Page 67 of The Widower
“Since when?” he interrupted again.
“I noticed it this morning, but—”
“As I said, you should’ve brought her,” he insisted, cutting me off once more.
“Are you gonna let me talk, or is that too much to ask?”
That was probably the first time I’d ever snapped at Colin for interrupting me. Honestly, I didn’t care how he’d take it—the thing that got to me was how desperate he sounded.
“Go on,” he said finally.
“She’s with my mom, like I told you. If the fever gets worse, they’ll go to the doctor. And I still don’t understand why you’re so worked up about this. You know perfectly well how expensive hospitals are around here—especially in this neighborhood.”
Colin didn’t say anything at first. He just paced back and forth, lost in thought.
“How is she now?” he asked, his tone softer.
“I called my mom a few minutes ago. Hanna’s feeling better after taking some medicine we had at home.”
“You let her take medicine without knowing what’s wrong?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Oh my God, seriously? Relax. I know what I’m doing. Believe it or not, Hanna’s my daughter—I’ve got this.”
“You’d better,” he muttered, and walked off like nothing had happened.
For a second, I just stood there, watching him go—because the way he worried, the way he talked… it almost felt like he was her father.
COLIN ADAMS
I didn’t mean to sound like a complete wreck while talking to Isabelle, but I don’t know what came over me. Of course she knows her daughter and what’s best for her—I was the problem, turning something simple into a full-blown scene.
I tried to get back to work, but my mind kept circling back to Hanna. I couldn’t figure out why I was so worried. She wasn’t my responsibility, after all.
Then I heard the door to my room open, and there was Joshua, standing in the doorway, staring at me.
He hadn’t come in here for a while—he usually avoided even walking past his sister’s room, which was right next to mine.
“Where’s Hanna?” he asked right away, straight to the point.
“She’s got a fever, so she stayed home,” I said. Still, I felt a flicker of relief that he’d come by. Even if it was just to ask about her, it was something.
“Okay.”
“I see you two have become good friends,” I said, seizing the opportunity to keep him talking.
“Yeah. She kept bugging me, so I gave her a chance.”
“Gave her a chance?” I couldn’t help but smile at the way he said it.
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you two are getting along.I don’t want her to replace your sister. Hanna’s your friend.Myfriend,” I said carefully. Talking about Maddison around Joshua was always tricky. They’d been so close, and any mention of her usually brought that familiar flash of anger to his face.
“Okay,” he said simply. “She told me she’s gonna ask you to play with us sometime.”
That caught me off guard. I never imagined Joshua would bring up something like that—not if it involved me. In my head, my son hated the idea of sharing space with me, let alone playing together.
“And will you let her?”I asked.
