

“
Of course she did,” Abi
said. The fairy put on her seat belt after Heather pointed to it.
“Thanks. I always forget about these restraints. Modern life has
odd complications.”

Heather smiled.

“
Can you help Blane?”
Heather asked. “He’s going to go in tomorrow night and—”

“
I can,” Abi said in a
vague tone. “What do you think he needs help with?”

“
He could die,” Heather
said. “I mean, he could have died of liver problems or Hep C or
AIDS, but now the doctors are killing off his bone marrow. If
Tanner’s blood doesn’t reseed his bone marrow, he
will
die.”

“
I see,” Abi said. “What
are you going to do about that?”

“
Me?” Heather asked. “What
are you talking about? You’re always so straight forward and cool.
Today you’re acting like . . . Mari.”

Abi gasped as if Heather had said something
horrible. Heather glanced at Abi, and the fairy laughed.

“
I guess I am.” Abi smiled
at Heather. “I find riding in cars a little unsettling. Could we
pull over and walk a bit? Then we’ll eat something super yummy,
like one of those great salads or . . .”

Heather pulled over next to Crestmoor Park,
and they got out.

“
What did you mean that
Jill didn’t heal Blane?” Heather asked. “I mean, I know about the
wishes and Liban and . . .”

“
When fairies affect a
human being in any way, there’s a kind of sparkle or dust around
the human for the rest of their life,” Abi said. “Take your
Tiffanie, for example. Jill asked Liban to heal her seizures.
Tiffanie will have that sparkle around her head for the rest of her
life. Have you seen it?”

Heather shook her head.

“
Some humans can,” Abi
said. “Blane doesn’t have that kind of sparkle around
him.”

“
Who healed his liver,
then?” Heather asked.

“
Why, you did,” Abi
said.

“
I
did . . .” Heather scowled. “What? I’m not a healer
like Jill or able to move things with my mind like Jake or
fairy-kind like Tanesha or a warm Earth mother like Sandy. I’m
Heather, just Heather.”

“
Mmm,” Abi
said.

“
Will you tell me what you
mean?” Heather asked.

“
Of course,” Abi said. “Do
you want to know?”

Heather nodded.

“
You have a great power to
love,” Abi said.

“
To love?” Heather
asked.

“
Blane’s liver was healed
with love,” Abi said. “Your love protects him, strengthens him.
Every medical interaction has been enhanced a hundred-fold by your
love.”

“
My love?” Heather asked.
“Then what did Jill ask Liban to do for Blane?”

“
I wasn’t there,” Abi
said. “If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that she asked Liban to
protect Blane in this process, keep him safe.”

“
Why didn’t she heal
him?”

“
Because Liban would have
told her what I’m trying to tell you,” Abi said.

“
What are you trying to
tell me?” Heather asked.

“
That you wield the most
powerful force in this world,” Abi said. “More powerful than fairy
magic, more powerful than an oracle, more powerful than all of the
forces of this world combined.”

“
I do?” Heather
asked.

Abi nodded.

“
What force do I wield?”
Heather asked.

“
Your love,” Abi
said.

Heather gave her a doubtful look and they
walked in silence for a moment. Then Heather stopped walking.

“
What are you talking
about?” Heather asked.

“
You’re friends with some
amazing women,” Abi said.

Heather nodded.

“
Jill is the daughter of a
Titan and a great human healer from a long line of healers going
back to the ancient land of Rus,” Abi said. “Sandy is the child of
a music prodigy, a man able to translate God himself into sounds we
can enjoy, and the incredible human Andy Mendy. Tanesha is the
daughter of a full-blooded fairy and a powerful human. And then
there’s you.”