Page 15 of Love Me Steadfast
I pass the TV playing a sitcom I haven’t seen in years at low volume to a table where someone has started a puzzle and lower into one of the heavy metal chairs. The puzzle is a grid of antique Christmas postage stamps, the box’s corners worn thin. Most likely,it came here second or third hand. Whoever has been working on it has completed the border and is working on a stamp depicting a sleigh piled with gifts.
Shifting clothing alerts me a split second before Morgan appears.
I leap to my feet just as the lump in my throat threatens to burst.
“Hey,” Morgan says, blinking her tired eyes.
I pull my sister into my arms and hold her. Her body feels fragile—too thin—but I don’t let that heighten my anxiety. Morgan’s strong. We both are. We’ll find our way through this.
Morgan inhales a steady breath, her frail body swelling into mine, then steps back. The nurse heads for the station, where I know she and the other staff will be supervising.
Morgan tucks her shoulder-length hair behind her ears, the long sleeves of her hoodie covering up her wrists. Not that I need to see them to know what’s there. Her care team debriefed me already.
“Puzzle?” Morgan asks with a dry chuckle.
“Sure.”
Morgan chews the corner of her lip and pulls out the chair to my right.
I sort through the main pile of pieces, searching for ones with a lime green stripe, which belongs to a stamp featuring a cartoon Christmas tree.
“I’m sorry,” Morgan says, her hands in her lap.
“What for?” I try connecting two pieces but they don’t fit.
“For making you come back here.”
I glance up and wait for her to meet my gaze. “You know I’ll be here anytime you need me.”
She looks away and swallows. “But you hate it.”
Does it hurt? Yes. But hate? No. “There are parts I’ll always love.”
She reaches for a puzzle piece and tries to fit it to a section of the sleigh stamp, confirming my suspicion that she’s the one who brought out this puzzle. “How’s Henrik doing?”
“Okay.” Though this is the brief version, it’s accurate. Thedisease progression seems to be accelerating, but he still has some good days. “Has Dad come to visit?”
She shakes her head.
Well, that’s something. At some point I’ll need to ask about Mom, but I’ll try to figure that out on my own.
“Theo’s living with Will.” She tries another piece.
“Yeah, I kind of figured that out.”
She cringes and I instantly regret the edge in my tone.
“Sorry.”
I put my hand on hers, and a gentle warmth blooms beneath my skin. “Mo. It’s okay.”
She gives me a soft smile, then pulls her hand away.
“How are your providers? Do you like Dr. Shreeve?”
Morgan’s shoulders rise in an exaggerated shrug. “I’ve only met with her like twice.”
“Have you made any…connections?” I ask, eyeing the young woman who has moved to the couch with a paperback.
