Delilah Recovered **2017 Watty Winner**

chapter twelve

Dee was alone, unsure of what to do or where to go next. She remembered Samuel telling her to say Mrs. Fairfax's name if she needed anything. She whispered, "Mrs. Fairfax" three times into the night and glanced to the right and to the left—no sign of her. She shouted, "Mrs. Fairfax," three times up at the sky. Still nothing. Feeling silly for believing she would appear out of thin air, Dee made her way towards the L station. Her entire life up until this point had been a lie. The thought that her mother had been alive all these years. She couldn't begin to understand why Thea would keep that from her. It didn't add up.

A blaring car horn cut through Dee's thoughts. Idling on the street, driving a vintage black Mercedes with huge headlights, was Mrs. Farifax. "Hurry and get in, my dear before the po-po gets here."

Dee didn't see any sign of the police as she got into the car. Mrs. Fairfax gave her a big smile. "Where shall I take you?"

She was dumbfounded. Dee hadn't been back to her apartment since she left for her job interview. That was last week? Was it even safe to go there?

Reading her thoughts, Mrs. Fairfax said, "I'll take you to Thornfield. We'll get some food in you and it'll all be right as rain soon enough."

"Thornfield?"

"Mr. Solomon's manor."

They drove through the city streets in silence. Dee noticed every stoplight went from red to green the moment they approached it. Samuel's home in the light of day was a sight. At night, all lit up, it was spectacular. Before her job interview, she was so nervous she didn't notice the two domed turrets looming over the street like a castle.

Mrs. Fairfax led Dee into the house through a narrow hidden side door. They finally landed in the kitchen after snaking around a series of maze-like hallways. It had rows of stark white cabinets and a massive wooden table in the middle filled with bowls of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Throughout the kitchen, silver pastry stands filled with an assortment of macarons, scones, cream puffs, and tarts lined the marble countertops.

"Please, sit." She said, tying an apron around her waist. "What can I get you?"

There was a snug breakfast nook under a stained-glass window with a place setting ready for her. "Scrambled eggs?"

Mrs. Fairfax smiled. "And a spot of chamomile tea to help calm your nerves. "

"I don't want to be any trouble," Dee said, sitting down.

"Pish posh, it is my pleasure," she replied, setting a tea kettle on an ancient black cast iron stove that looked like it needed a lump of coal instead of gas.

"I trust Mrs. Fairfax is taking excellent care of you, Delilah?"

At the sound of his voice, she felt the blood move through her veins like there was an invisible cord between them. Samuel said her name, stretching and pulling on the "D" like gooey taffy. Seeing him standing in the arched doorway, she had to stop herself from running over and throwing her arms around him. Watching as he slowly loosened his tie and took off his blazer, carefully folding it before placing it on the back of a kitchen chair, she was mesmerized by his slow, deliberate movements.

Seeing him standing there, looking at her like he was so relieved that she wasn't hurt, she couldn't handle how it made her feel.. "I should go," Dee said, standing up. "I don't know why I'm here."

Samuel took a few hesitant steps toward her with his hands up, like she was a cat he was trying to catch before it ran up a tree. "Delilah, I told you to call on Mrs. Fairfax." He said as he led her back to the table. "It's good to see you safe and sound."