As she snuggled back into her bed, Sharna could hear Gogo thundering down the stairs, calling loudly for Myra and Anna as she went. Sharna knew it wouldn’t be long before Gogo dragged someone back up to see her.
Suddenly noticing her uncomfortably full bladder, Sharna lunged out of bed, pushing the covers back and getting to her feet in one smooth motion. She lightly ran across the hallway to the toilet and quickly relieved herself. As she was washing her hands, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. With still wet hands, she leaned towards the mirror and reached to smooth down her hair and twisted it back behind her shoulder, then attempted to straighten her clothes. She was still wearing the clothes she'd been wearing when she had passed out, she wrinkled her nose in distaste as she realised that she really needed a shower. It would have to wait, she could hear footsteps travelling back upstairs so she dashed back across to her bedroom and settled herself under her blankets.
Sharna listened out curiously, she could only hear one set of footsteps returning up the stairs, the sound too sedate to be signalling Gogo’s return, and Sharna tried to decipher who it could be.
She heard a knock at the door and called out for the person to enter, expecting Myra, Anna or Marjorie, instead, Gabby’s head poked around the door hesitantly.
“Hi Sharna, is it okay if I come in?”
Sharna swallowed, and wriggled into a seated position, pushing the pillows behind her back and leaning against the bedhead, “of course,” she replied with false brightness, plastering a smile on her face.
Gabby gave her a half smile and entered the room. “Myra and Anna are both out at the moment, and Eliza is restraining Gogo downstairs.” Gabby shook her head fondly, “she’s like an overgrown puppy and we don’t want her jumping all over you until you’re fully recovered.”
Sharna's smile warmed, picturing the war that must be happening between the two women downstairs.
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Rather than sitting on the chair that Gogo had recently left, Gabby instead came and perched a little distance away on the edge of Gogo’s bed, twisting her ring around and around her finger in a way that seemed almost compulsive.
Sharna was unsure what to say to the other women, and watched Gabby curiously as she waited for her to speak.
Gabby was looking decidedly unwell compared to when Sharna had arrived only a few days earlier. Her hair hung lankly, roughly pushed behind her ears in a way that made her look much younger, and her face was pale and drawn.
Gabby looked up from her hands, staring at Sharna earnestly, “I’m so glad you’re finally awake. We were all so worried when you collapsed outside.” She stopped twisting her ring and held her hands together tightly instead. “I wanted to apologise to you, I haven’t spoken to Gogo about this yet, but I have been dealing with some personal stuff and I haven’t been as kind to everyone as I would have liked.”
She looked down at her hands again, resuming her nervous ring twisting. Before Sharna could speak, Gabby continued, “I’m not ready to talk to anyone about what is going on yet, but I wanted you to know that I haven’t been quite myself lately. This behaviour is not the real me, and I’m going to try to stop focusing on myself and my problems and be a better friend to you all.”
Sharna was surprised and gratified to hear Gabby’s words, Sharna’s reading of her personality on their first meeting had been very different to the Gabby she had started to know over the last couple of days. She usually had a very accurate reading of someone’s character on their first meeting, as with Kevin the day before - actually two days before, she remembered uncomfortably - she could feel viscerally, in her gut, whether someone aligned with her or not. She was gratified to discover that her initial assessment of Gabby appeared to have been correct.
“Maybe we could start over?” Sharna said gently. “I also have not been my best self lately, I have been struggling with all the.. Messiness I guess.. That starting a brand new life brings..”
At her words, Gabby’s eyes instantly teared up, she put her head to her knees and started to sob with such raw emotion that Sharna felt as though she was trespassing on a private moment, not intended for her.
Sharna climbed out of bed and crouched in front of Gabby, hesitantly placing a hand on the back of her head as Gabby continued to sob violently.
The storm of tears continued for a long time, and Sharna remained where she was, her hand stroking the young woman’s hair. Finally, after exhausting herself with the surprising torrent of emotion, Gabby’s sobs turned into gentle tears, Sharna removed her hand as Gabby started to sniff and rub her eyes on her sleeve.
As Gabby made an effort to calm herself down, Sharna rose and grabbed a box of tissues off Gogo’s desk and silently handed them to Gabby, then settled herself comfortably on the edge of her own bed. She didn’t know what to do or say in this situation but found herself unusually serene. She felt for Gabby, but the woman’s flood of tears seemed to have nothing to do with Sharna and everything to do with whatever personal issues Gabby was dealing with. So she just sat and patiently watched Gabby, waiting for her to speak.
