Her Hometown Hero(5)

"You know how busy medical school can be."

"Those are just excuses, doll. We can all make excuses until the cows  come home, but you do realize that it's perfectly okay to let loose and  enjoy yourself once in a while, don't you?"

"I know it's okay to have fun. I just happen to think that learning  medicine is a lot of fun." When Grace looked like she'd just swallowed  and chewed an entire lemon, Sage repeated herself more emphatically. "It  is fun."

"Yeah, for smart kids like you. Even high school was a struggle for me.  Add to that the fact that my best friend is freaking Albert Einstein's  reincarnation, and it was never fun. I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't  cheated off you so much."

"That's not true, Grace. You did just fine in college without me. I  think you just can't stand sitting down for six hours straight. There's  nothing wrong with that."

"That's true. I hated having to sit there while the teachers went on and  on and on. Who cares who the twentieth president was?" She stopped to  send a vicious glare Sage's way. "I swear, if you utter his name, I will  smack you right here and now."

Sage closed her mouth. Grace knew her well-yes, she'd been about to  blurt out James A. Garfield. But today her head was feeling better, and  Sage wanted to keep it that way. She remembered the time Grace slammed  Bobby Tetter's head into a locker just for correcting her grammar when  she had said seen instead of saw, or vice versa. Bobby was always  correcting people. The guy was sure to be a teacher. And man, did Grace  have a mean right hook.

"I wasn't going to say it," Sage lied.

"Good. But still, I'd rather be smart and have all the answers. I really  wish I'd taken my education more seriously. I guess I always just  thought I was going to grow up, get married, and have a dozen kids. I  didn't think I'd ever need to use a degree. But I've learned that what a  person expects doesn't matter. You could get your dream, live just the  way you imagined, but you should always have a backup plan. Otherwise . .  . well, otherwise, you might find yourself in a tight spot."                       
       
           



       

The sadness in Grace's eyes ripped Sage apart. Why wasn't her friend  telling her what had happened? Surely it couldn't be so bad that the two  of them couldn't fix it. "We've always handled everything together,  Grace. I know I can help if you'll just let me in."

"I will. I pinkie swear, best friends forever," Grace said, holding up her hand.

It was the code. Sage took her pinkie with her own and shook, then kept  her mouth shut. It was hard to do, but she'd respect Grace's wishes, and  right now Grace wasn't ready to share. But it wouldn't take her long.

"You know you have to move in with me, right?" Grace said. "I'm sure  it's been heaven living at home again, having Grandma serve you and wash  your clothes and treat you like the princess you are, but I demand that  we become roomies. After all, that was the plan after high school. If  I'd paid more attention during school and could have gotten into  Stanford with you, that might have happened. But at least we're both  still single and in the same place now, so we can carry out our plans. I  can start packing you up right away."

Sage's eyes brimmed with tears. "I'd be more than happy to move in with you." Heck, she wanted to leave this very minute.

"Why do I hear a but coming?" Grace asked.

"No. That's not it. Let me wait a few days before I break the news to  Grandma. A week at most. She's missed me a lot since I left and I know  my return and our time together have been special to her. If I move out  while I'm still supposed to be resting, it will break her heart. I don't  know why she likes babying me, but she really does. And it is kind of  nice, though I would like to have five solid minutes of awake time  without being asked if I'm okay."

"I get that. We've waited this long, I can stand to wait another week.  Maybe I'll just sleep here on the couch so Grandma can take care of me,  too."

"Did you say you need someone to look after you, Grace?"

The two looked over at the door as Bethel walked through with a tray  containing her patented lemonade, special homemade granola, and two  thick sandwiches.

"Always, Grandma. What's that?" Grace asked, instantly sitting up,  yanking one of Sage's pillows from beneath her head so she could prop  herself up against the headboard.

"Don't worry about permanent brain damage," Sage griped at her, and sat up much more slowly than she normally would have.

"I thought you girls might be hungry," Bethel said, not hearing Sage.

But Grace had heard, if the smirk on her face was any indication. She ignored Sage's grumbling.

"You didn't have to do that," Grace said, but she took the tray eagerly, grabbed one of the sandwiches, and bit in.

Sage was always amazed at the amount of food her best friend could put  away without ever gaining a pound. No wonder so many girls in high  school had despised her.

"I love to take care of my girls," Bethel said. "Besides, you've always done so much for me."

"That's because I adore you," Grace said when she'd finished swallowing.

"If you need a place to stay, dear," Bethel said, and Grace had to turn away for a second to hide her emotions.

"I was just kidding, Grandma, but it means the world to me to know I  always have a place if I need it," Grace said, giving Bethel a radiant  smile.

"Well then, I won't keep you girls. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do." And Bethel left.

"We're going to break her heart when you move in with me. Maybe we  should wait a month . . . or ten years," Grace said, only half kidding.

"A week, Grace. One week at most." Sure, if Bethel became too upset,  Sage would wait a while longer, but she really hoped her grandmother  wouldn't mind. Sage had missed Grace terribly.

"All right," Grace said. "If need be, we just won't tell her. You're  going to be working a lot of hours. You could always come in the front  door and then sneak out your window like you used to do when we were  kids."

"That will have to be our plan B."

The two young women laughed heartily as they continued catching up. But  Sage's medicine soon kicked in, and though she fought hard to stay  awake, sleep overtook her.





Driving her grandmother's old Chrysler slowly through the center of town  a few days later, since her own car had been totaled in the wreck, Sage  smiled when a couple of kids on their bicycles turned and waved.

Sterling had a population of only three thousand people spread out over  many miles, and despite those miles, if you wanted privacy, you weren't  going to get it. The nearest large city was about thirty miles away, but  Sterling had everything you could possibly need, though maybe not  exactly what you'd want.                       
       
           



       

For a teenager, it could get a little boring, and the local teens had  been known to tip a few cows on a Friday night, or party in some of the  farmers' barns, but nothing too terrible ever seemed to happen in the  close-knit community. The biggest industries were oil and ranching, as  was the case for a lot of Montana towns. There wasn't much else to do  with the miles and miles of open land.

She drove through the one-stop-sign "metropolis" and reached her  grandmother's house in a few minutes. She'd been too afraid to tell her  grandma that she was planning to move-hopefully tomorrow.

Pulling the car into the small driveway, she paused to look fondly at  the planters sitting on the large front porch. Sage thought there must  be a city ordinance requiring every house to have an inviting wooden  front porch with colorful flowers adorning it.

She finally climbed from the car, feeling much better after almost a  full week of total rest and relaxation-too much rest, if anyone cared to  ask her humble opinion. Before she was able to take two steps, she  heard the familiar creaking of the wooden screen door as her grandma  stepped outside.

"I've been so worried," Bethel said as Sage came up the front path. "You were gone too long."

"You shouldn't be worrying about me, Grandma. And you shouldn't be out  here in the heat." Sage climbed up the steps and threw her arms around  Bethel. The familiar scent of butterscotch and flour drifting off her  grandmother's clothes would always be a reminder of home and happiness.

"I just hate knowing that you're out there driving all by yourself after  that terrible wreck, sweetie. You've only been feeling better for a  day. I could have driven you."

"I told you I'd be fine, and see?" Sage spun around in a circle. "I'm  all safe and sound. And for the millionth time, it was a minor wreck,  though my car might disagree. Now let's get you back inside where it's  cool."