Chapter 145
Chapter 144: Learning What Has Changed
Sedona’s POV
It rang twice.
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“Hello?” Her voice, careful-she wouldn’t recognize the number, which was a new one, the Seattle number I’d been using since coming home.
“Mrs. Peterson,” I said. “It’s Sedona p>
A pause.
In the pause: everything. The months since I’d left, the things that had happened in that house in those months, the patience of a woman who had been handling more than she expected and still not leaving.
“Sedona.” Her voice changed-not dramatically, but the carefulness from talking to a potential stranger had shifted into something warmer, the warmth of someone who had been hoping for this call for a long time and was relieved it had arrived. “Are you-are you all right p>
“I’m better,” I said. “Much better. I am no longer in the hospital I’m at home, with my family. I’m in treatment and it’s going well.” I paused. “I should have called sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you p>
“You were ill,” she said, defending me, alrea. “You were very ill p>
“I was,” I agreed with her trying not to make a big deal out of it “But I should have-Nick-” I stopped. “How is he p>
She told me.
She told me everything that had happened since I had left. She told me that the gives haven’t recurred since nick left the hospital after the hospital had prescribed the right drug for him.
She mentioned that she had ensured it was followed to the latter. He was eating properly, though she noted with the specific emphasis of someone making sure I understood the noting that this had required attention, that the dietary specifics I’d maintained were things she’d had to actively manage.
His school report had been positive. He’d started a soccer program on Thursdays, which he liked.
He asked about me. She didn’t say it with commentary. Just said it, plainly, the fact of it.
He still asked.
Something that had been tight in my chest for three months released by a degree, feeling a lot relieved than I realized.
“Is he available to come to the phone?” I asked.
A pause.
It was a different kind of pause from the first one. The first pause had been the recalibration of receiving an unexpected call. This one was the pause of someone who had a piece of information and was deciding
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how to deliver it. “Catherine is here,” she said. The neutral tone-precise, professional, delivering a fact without editorializing. “She arrived early this morning p> I looked at the rectangle of morning light on the wall. Early this morning. On a weekday. At a house that wasn’t hers. Claim I thought about Cameron’s call from the party he’s in Seattle, he’s been there for weeks.* Logan was in Seattle and Catherine was in his house early on a weekday morning, and Mrs. Peterson was telling me this in the tone of someone who knew how this sounded but didn’t want to be the one that hid it from me because she thought that I deserved to know. “I see,” I said. “Nick is getting ready for school,” Mrs. Peterson said, continuing in the same neutral register as she filled me in “He won’t be available for another twenty minutes or so p> “I don’t want to disrupt his morning,” I said. “Could you-” I paused. “Could you let him know I called? And ask him to call me when he’s home from school? I’ll give you the number p> “Of course,” she said. I gave her the number. She repeated it back exactly, which was Mrs. Peterson’s way of doing things “Mrs. Peterson,” I said. “Yes p> “Thank you. For maintaining everything. For keeping the standards.” I paused. “For looking after him p> A brief silence. Then, in a voice that was more touched and fonder than before m: “He’s a remarkable child,” she said. “He’s been-it’s been a complicated few months. But he’s remarkable p> “He is,” I agreed. “I’m glad you’re better, Sedona.” The warmth was complete, entirely without performance. “I’ve been-we’ve all been hoping. But with no use, we could only pray that you get better p> “Thank you,” I said. And then, she added carefully, her tone lower than usual, to avoid being eavesdropped on probably, “I’ll make sure he calls. I’ll make sure he has the number.” A pause. “I’ll make sure it’s him who calls, Sedona p> I understood what that meant. She was telling me she’d handle it. That the call would reach Nick directly, that she would be the one to give him the number, that the chain of transmission would not include a stop where Catherine would interfere in it or neither would she ask her permission before giving Nick my number. I’ll make sure it’s him 23 Learning WherHas Changed who calls. Not: I’ll pass on the message. Not: I’ll let someone know. Him. Specifically. “Thank you,” I said again, with the full weight of it We said goodbye and I put the phone down on the nightstand and lay back in the morning light.l Clarm The rectangle on the wall had moved slightly, the way it always moved, tracking the sun’s progress slowly like it had done for the past twenty years. I kept my eyes on it as I thought about what I had learned this morning. Nick was getting ready for school which aligned with the routine that we had followed diligently. And the more important one. Despite Catherine’s words, He asked about me. Still. Sure it might not be everyday but he did remember me and that was something and I frowned hard at something else. I knew Catherine was there. I knew she had picked the call on the landline but I had assumed or presumed that it was once and our call had been coincidental but hearing that she had practically all but moved in, it showed that things between her and Logan was going strong and Logan was truly just doing this to have peace of mind. Comments LUCK DRAW > す Florence A passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.