Page 91 of Absolute Certainty
And then, he stopped.
She heard the vibration coming from his back pocket. “I’m so sorry. My phone’s always on do-not-disturb, and the only people that bypass that are family.”
“No, no, of course, take it.”
Steadying his breathing, Jay plucked his phone out and answered.
“Mom, hey.”
She couldn’t exactly make out every word coming from the other end of the line and felt wrong for listening, but when Jay’s face fell, hers did, too. Something about a fever and everything's fine, she deciphered.
“Why didn’t you call me sooner?” he said, frustration obvious in his tone. A few short seconds, and then an “Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
When he hung up and placed his phone away, Jay looked at her, distress eclipsing what had been fervent longing in his eyes.
Delicately, Sahar cupped his cheek. “Is everything okay?”
He leaned into her touch. “Ellie has a fever. She’s fine, but… I had a feeling she was off before I left, and I figured she was just tired. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it.”
“The poor thing. I’m so sorry, Jay, but please don’t berate yourself for not catching it earlier. Fatigue doesn’t always signal an incoming illness.”
A heavy sigh left his lips. “She fell asleep, but I should be there in case she wakes up.”
Sahar tried to give him some sort of reassuring smile, but his sad eyes made it nearly impossible to get through. “Of course. Text me when you get there and let me know how she is, yeah?”
He inched forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Okay. We’ll talk soon?” he phrased it like a question.
Brushing her nose along his, she touched her forehead to his. “Yeah,” she promised.
And then he left.
24
JAY
When Maya assured him she wasn’t worried and that Eloise would be fine, Jay calmed a bit. He knew logically that kids were tiny germ magnets and that colds weren’t all that shocking, but still. For an agonizing few minutes, his mind attempted to put all the blame on himself, state how he should’ve noticed that something was off about her, and that if he hadn’t been so selfishly preoccupied, he most definitely would have.
During the uncomfortably long train ride, he’d called the two other morning managers and had his shift for tomorrow covered. Then, to distract himself, he emailed Patrick updates on the rewrites.
Coming in through the back door from inside their garage, he walked in on his mom and sister drinking tea in the kitchen.
“You didn’t have to rush over here, honey. I told you she’s okay,” his mom said.
“Is she asleep? Did you check her fever again after you gave her Tylenol?”
She set her glass mug down, irritation making its way onto her face. “Did you forget that I raised two perfectly healthy children?” she countered, matching the attitude he didn’t realize he was projecting in tone.
“Mom,” he bit back, his voice once again unintentionally harsher than he intended.
She arched an eyebrow. In all thirty-four years of his life, his mother never yelled at him. But with a single look, she knewexactlyhow to guarantee that her kids grasped their mistakes.
Alex answered for her. “Obviously, she did.”
Shutting his eyes briefly, he took a breath. “I’m sorry. You know it freaks me out when something’s wrong with her.”
“And that’s why I told you to come here instead of going home, so keep your tone in check.”
He drew closer and placed a kiss on the side of her head. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I love you.”
