Sanders needs pickup at 3:15.
Chicken in the fridge needs to be cooked tonight.
Did I remember to sign that field trip form for the school trip in January?
I make a mental note to check on the school website during my lunch break. I only have to get through today, and then I'm off for two weeks for the holidays.
The office around me buzzes with phones ringing and the low murmur of clients in the waiting area.
Mrs. Kletchens sits in her usual spot, thumbing through an outdated People magazine, waiting for her quarterly policy review.
My phone vibrates with a text from my sister, but before I can check it, a shadow falls across my keyboard.
"Oh my god, Lane! Congrats on your son!"
I freeze mid-keystroke, looking up to find Hannah, ourtwenty-three-year-old receptionist, bouncing anxiously beside my desk. Her enthusiasm radiates like heat waves, phone clutched in her manicured hand.
"Excuse me? What did my son do to earn a congrats?"
My entire body tightens. Something about her excitement is off, like walking into a surprise party when you thought it was a regular Tuesday.
Hannah laughs, her blond ponytail swinging as she leans closer. "You don't know? He's famous! Everyone's talking about him right now."
My pulse picks up speed.Famous? Sanders?The word crashes against my mental image of my awkward nine-year-old trying to use words he saw on a meme, but doesn't really know what they mean.
"I—what? What are you talking about?"
Hannah taps frantically at her phone screen, sliding into the chair beside my desk. "He's all over social media this morning! Look!"
She thrusts her phone under my nose, and there's Sanders, my Sanders, his earnest face filling the screen. He's sitting in what looks like a hospital room, next to a thin boy with an IV in his arm. Their heads are bent together, laughing at something on a phone.
"That video has like twenty thousand views already," Kayla says, swiping to another screen. "And this one's at thirty-five thousand!"
Thirty-five thousand people have seen my child?
The second clip shows Sanders talking directly to the camera. "...and Luke needs a kidney transplant, but his family can't afford to stay in Durham for the recovery time after surgery at Duke. So me and my parents are starting our #SaveChristmas challenge to help Lukeget a new kidney!"
My fingers hover uncertainly above my keyboard while my brain struggles to process.
Why is my son in a hospital room? When did he make these videos? And what the hell is he volunteering us for?
"He's such a sweet kid," Kayla gushes. "Everyone in the comments is saying how awesome your family is for helping this boy."
I force a quick smile and lean back, fighting to keep my expression neutral while my intestines twist into knots.
"Is this some challenge thing? He was telling me something about it Saturday morning before he left to go to his dad's."
