Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 91434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Hey, Momma,” I greet her, walking into her hospital room and seeing her sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. Her eyes come up from the book in front of her to me. Her long brown hair pulled back and tied in a bun at the nape of her neck.
Her face immediately transforms into a scowl. “What are you doing here?” she asks, then picks up her phone. “It’s not even three.”
“I’m doing amazing, Mom.” I ignore her snark. “How are you doing on this fabulous day?”
“Everleigh Ann Bishops”—she uses my full name—“do not sass me.”
“I’m not sassing anything.” I put my purse down on the hospital tray table before walking to her and kissing her cheek.
“Why are you here?” my mother asks again.
“Because my shift is over. May showed up for her shift from two to six, so why would I still be there?”
“To make sure she doesn’t need anything.” My mother closes the book she was reading and puts it on her lap.
“Mom, all the donuts have been made and placed out. Worst case, she has to make a fresh pot of coffee. I’m sure she can handle that.”
“An owner never leaves,” she tries, and I hold up my hand.
“She’s fine. She’s worked for you for the past four years,” I point out and raise my eyebrows. “You hired her and trained her.”
“You have to keep on top of them.” She starts in on me, then stops when Oliver comes into the room. He’s dressed in blue slacks and a white button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and you can see some ink on his forearm.
“Hello, ladies,” he says, nodding at me and then looking over at my mother. “Maddie, how are we doing?”
“I told you before I’m fine, and I’ll tell you again. I’m fine.” She turns to stare at him.
“Well, the results of all your tests have come back,” he says. I can tell my mother is about to say something else, so he puts his hand up to stop her from talking. “I didn’t say it was all normal.” She rolls her eyes. “But nothing has changed since you’ve been here. So I’m going to go ahead and discharge you tomorrow.”
“Oh, come on,” my mother groans, “my ass is getting numb from sitting in this chair.”
“And then it comes to the next part,” he continues, and even I know she won’t like this. “Six weeks, no work. I want you up and walking a couple of times a day, and then we can see how that goes.”
“No.” My mother shakes her head, but I do notice she hasn’t jumped out of her chair, something she would have done if she was actually feeling one hundred percent. “Absolutely not.”
“Madeline.” He says her full name and if my mother’s head could spin around, it would. “I don’t think you understand what just happened. You could have died.” He takes a minute. “How would you feel if you left Everleigh?” He uses me as a secret weapon, and if I could high-five him, I think I would. “Now, think of that when you are arguing with me.” The glare is on point. “I know how hard this will be for you, but you have to fucking rest.” His voice gets tight. “Excuse my language.” He looks over at me, and I just shake my head, trying not to laugh. “Now, you are going to listen to me and do everything I tell you to do because no one wants to lose you, no matter how stubborn you are.” He about hisses out the last part. “I’ll be back later if you have any questions.” He looks at her one more time before turning and practically storming out of the room.
I wait to make sure he’s gone before I turn to look at my mother, her eyes staring at the empty doorway. “What was that all about?”
“He’s being dramatic.” She plays it off. “He’s always been like that.”
“How do you know him so”—I fold my arms over my chest—“well?”
“We knew each other in high school,” my mother relays softly, and my mouth hangs open. “He left to go to medical school. He’s been in and out of town since then. A couple of years ago, he decided he wanted to come back to town.”
“Are you two”—I point at her, then point at the door—“like, a thing?” I’m still confused at the scene that just played out, and I wonder if I should have disappeared when they were having their discussion.
“Don’t be silly.” She avoids looking at me. “How is the bakery?”
“Deflection at its finest,” I retort, and instead of pressing her further, I tell her about the bakery. I stay until it’s after dinnertime, only leaving when she is getting into bed. “See you tomorrow.” I kiss her cheek before walking out and toward the elevator.