“I am. And you don’t know the half of it. My morning started off with a phone call from Mom.” She swallowed, barely holding her tears in. “She did it, Steph. She got back with Tyrone, just like we thought she would. She begged me to talk to him.”
“I hope you told her no.”
“I did, but you can guess how that went over. It’s a good thing I never told Mom I changed my name. I think she’d do anything for that man, even betray her own daughter.”
“How can she trust him after all those years when he treated the two of you like dirt?”
“Of course, I’ll have to call her tonight and apologize.” Laurie sighed. “It’s so pitiful that she’s ready to forget everything he’s done and run back to him.”
“Maybe he’ll be different this time. Maybe he’ll treat her like he should’ve all along.”
“I hope so. Nothing would make me happier than to eat my words about him. Poor Mom. She deserves a little happiness. But I’m certainly not holding my breath.”
“Yeah… a sure way to suffocate,” Steph said. “You’ve had a terrible day. You started off with Tyrone. Now the bad news about Finn. And of course we just found out Jarrett’s cancer is back.”
What bad news about Finn? Had she missed something? She probed for information, attempting to sound as if she knew what Steph was talking about. “Yeah, it’s bad. Finn told me about Jarrett this morning.”
“You saw Finn today? Were you at the hospital?”
Hospital? Every drop of saliva disappeared from her mouth.
“He was at the office first thing this morning,” Laurie answered, vaguely.
“Wow, I can’t believe they admitted him that fast. I guess it’s pretty bad.”
“Yeah. I was really surprised when I found out.” She didn’t mention that moment was a few seconds ago. “Maybe you heard more details than I did.”
“Branson only said his temperature was 104 when he checked in.” Stephanie lowered her voice, as if someone might be eavesdropping. “You know not to tell anyone he’s sick, right? Because Finn doesn’t want all the employees to know about it.”
“I wouldn’t tell a soul.” Laurie moved on wooden legs to her desk chair, trying to keep her tone light. “Not only am I not a gossip, but I’ve hardly met anyone at work. Haven’t had time to make friends.”
“Well, you certainly have a friend in Finn Anderson. I know you don’t want to be his buddy, but at least he cares about you. He called from the hospital and spent thirty minutes on the phone telling Branson what he had to do to help you with your project.”
Laurie felt about three inches tall… maybe two. Of course Finn wouldn’t desert their work to go on some extravagant trip. How could she have believed such a farfetched story?
“He needs to concentrate on getting well,” Laurie said. “I hope Bran told him not to worry about me and the fundraiser.”
“He did. He told Finn that he and Cole could handle it, but Finn can be as stubborn as Branson. I know he feels extra guilty since Jarrett is out, too.”
“But it’s not his fault. No matter how hard he tries to prevent it, he’ll get sick sometimes. That’s the reality of CF.”
“I know that. But Bran says he’s always been like this. I don’t understand it, either.”
“It’s like he’s determined never to let his cystic fibrosis disturb anyone else in any way. He’s more worried about protecting other people from the effect of CF than protecting himself.”
“I wonder who made him feel that way,” Steph mused. “Guilty about something he has no control over.”
“I don’t know.” Laurie chewed on her lower lip. “But I sure hope I didn’t contribute to it.”
And if I did, I’m going to find a way to make it up to him… like any good friend would.
“Time to get some blood from you.”
The perky lab tech woke Finn up from a dead sleep. He felt like he’d been run over by a truck.
“What time is it?” he croaked, rubbing his eyes.
“It’s 4:15.” She rolled her noisy cart beside his bed and set up for a blood draw. With a freckled forehead and her hair in a ponytail, she looked all of twelve years old, though she had to be at least eighteen.