Leila tuned out the conversation as she glanced around the waiting area, which was small and fitted with a large leafy plant and a couple plastic chairs. A television hung in one corner, showing a soap opera on mute.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked when she set the receiver back down.
“Um,” Leila choked and cleared her throat. She tugged at the scarf around her neck as if that was the culprit. “I’m here to see Vivian Harrison.”
After searching for Xander without any luck, she realized the most obvious place for him to be was with his recovering sister. It had taken some intensive research, but she finally found where she was being treated and officially felt like a stalker. She had no idea what Vivian would think of this visit or if Xander would be there. He’d probably throw her out, but she had to at least try.
The receptionist made another call, seeming to approve of her visit. Then Leila followed a nurse through the sterile halls until they came to a door on the second level. The nurse opened the door after a few knocks.
“Your visitor, Vivie,” the nurse said, shifting aside for Leila to enter.
With her heart pounding in her ears and her stomach in a knot, Leila poked her head into the room. Vivian sat alone near the window. There was no sign of Xander. Leila nearly sighed with relief. Maybe she wasn’t ready to see him again, after all.
“Come in,” Vivian said softly from her seat in an armchair, a magazine lying open in her lap.
Though the nervousness hadn’t fully evaporated, Leila slipped into the room.
“Hi. Vivian. Um, I’m Leila. Leila Sterling. You don’t know me, but—”
“Of course I know you. You’re Xander’s friend.” Her face instantly lit up with a large smile, although her skin remained a parchment white. Her frame was thin and fragile, and her dark hair had been messily chopped off above her shoulders. The dark rings under her brown eyes were a harsh contrast to the happy, vibrant young girl in the photo that had been on Xander’s desk.
“Yes,” Leila said, her cheeks warming. She bit down on her bottom lip. What exactly did Xander tell his sister? He probably didn’t have anything good to say.
But Vivian still smiled. “Somehow I knew you’d come by. He talked about you a lot. I feel like I already know you.”
“Oh.” Leila averted her gaze. Her face must be beet-red by now. Eager to change the subject, she held out the bouquet in front of her. “These are for you.” She glanced around the room with more enthusiasm than necessary. “Do you have a vase?”
“Yes, in the cupboard.” Vivian pointed. “Thank you. I love the colors.”
“I don’t know what your favorite color is, so I got them all,” Leila said as she peered into the cupboard.
“Honestly, I’m not sure either.”
“I’m always going back and forth. I even went through a phase where my favorite color was olive green.” Leila shook her head in disdain, setting the vase with the flowers on the table.
“Have a seat, Leila.” Vivian gestured to the empty chair across from her.
She sat down and glanced at the magazines and tabloids Vivian had been reading. The poor girl was not only trying to pass the time, but also trying to catch up on current events.
“So, has it been hard waking up?” Leila sucked on her teeth, hoping she wasn’t being too blunt. To her relief, Vivian didn’t show any adverse reaction to the question.
“It’s been…” Vivian sighed and stole a glance at the stack of magazines. “Strange. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed. It was literally like waking up in the morning from a bad dream where you couldn’t move. All you could do was listen to people talking about you and saying horrible things had happened. Or that pesky professor who came by and always had students with him. Each time he told them there was no hope for me, and I wanted to scream ‘shut up!’”
Vivian swallowed and closed her eyes. After taking a deep breath, she continued. “It was so surreal, seeing Xander again. He was so boyish last time I saw him. It was as if he’d grown up overnight. And all my friends have moved on in life, gotten married, started families. I don’t know them anymore. So much can change in five years. I just wish I could go back, do things differently.”
“It’s not your fault,” Leila said, then noticed Vivian’s cheeks glistened. She stretched for the box of tissues and held it out to her.
Once Vivian tugged out a tissue, Leila decided to change the subject, hopefully to one not as upsetting. “Does Xander visit you often?”
“No.” Vivian shook her head, her eyes dropping. “He can’t. He had to leave again after a few weeks. He saw to it that I was comfortable here. Then he left.”
“What?” Leila’s mouth fell open.
“He has to travel for work,” Vivian went on, crumpling up the wet tissue in her hand. “He didn’t know when he’d be back. He has a new job, you see. He needs the money for all the bills and a new flat, he said, and he promised to be back before I leave here to help me move.” Leila frowned. A new job? Granted, working at an excavation didn’t exactly make a person rich. But why didn’t he just come back to Saqqara? “What’s he doing now?”
Vivian shrugged with a tight smile.
Odd. Leila picked at her fingers. What was he up to? “How long will you be here?”
“It’ll be a few more months, up to a year, maybe. My muscles are rather useless. The prognosis is good, though.”
A fist clenched around Leila’s heart. Vivian had to face it all alone. “Anything I can do to help?”
Vivian shook her head then studied the flowers for a moment. Her brow tightened. “Why are you here? Does this have to do more with me or with Xander?”
Leila wished she didn’t have to answer. She took a moment to think before speaking, trying to find the right words. Being honest was the best thing to do. Unable to meet Vivian’s gaze, she sucked in her breath and started, “I admit I thought I would find Xander here. We didn’t part on good terms. I wanted to apologize.”
One corner of Vivian’s mouth lifted slightly. “Thank you.”
They were both quiet for a moment, then Vivian gave Leila a knowing smile. “I think he would have liked to see you.”
Once again, heat rose to her face. To distract herself, she slid one of the magazines forward and thumbed the corner without opening it. The photoshopped model on the cover stared back at her with a sultry glare. None of the advertised articles on the cover offered advice on how to go back in time and redo the past.
“Are you in love with him?”
Leila jerked her head up. Did she hear that right?
When she failed to answer, Vivian clarified, “With Xander?”
