Page 128 of Lee

Rori smiled at Charli as she and Blake settled into the pew next to her. “Hey.”

“Hey. How are you feeling?” Charli asked. “You don’t have the same bug as Lee, do you?”

Rori shook her head. “I feel fine.”

“I have no idea what is going on with him.” Charli frowned. “He didn’t eat any supper last night, and when I went to check on him before I went to bed, he didn’t answer his door. I opened it just to make sure he was okay, and I heard him throwing up in his bathroom. He looked rough this morning when he came down to get something to drink.”

Lee’s sudden sickness concerned Rori, and she wished that she could do something for him. He’d texted that morning to let her know that he wouldn’t be at church.

She doubted they’d be going to the park that afternoon because it was raining. And since Lee was sick, she didn’t feel comfortable going to hang out at Charli’s house without his invitation.

Their communication had been basically nil since he’d gotten sick, which Rori understood. But she missed him. In a relatively short time, she’d gotten used to being in regular contact with him.

She’d prayed for him since receiving the text from him the day before, cancelling their date for that evening. Even if they couldn’t hang out together, she wished they could talk instead of texting. However, she would let him decide how to communicate with her when he wasn’t feeling well.

Hopefully this bug—whatever he had—would leave quickly.

Four days later, however, Lee was still suffering with whatever plagued him. To Rori, he looked haggard and gaunt. Like he wasn’t getting anywhere near enough sleep or food.

Though Lee had continued to come into the clinic, Dr. Carl sent him home early most days. Like the rest of them, the older man regarded Lee with concern.

For Lee’s part, he kept his distance from everyone, wearing a mask when he had to be in a room with any of them or with the pet owners. Rori really missed having physical contact with him.

Even though they’d restrained themselves from PDA at the office, there were moments when he’d touch her shoulder or her back. Or she’d brush her hand against his if they passed in the hall. Little things that suddenly seemed so significant now that they weren’t happening.

The one thing Rori was grateful for was that no one else had come down with whatever bug Lee had. It would have been horrible if the kids had caught it, considering the toll it had taken on an adult.

They still talked each day, but the conversations were brief, and the lighthearted teasing moments were non-existent. Rori hoped that it was just because Lee wasn’t feeling well. However, something in the back of Rori’s mind told her it was more.

She didn’t know why she felt that way. Physically, it was clear he was suffering. But there was just something in her gut that told her something else was really going on.

She’d just returned to her desk following lunch on Friday afternoon when the door to the clinic opened and her mom walked in, followed by Alexis, Rori’s younger sister. Alexis was two years younger than Rori, and James, the other sibling from that marriage, was a year younger than Alexis.

“Hello, Aurora,” her mother said. There was no smile on her face as she cast a haughty gaze around the room.

She didn’t have the cat with her, so Rori braced herself for the conversation to come.

“Hello,” Rori replied, getting to her feet so she could face her mom head on. “What can I do for you? Is something wrong with Queen Charlotte?”

“She’s fine. And even if she wasn’t, I wouldn’t bring her here.”

Rather than respond to that, Rori turned her attention to her sister. “Hey, Alexis.”

“Hello.” Alexis wrinkled her nose as she looked around the reception area of the clinic with much the same disdain as her mother. “Why are you working in a place like this?”

“There’s nothing wrong with this clinic,” Rori said, careful to keep her tone placid. “I enjoy working here.”

“Of course you would,” Alexis said. “You never did try to aim for anything loftier than being a simple receptionist.”

At one time, the barbs would have hurt, but Rori no longer cared what her “family” thought about her life choices.

“If you’d been motivated and gone to college, you’d have a much better job,” her mom said.

Rori didn’t bother to point out that she hadn’t been able to afford college, unlike her other siblings who had received money from their mom or dad—or both.

“If this is where you work, I’d hate to see where you live.” Alexis rolled her eyes. “It’s probably a hovel.”

To them, her apartment probably would qualify as a hovel. However, she loved her little place. It was cozy and gradually becoming more of a home as she added more things to it. Pictures. Plants. Throw pillows. All of it was adding warmth and hominess to the space.

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