Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“You gotta listen to your mom, bud,” he says, but his voice is soft, and his face is friendly. “But thanks for helping me beat Scott today. No one else has been able to take him down.”
“Game’s over, Scottie!” Noah shouts toward the other doctor before my son has a chance to protest. I’m instantly thankful. “Seth has to go home, and since we’re currently in the lead, it’s safe to say victory is ours!”
“Ha! Yes! We beat you, Scott!” Seth fist-pumps the air.
“Ah, man!” the other doctor shouts. “I’m not letting you have Seth on your team anymore, Noah! He’s too good!”
I can’t remember the last time I saw my son smile this big.
“See ya around, buddy,” Noah says, and Seth jumps up to high-five him.
“C’mon, Mom! Let’s go!” My son takes off around the shrubbery and straight into the rest of the cafeteria, and any chance of lingering and talking to Noah is gone.
That’s probably a good thing…
“Looks like I better head out,” I state as Noah stands to his feet. “Thanks again for entertaining him.”
“It was no trouble at all. To be honest,” he says on a bit of a whisper, “it was a lot of fun.”
For some strange reason, after one last wave to Noah, I have to force myself to turn on my heel and jog after my son so I can start the process of facing the rest of my busy night that includes a full shift at the restaurant.
But as I walk, my sister’s words bounce around inside my head…
With the right guy, life gets easier.
Yeah, right.
I grab Seth’s hand and guide him toward the exit doors of St. Luke’s, but just before we make it outside, a text vibrates my phone. I glance at the screen to see who it is.
Gavin: I really hope your sister is okay. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.
I don’t think any man, anywhere on this planet we call Earth, can make my chaotic life easier.
But I have to admit…I’ve sure as hell never had two of them try at the same time.
Saturday, April 23rd
“Wasn’t Noah so great yesterday?” Brooke asks, mooning up at me like a lunatic. White sugar from the powered donuts she just ate mixed with a new lipstick color has her looking suspiciously like the Joker.
She’s currently perched in her bed—while Benji lies on his dog bed a few feet away—and I fluff the pillow behind her back a little harder than I probably should. Her upper body jostles somewhat violently, but the motion isn’t hard enough to stop her. Evidently, being a pain in the ass is shaking-proof.
“He’s kind of like a doc-tor sup-er-he-ro, you know?” She keeps going, her voice becoming staccato with the motion. “Stepping up in a crisis and all.”
“He’s a doctor,” I mutter. “Stepping up in crisis is literally in his training.”
The regret of coming over to her apartment to check on her this morning is strong, but I don’t think I could have skipped it without feeling guilty.
Plus, I had zero excuses to utilize.
Since Grant turned the virus corner like a typical five-year-old and is fully back to his normal self, both of my sons are with Uncle Chase, Uncle Vinny, and Aunt Mo. The five of them are spending the day hanging out before heading to the night baseball game of their dreams—Yankees versus the Cleveland Guardians. And while the restaurant is normally only closed on Sunday and Monday, Vinny added today into the mix so that they could get a few renovations done.
Right now, at this very moment, I have nowhere to be but here. Which is probably why I’ve stayed to listen to my sister’s romantically inclined waterboarding for two entire hours of my day so far.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister…when she’s not being annoyingly manipulative, that is. Hanging out with her is always a witty and engaging time. If my love life weren’t her fixation, but rather the romantic activities of some other innocent schlub, I’m sure I’d enjoy the tenacity of her hounding.
“Yeah, I know he’s a doctor, but he’s, like, a world-renowned pediatric anesthesiologist, Sammy. Some people really just excel, you know? If he told me to dance right now, I’d do it.”
“Well, then…” I pause and push a gritted-teeth, overtly sugary smile to my face. “I guess that means you’re feeling good, huh? I was worried I might need to stay longer just to make sure you’re feeling up to being alone, but since Noah’s a Marvel character and you’re ready to impress Fred Astaire, I guess I can be on my way.”
“Fine, fine.” Brooke eyes me with annoyance. “You can relax. You don’t have to leave. I’ll quit, I swear.”
“Thank you.” I sigh appreciatively. “Let’s just…have some sister time. Please. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t really need any other pressure-cooker situations in my life.”