“One more word and I promise you I’ll start ripping out the plants in Mom’s garden.”
Aubrey braked hard at the street signal and fixed a glare on Adrienne. “You don’t mean that!”
Adrienne nodded and snapped her fingers. “Make me mad and the lilacs are out of there.”
“Mom won’t let you!”
“I’ll do it while she’s sleeping.”
“You’re evil.”
Adrienne just grinned.
“Man, I’m glad you’re here,” Aubrey said.
“Me, too.”
“The dogwood tree is off limits.”
“There are no promises,” Adrienne said. “Nothing is safe.”
#
They stopped at the hospital to visit their parents, but both her father and mother were sleeping even though it was the middle of the day. Her father lay on the bed with an IV strapped to his arm. With his shock of white hair and graying skin, he looked corpse-like. Her mom dozed in the chair beside him, her hair hiding her face.
“Let’s not wake them,” Aubrey whispered.
Adrienne nodded. “Take me to my apartment.”
“Are you sure?”
“Seb will be at the office. If I want to pick up some clothes and my car without drama, right now is the perfect time.”
“Seems cowardly,” Aubrey said.
“Keep talking and your tomato plants are toast.”
Aubrey pressed her lips together as they headed down the hall.
“I know I need to talk to him,” Adrienne conceded, “but the thing is, I don’t know what to say.”
“Why can’t you tell him his corn has been shucked?”
Adrienne elbowed her sister.
Aubrey’s grin faded as she nodded at a man in scrubs with a stethoscope striding toward them. “Dad’s doctor.”
Adrienne wondered how a man dressed in baby blue could command such presence.
“Dr. Lazlo.” Aubrey went to meet him. “Can you tell me any more about my father?”
Dr. Lazlo consulted his tablet. “I’m sorry, no. We should know more after his brain scan. He’s sleeping now, which is good. Sleep is when our bodies heal.” He smiled at Adrienne, prompting her to put out her hand and introduce herself.
He took her hand and held it a minute too long, making her wonder if he’d noticed her wedding ring. Maybe she should have had him shake her left hand.
“He’ll be glad you’re here,” Dr. Lazlo said as he shot a glance at their dad’s room over his shoulder. “They’ll both be.”
“I’m glad I’m here, too,” she said, although just then she heard a familiar voice and her heart stopped for a moment. “Excuse me.” She followed Nick’s voice to an open door.
