He was gone.
Lois sighed. She sat back. Her blouse was caught up in the arm of the chair. She struggled with it for a second. Shiloh leaned over to help.
“Thank you, Shiloh. You’re a sweetheart.”
“Did you see your friends down there?”
“Oh, yeah. I made sure they all met Cary. I’ve been telling them all about him. Isn’t he handsome in his uniform?”
“He is,” Shiloh said.
“He looks like his father.”
Shiloh did the genetic math for a second and decided that was possible. “I’m impressed by how many friends you’ve made. I’d probably just hide in my room.”
“There are some good old girls here. I’m going to miss them.” Lois frowned.
“Do you want your iced tea?”
“I do want it, thank you.”
Shiloh handed her the tea.
“Cary says I could stay here,” Lois said. “But he says I’d have to sell my house to pay for it.”
“Mmm,” Shiloh said, listening.
“But what if I needed to go home? And what if... well, you never know when someone is going to need a place to stay.”
Shiloh nodded.
“Youknow how it is,” Lois said. “You live with your mother. Family takes care of each other.”
“I think Cary wants to take care ofyou,” Shiloh said, hoping she wasn’t speaking out of turn.
“He’s a good boy.”
“He’s a good man. You should be proud of yourself to have raised a son like that. And you should tell me your secret—my son is apill.”
Lois laughed. “No. He’s a sweet boy. Shiloh, will you close these curtains?”
Shiloh got up.
“Do you think it’s true,” Lois asked, “that if I sold my house, I could stay here?”
“I don’t know,” Shiloh said, shuttering the blinds. “But I trust Cary.”
Cary’s hat came back on for the short walk to the car.
“Sorry,” he said. “That was a long visit.”
“It was a solid visit,” Shiloh said. “I hate when people visit elderly people and are on their way out the whole time. That’s how we always were with my great-grandmother. And Ryan’s grandpa.”
They got in the car. Cary dropped his cap in the back seat. “Is it okay if I change before we go out?”
“Is it against the rules for you to be out in your uniform?”
“No. It just draws attention.”
