“No.”
“We’re going to do a little acupuncture and release some of the good chi in you. And then we’ll talk about attainable goals for beyond your wellness sabbatical. Sound good?”
“You know... it kind of does,” Lorna admitted.
Micah grinned. “Montreal will take you to the studio for your body meridian assessment.” He rang a little bell, and the next moment, Montreal entered the office.
Lorna hopped out of the beanbag—wearing appropriate clothing to Bodhi did seem to help her mobility—said goodbye to Micah, and followed Montreal out. “Have you ever done acupuncture, Montreal?”
“Many times,” he said cheerfully.
“For what?”
“Anxiety. Same as you.” He smiled at her. “I see that you braided your hair today.”
“So?”
“So, first came the yoga pants. Then the braid instead of the bun. I don’t know, Lorna, I think you’re loosening up and letting go. After this assessment, I predict you will really let go.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“My advice? Go with the flow,” Montreal said, and practically shoved her into the body meridian studio.
The “assessment” was conducted by an overweight womanwith gray hair who remained mostly silent as she probed Lorna’s body through a thin cotton robe. When she’d finished probing, she made several notes, then announced, without preamble, “You have a lot of bad energy.”
“I do?”
“You’re very tense,” she said with a grimace. “It will require alotof needles.”
“I don’t think I like that,” Lorna said, alarmed.
“You’ll be fine. Sign here, here, and here,” the woman added, pointing to three places on the white iPad.
Lorna hesitated.
“Sign,” the woman said firmly. “Trust me, you need this treatment.”
“Okay, fine,” Lorna said. She signed with the rubber-tipped pen.
Every time the woman—Sarah, she finally said—inserted a needle, Lorna yelped. Sarah was right. She was tense. And every time Lorna yelped, Sarah sighed as if she was being intentionally squeamish. Lorna fully intended to report her to Montreal for being less than sympathetic about this treatment.
But forty-five minutes later, when Montreal came to get her for her vision boarding, Lorna felt as easy and free as the wind. “How was it?” he asked.
Lorna laughed at the question.
Montreal’s brows rose with surprise. “We have a winner,” he said.
“We’re all winners, Montreal.”
“Okay,” he said. “This is a new side of you. She wasn’t serving drinks in there, was she?”
Lorna laughed again.
Amazingly, by the time she made it home, she was still feeling light and breezy. Like something heavy had been lifted fromher. She wasn’t entirely sure where the lightness came from, but honestly, she didn’t care. The feeling was too good to question.
She walked Aggie around the block and then tossed a ball for her until Bean came home. She told him where they were going, emphasizing the pecan pie.
But Bean was confused. “Was the drugstore mad at you?” He was moving some Precious Moments figurines to their correct villages.
