Brenna woke around six that evening. Confused at first, she sat up and looked around. She had fallen asleep in her rocker before making it upstairs and now her muscles felt stiff. Stretching, she remembered what had happened. Man, what a night they'd had. She hoped never to go through that again. Smiling, she thought that was probably how all of them felt. Then she remembered her dream. Weird, she'd never had one like that before. Hopefully, a healthy baby had finally broken the spirit of sadness lingering in her house.
Taking a bowl of cereal with her, she went to sit in the velvet chair by the phone, folding her legs up under her. She looked for the number in the phone book and ate a spoonful as it rang.
"Seacliff Rest Home."
"Hi, this is Brenna Callahan. I'm calling to check on Helena. Did you guys weather the storm okay?"
Silence.
"Hello?"
"I'm sorry, Brenna; Helena passed away this morning."
Brenna sat frozen in her chair, spoon in midair. Not so soon. She wanted to at least tell her about Victoria. She hung up the phone without another word. Placing her bowl on the table, she lost track of time as she sat curled in her chair, the lives in this house passing before her eyes. And eventually, she realized the truth. Helena already knew. She had come to say goodby before she left, her family intact. They were all together now and life was as it should be.