14
Jilly pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked near the non-emergency entrance. She sat in the car for a few moments with her hands on the wheel while the engine ticked.
This was it.
She was going to walk in there and find out whether the cancer had come back. The next few minutes could change her life.
She knew Noah was waiting for her, so she made herself get out of the car when she would've delayed.
She had invited him to ride along as she’d dropped off the kids to school, but he had declined in favor of using his car service. She didn't know whether that was because he didn't want the kids to get the wrong idea about their friendship, or he didn't want her to get the wrong idea.
As she walked to the entrance, she saw him standing on the sidewalk near the automatic glass doors.
She wasn't close enough to greet him yet when she saw his head turn as a man and woman who must be in their seventies approached. The man was pushing the woman in a wheelchair.
Noah had his cane out in front of him, a clear sign of his blindness.
The man was outright staring but walked right by Noah without even acknowledging him.
Jilly hit the sidewalk at the same time the couple entered through the doors. "Hey."
This time his head turned in her direction. "Morning."
He raised his hand and extended a Styrofoam coffee mug in its sleeve.
"What's this for?"
"Thought you might need it. I asked the driver to stop at the little coffee hut. I asked them if you had a regular order, and this is what they gave me."
She raised it to her nose and took a deep sniff. It smelled like heaven. Between the busyness of getting the kids ready and out the door for school and getting herself ready for this appointment, she had only taken a few sips of her coffee. And she'd only remembered that she'd left it sitting on the kitchen counter when they were halfway to town.
"Thank you."
He'd been thinking about her. That warmed her up more than the coffee. Maybe it was a cloud passing over the weak winter sun, but she could've sworn there was a blush high on his cheek bones.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked as she touched his arm and they moved together to go inside.
"Sure."
"Right before I got here, there was a couple who went into the hospital. The husband was staring at you. Did he say anything to you?"
"Not really."
Maybe it was because she was on high alert, but she couldn't help noticing that the receptionist behind the lobby desk did a double-take at Noah, too.
Noah was still talking, though his expression showed his discomfort. "It's... weird. It’s as if people stare because they feel they can. Because I can’t see them."
She was the one experiencing discomfort now. "Have I done that to you?"
He turned his head so she could see the smile making his lips twitch. "You're joking, right?"
Right. Because he wouldn’t know if she had. She searched her heart and her memory bank, trying to determine whether she’d stared at Noah with unbridled curiosity.
She didn’t know. She hadn’t been that self-aware in the beginning, when he’d been her cranky neighbor.
But she was aware now.
It was a short walk across the atrium. When they reached the elevator bank, she had another thought.
