“Happy now?” I ask instead, and she bites her lip, gaze dropping tomylips just long enough to make me wonder if she had the same thought.
“Look at you,” Theo says to Sarah. “You made him break a rule. Might be the first time ever.”
“Why did you come here again?” I joke, looking at Theo.
He throws a French fry at me, which I retrieve from my sleeve and pop into my mouth, just to prove a point. “Because my brother got married and is too busy to hang out with me anymore, so I decided I had to go to where he was. Also, we need to figure out what to do about Holly. I was thinking we golf on Thursday? He needs the distraction.”
“We can’t golf this close to playoffs.”
“The driving range, then,” Theo says.
“What’s the matter with Holly?” Sarah asks.
“Charlie’s in Canada with her grandparents,” I say. “He doesn’t love it when she’s gone.”
“He tends to mope and think about Claire when he’s alone,” Theo says. “Which I get. We just try to keep him busy.”
“Hey, Sarah?” A nurse appears at the edge of the waiting room. “She’s gonna start pushing soon. She wanted me to come get you.” The nurse’s eyes move from me to Theo, then back to me again, widening the slightest bit. Sometimes I forget how truly identical we are until things like this happen.
Sarah crams the last bite of her burger into her mouth. “I’m totally coming,” she says. “I’ll be right there.” She makes quick work of cleaning up her trash and wiping off her hands. “I’ll text you updates,” she says to me. “But it shouldn’t be long now.” She reaches over and takes my hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “Thank you for being here with me.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” I say.
She stands and moves to the edge of the waiting area. “Thanks for the food, Theo.”
He lifts a hand in acknowledgement, then I watch as she hurries down the hall, not realizing my brother is watching me the entire time.
“You really do seem like you’re married,” he says as soon as she’s gone. “You’re just…easy with each other.”
“It’s always been like that,” I say. “From the very start. Even before we got married.”
When Theo finishes his food, he stands and gathers up the last of the trash. “I’m gonna go wash my hands and find something to drink. You want anything?”
“I’ve got water,” I say. “I’m good.”
I watch as he steps into the hall, but then he immediately turns and comes back into the waiting area, swearing over and over again.
“What is it?” I ask. “What happened?”
He looks around the room, then moves into the back corner, stepping into the foot of space in between a snackmachine with an Out of Order sign taped to the front and the wall. There’s a fake plant sitting a few feet away, and Theo grabs it, pulling it in front of his hiding spot. For being such a big dude, it’s surprisingly effective.
But why is he hiding?
“Theo?” a woman says from behind me.
I turn, and suddenly I’m face-to-face with a woman in navy blue scrubs, a nurse’s badge looped around her neck. I haven’t seen Rebecca Bradley since high school, but there’s no mistaking her. I could never forget the only woman my brother has ever loved.
“I’m Carter,” I say, and her shoulders drop the slightest bit, maybe from relief, maybe from disappointment. “Hi, Rebecca.”
“Hey.” She looks around the room. “He is here, isn’t he? My friend said there were two of you. I thought there was no possible way, but then she said her patient was married to a hockey player and some of his teammates were here and…” She shakes her head. “I mean, there aren’t that many hockey players who are identical twins.”
“Yeah, we’re the only ones,” I say, wanting to punch my brother for hiding instead of just facing this woman. “At least, in the NHL.”
She lifts her hands to her cheeks. “So, he’s here? My friend wasn’t seeing things?”
“He’s here,” I say. “He just…stepped out for a minute.”
She nods, then lets out a little chuckle. “I knew he played in Atlanta, but it’s such a big city. I just didn’t think…” She shakes her head. “Anyway. It’s good to seeyouagain.”
