As soon as she opened her bedroom door, a small voice screamed. A man gave anooph, and something crashed to the floor. Sandra peeked her head through the opening to find Eb and Rue sheepishly staring at her.
He pointed to his daughter. “Don’t you move. I don’t want you to step on any broken glass.” Eb turned to Sandra. “Welcome back amongst the living. I was just about to make you some breakfast.”
“What day is it?” she asked.
“Tuesday.” He’d already begun picking up pieces of glass.
She’d lost three days.
“I can tell by your expression you’re thinking about work,” Eb said as he pulled a broom from a tall, skinny cupboard and started sweeping the floor. “Walt said to tell you he’s been handling everything.”
It didnotmake her feel better. The man wasn’t incompetent, but he had a unique way of handling his scheduling. Whenever he got involved, it meant a mess for her to clean up.
“Are you all better now, Miss Sandra?” Rue asked, her little legs kicking from her tall chair at the breakfast bar.
“I’m feeling much better,Miss Rue.” She wanted to get the little girl a hug, but she didn’t know if she could still spread the strep. Sandra took a step back into her room.
“Dr. Jay said you’re not contagious after twenty-four hours on the antibiotics, so you should be safe to be around.” Eb dumped the glass in a trash can. “I think I’d better vacuum your floor before anybody walks on it barefoot.” He sent a pointed glance at Sandra’s bare feet. “I’d recommend you put your slippers on.”
“I don’t have any.”
“Oh, you gotta have slippers.” Rue lifted her feet and wiggled them. “Daddy bought me some with unicorns. Do you like unicorns?”
“You sweet girl. Iloveunicorns, and I’ll bet they look perfect on you.”
Rue grinned. “They do.”
“I recommend you stay in your room—”
A soft knock on the front door stopped whatever else he was going to say. The sound of a key in the lock was followed by the door opening. Linda peeked in, her gaze falling on Sandra. There were definitely some shortcomings with the condo’s layout, something she hadn’t picked up on when she’d first seen Eb’s unit.
“You’re up,” Linda cried.
“Careful, I broke a glass,” Eb warned.
“Oh, dear.” Linda removed a ripe banana from a basket of fruit she was carrying and hurried over to hand it to Sandra. “Eat this to give you some energy, so you can shower, and we’ll get this cleaned up, so it’s safe to come out.”
A lump formed in Sandra’s throat, and she blinked at the unexpected thoughtfulness. She was used to being the one looking after the needs of people.
“Thank you.” She accepted the banana and closed her bedroom door.
* * *
“She looks like skin and bones,”Eb muttered.
“Miss Sandra doesn’t look like a skeleton,” Rue argued, and he laughed.
“She’s just lost some weight from being sick. Once she starts eating normally, she’ll be back to her usual self.” Linda set the basket next to the little girl. “Now, where did we put the vacuum?”
“Probably the second bedroom closet.” Eb frowned. “At least I used to put mine there before Rue. Now it’s in the coat closet.”
“Daddy lets me vacuum,” Rue declared.
“You’re a good helper.” Linda kissed the top of her head and headed to the other bedroom, grumbling, “I donotlike the storage in these smaller units. I wonder if we could remodel this one. Only someone who doesn’t cook would design a kitchen like this.”
“Or a bachelor who only does takeout,” Eb added with a chuckle.
“Truth!”
