She nodded.
Having gotten Calvin settled, he finally looked at her. “You haven’t slept all night, have you?”
Her eyes were heavy, and her energy drained. She must look as tired as she felt. “A little here and there, but no, not really. I’m so relieved you’re here,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do if he needed the ER.”
“If it comes to that, we’ll get him there, but I think we can handle it.”
She didn’t realize how worried she’d been. Tears threatened to spill over. He took her hand. “Come on, let’s give him a minute to rest.” He hauled her up and led her to the couch.
They heard Cal sneeze and then say, “When I sneeze in the air, it’s like it’s raining.”
Alex laughed out loud, and Julia couldn’t contain a giggle of her own.
“That kid’s a walking petri dish,” Alex said.
Julia was so tired, she was verging on giddy. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Being tired makes me emotional.”
“Hey,” he said. “He’s going to be okay. Why don’t you take a quick nap, and I’ll keep watch?”
“I’m not sure I could fall asleep,” she said, even as her eyelids fluttered shut. She’d been wrong about that and woke sometime later.
When she opened her eyes, Alex sat in a chair opposite the couch, watching her, his expression unreadable. Was it disapproval that she’d had to call him? Did he think she was a horrible mother?
“He’s doing better,” Alex said. “Temp’s down to one hundred, and he kept down some juice. He’s sleeping now.”
A tear escaped. “Thank you,” she said. “Again.”
“I don’t know how you do this all by yourself,” he said.
“My mom’s usually around to help. She’s on a cruise and won’t be back until right before Thanksgiving. But, yeah, it’s hard. Do you have to work today?”
“No.” He heaved a frustrated sigh. “My IA is taking their sweet time clearing me to return to work.”
“I thought the police dropped the charges.”
“They did,” he said. “In fact, after all the interviews, they not only dropped my charges, they arrested the jackass at the bar for assaulting my friend. Sweet justice.”
“You don’t seem too happy about it.”
“Oh, I’m glad. It’s just that the suspension caused me to miss a promotion exam I’d been prepping for. Now I have to wait six months for another shot.”
“That’s not fair,” she said.
He shrugged.
“Assuming misery loves company, I have to sell the condo,” she said. It had nothing to do with anything, but for some unknown reason, she wanted him to know.
“What? Why?”
“I can’t afford it anymore. The social media business was meant to be a second income. My husband’s being the first. It’s growing, but not fast enough. And since it’s myonlyincome now…”
“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry about your husband, by the way. When did he die?”
“It was a car accident over a year ago. I’ve come to terms with it. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but I doubt Cal will remember much of him.”
“Sometimes the memories make it harder.”
“What do you mean?”
