Page 61 of If All Else Sails
Thinking better of it, I erase it from the list. This isn’t for Jacob or his money.
“Well,” I say slowly, tugging on the hem of my shorts again, “the crocodile roars from the pain, which scares all the other animals, who think the crocodile is angry. They won’t come near him. Except for one tiny little mouse.”
I pause, searching Wyatt’s expression for any sign he’s bored. Or just making fun of me. But he seems oddly invested, his gray eyes unwavering on mine.
“So, what happens?”
“The mouse scampers right up to the crocodile, climbs into his mouth, and pulls out the tooth. Instantly, the crocodile’s pain is gone.”
“Let me guess,” Wyatt says. “Then the crocodile eats the mouse?”
I laugh. “Um, no. Clearly you haven’t read enough children’s books.”
Something flashes across his face, there and then gone. Too quick for me to pinpoint. Especially when trying to read him is like staring at a book written in some foreign language.
But my teasing struck some kind of nerve. I’m not sure how or what, but I file this away to think about later. When it’s not almost midnight and I’m not playing actual nurse.
“The crocodile thanks the mouse and they throw a party.” I make a face. “I think it’s based on the fable of the lion with the thorn in its paw. That story ends with a lesson about...something. Kindness, maybe? But I’m really tired of the trend where every children’s book must be didactic.”
“Didactic?”
I blush a little, realizing I’m totally going off about my pet peeves regarding children’s literature to Wyatt. But hedidask, and I don’t see anything but sincerity in his expression.
“Didactic means having some kind of moral or lesson to teach. It’s fine for some books to have a takeaway. Fables, for example. But I think a lot of children’s books have gotten preachy. Do kids need to be kind? Yes. But can a crocodile simply host a party with his new mouse bestie for fun? Also yes.”
“You have given this some serious thought,” Wyatt says.
“I considered becoming a librarian,” I confess. “I like books.”
“Why did you choose nursing?”
“Believe it or not, more schooling was required for library stuff than nursing. Lots of job competition. I also worried all of it might take away my love for books. Like if they became my job, I wouldn’t get to just enjoy them anymore. You know?” I’m quiet for a moment. “Also, after everything that happened with Jacob, I had anxiety about medical stuff, then confronted that anxiety by getting interested in it.”
“What medical stuff did Jacob have?”
I stop and look at him. “Wait—you don’t know?”
Wyatt slowly shakes his head. I find myself shaking mine too. It’s unbelievable how something so pivotal in my brother’s life isn’t something he talks about freely.
Is it because it doesn’t matter? Or because it matterssomuch?
Knowing my brother’s uncanny ability to bounce back like he’s made of rubber, my guess is the former. But it’s strange how something so impactful to me that I needed therapy and chose my career based on it was some kind of blip to my brother. For my parents, too, this was a huge, life-altering moment.
I must be hesitating too long, because Wyatt shifts the hand I’m working on and brushes the smallest circle on my palm. “You can tell me,” he says, “but you don’t have to.”
I’m suddenly self-conscious under Wyatt’s attention. The man isintense. And now all that intensity is directed my way.
I amnotused to someone so focused.
It makes my stomach clench, which is the last thing I want it doing as a reaction to Wyatt. Stupid stomach better get the memo.
I’m probably just reacting this way because I can’t remember the last time a man was this attentive to me. Which is sad considering Wyatt’s not looking at me likethat. He’s probably just trying to distract himself while I pull splinters from his palms.
“I’ll give you the short version,” I say, and he nods. I go back to his splinters. “Jacob got a staph infection from a mosquito bite under his hockey pads when he was twelve. It moved into his bloodstream, he got sepsis, and he almost died. That’s why he’s super into sports but didn’t really play after high school. The infection left his knee a little janky.”
Wyatt is quiet for a long moment. “He never said anything,” he says finally.
“Which is very on brand for my brother,” I say.
