She peeked through the slit in her door. “Awww, don’t look so sad.”
I tilted my head. “I’m not sad.”
She cracked her door open a bit more. “You look sad. What’s on that big, flashy mind of yours?”
I just watched her for a little while. She looked nothing like my sister. Not really. But my god, they would’ve been best friends.
“Doc?” Anna asked.
I cleared my throat. “You remind me of someone.”
A smile slinked across her face. “Oh? Someone sexy?”
“My sister.”
Her face fell. “So… not sexy.”
I just shook my head softly, but she wasn’t deterred.
“You not close with your sister or something?” she asked.
My heart shattered at her question. “Or something.”
As Anna stared up at me, I couldn’t help but wonder about what my sister’s laugh would sound like. She was so full of life. A spitfire, just like Anna. My sister had an attitude for days and didn’t care who she threw it at, and yet she was the same person who if you were ever in trouble or needed a pick-me-up, she would have helped.
My sister would do anything to make someone smile.
Those were my favorite memories of her.
“Well,” Anna said with a sigh, “thanks, Doc.”
I shook my head a bit, pulling myself out of the memories. “No thanks needed for the truth, Anna.”
She chewed on her lower lip while she looked around. “Do I have to stay in my room?”
“No,” I said as I turned away from the door and backtracked down the hallway. “Like I said, the amenities here are free for any of you to use at any point in time. Just be careful. Stay away from the windows and doors. Be aware of who’s around you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Anna said as I heard her door close behind me. “You know where Brutus is?”
That gave me pause, and I turned to see her standing with the bedroom door closed behind her. “Brutus?”
She looked up and down the hallway before coming toward me. “Yeah, Brutus. Big. Tall. Brooding. Cooks up a storm. Farts like a dog.”
I blinked. “Farts like a what?”
She waved her hand in the air. “Never mind. Know where I could find him?”
I grinned. “Looking for someone to pester?”
She grinned right back up at me. “Don’t tell me he’s not fun to pester. I’ve pissed him off twice. It’s great. I want to see how deep his forehead wrinkles go.”
I barked with laughter.Yep, just like my sister.“If you really want to annoy Brutus, eat pickles around him.”
Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July. “Pickles? Does he hate them?”
“Can’t stand them. Hates the smell. Hates the texture. Hates everything about them.”
Her lips puckered as those gears in her brain started turning. “Good to know, good to know, good. To. Know.”
