But I could tell that Daphne was struggling a little; there were days when she was moody and sullen and days when she was happy and open. It seemed as though she wanted to be my friend, but she just couldn’t get over the fact that I was the product of her father’s infidelity. I should have known then that my dream of sisterhood was a hollow one.
“Krissy?”
I turned to find Noah standing in the hallway, rubbing his eyes.
“Hi, honey,” I said, going to him. “Your dad had to run to work, but he left me here to look after you.”
“He told me he would.”
I smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Sick.”
I kissed the top of his forehead. “Poor kid,” I said. “How about your tummy?”
“It’s rumbly.”
“Rumbly, huh?” I said. “Well, sounds like you need to eat something.”
“No,” Noah said immediately, just like Jake warned me. “I don’t want to eat anything.”
“Because you’re not hungry?” I asked. “Or because you don’t want to th
row up?”
“The last one,” he admitted.
I hugged him close for a moment. “I promise you we’ll be careful, okay?” I said. “If we be careful and eat just a little bit, then you won’t throw up. Do you trust me?”
“Yeah,” Noah said skeptically.
I took his hand and led him to the kitchen. Then I opened up a box of crackers that I’d picked up on the way and handed him one. “Try a bite of that,” I said.
Noah took the cracker tentatively and had a bite. He chewed carefully and swallowed with a loud gulp. “Well?” I asked, after a minute. “Do you think it’ll stay down?”
“I think so,” he nodded hopefully.
I smiled. “Great,” I said. “Then drink a sip of this.”
“What is it?” he asked. He was eyeing the glass I had handed him.
“Homemade lemonade,” I said. “It’ll help settle your tummy.”
Noah took a sip, and his face lit up with a smile. “That’s yummy.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I said. “Now finish that cracker and the lemonade. If you manage to keep it down, we’ll try eating something else in another hour or so. How does that sound?”
“Good.”
“Good,” I smiled. “Now, how about I read you a story?”
We spent a nice cozy afternoon reading stories, and Noah seemed to be getting better by the minute. Every hour, I sent Jake updates to reassure him and then I would get back to entertaining Noah.
“I love you, Krissy,” Noah said unexpectedly, just after I’d finished reading him another story.
I felt a lump form in my throat. “Aw, Noah,” I said. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“It’s nice to have a mommy look after me when I’m sick.”