I pulled up the map app on my phone and entered her address into it. Fifty minutes away. I clicked the screen off and studied the envelope again. The return address was an unfamiliar one. Of course not his current address, but not the previous one either. I wondered how many times he’d had to move. How many families he’d had to live with.
The porch light was on and glowing a warm yellow as I headed up my front walkway. It looked so inviting. My home. I opened the door to the sounds of my family in the kitchen, laughing, dishes clinking. I shut the door behind me and went to join them. I stopped short, watching as my mom and brother stood around the island, picking at the leftover lasagna on the counter while my dad did the dishes.
“Let’s make cookies,” my brother said.
“You’ll just eat all the cookie dough,” my mom responded.
“And?”
“I want to eat all the cookie dough too,” I said.
They all looked up. My brother spoke first. “It’s about time you’re home. Get in here and spend some quality time with me.”
“So demanding.” I set Dax’s book on the counter and went to join them at the island. I pulled a fork out of the utensil drawer and dug into the leftover lasagna.
“How about a plate?” my mom said.
“There’s salad too. It’s in the fridge.” Before I’d finished my bite of food, my dad was holding a gallon Ziploc of salad and my mom had a plate in her hand.
“Thanks.” I took both and spent the next thirty minutes fielding questions about Jeff while we made cookies.
CHAPTER 36
If I hadn’t promised Jeff, I wouldn’t have been sitting in my car in the parking lot of the hospital trying to outlast Dallin. He’d been in there for at least an hour already. I could see his car parked two rows away from mine. I didn’t want to take over his time. So I waited. This would keep me from a potentially anxiety-inducing confrontation. It was a good compromise, I thought.
It took him another forty-three minutes before he finally walked through the sliding glass doors and into the parking lot. I waited until he got into his car and drove away, then I went inside.
Mrs. Matson was in Jeff’s room and Jeff was talking to her. I smiled. It was good to see him a little more coherent.
“Hello!” Mrs. Matson said when she saw me.
Jeff smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi. You’re awake.”
“I’m on the front hours of my drugs instead of the last hours like yesterday. It helps.”
I laughed.
He shifted in his bed, turning more toward me, and cringed. Drugs or not, he was obviously still in pain.
Mrs. Matson stood. “Here, have my seat. Dallin went to rescue my husband from up the street. He ran out of gas.”
“Oh. He’s coming back.”
“It will be a party,” Jeff said.
“Don’t get too worked up,” Mrs. Matson said. “I don’t want the nurse yelling at you.”
“I won’t, Mom.”
She left us alone and I sank slowly into the chair by his bed. I looked at Jeff, trying to read his expression. Had Dallin said anything about me? About what he’d accused me of the other day? Jeff seemed relaxed, happy, like he always did. He rarely had a different expression. I couldn’t read Jeff very well. Hopefully, like me, Dallin didn’t want to do anything that might upset him right now, while his body was still recovering.
“Hi,” I said again.
He leaned back against the pillows.
“Any news on when you’ll get out of here?”
“I guess when my oxygen level is better and I’ve proven I can walk.”
“Can you?”
“I don’t know. I start physical therapy tomorrow.”
“Lucky you.”
He twisted the tube hanging down by his arm once around his finger. “I can’t wait to get out of here. We need to have an epic adventure as soon as possible. I was thinking tubing, but instead of sliding down the snow in tubes we go to the car graveyard and find old car parts to use, like a hood or a backseat. Tell me that wouldn’t be fun.”
That didn’t sound like fun at all to me. My heart jumped just thinking about it. “Only if there’s still snow when you’re all better. Maybe we’ll have to do that next year.”
“It’s happening this year.”
The door creaked open.
Jeff lowered his voice and quickly whispered, “Play along with me for a sec.”
I was confused.
Dallin walked in. “Dude, your dad does not know how to fill a jug of gas. He—” Dallin stopped immediately when he saw me there.
“He what?” Jeff asked.
“Nothing. He just couldn’t.”
“I’m glad you saved him. Should we think of a superhero name for you?”
“I already have one.”
Jeff’s face went from smiling to worried as he stared toward the foot of his bed.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I . . . I can’t feel my toes. Or my feet for that matter.”
“What?” I stood, wondering if I should get the nurse when Jeff winked at me. Oh, was this what he meant earlier? I was supposed to play along with this?
He poked at his thigh. “I can’t feel this either.”
Dallin walked closer, concern in his eyes. I didn’t think this was going to help our relationship right now.
He touched Jeff’s foot. “Can you feel that?”