Chapter 8

ANNA

“I understand,” he assures me.

“Thanks,” I reply, grateful for his assistance. I could manage without it, but it’s a relief to have it.

“You don’t need to thank me, A. I’ve always loved you. I hope you realize that. I hope you’ve always known my love for you was real.”

I nod. “I knew you did. I was so angry when you changed your number, I forgot about the feelings I once had for you,” I confess.

“And after everything with my family, I wasn’t sure if I was ever truly loved.”

He approaches me and kneels down, holding my hands in his. He gently lifts my chin with his finger, making me look at him.

“You’re the only one I’ve ever loved. I still do, to be honest. I never had another relationship—I couldn’t.”

I can’t help but smile. “You’ve had quite a few girls to choose from,” I tease.

“Sure, I had needs. I won’t deny that. But I never loved anyone else.”

We stay like that for a while, until I remember that Jim must be at my house by now—he was supposed to fix my bedroom lamp.

The lamp broke yesterday, along with the electrical outlet. He offered to fix it and said he’d come by after school. I don’t have my phone with me, so he can’t contact me.

He’s going to be worried.

“Damn,” I mutter. “Can I borrow your phone?”

He nods. I dial the number. Jim picks up after three rings.

“Hello?”

“Hey Jim, it’s Anna.”

James gives me a questioning look.

“Anna, where are you? I’m at your house, but no one’s home.”

“I know, sorry to worry you. We’re at the hospital. Olivia’s fever spiked, and her lungs—"

“I’m on my way,” he interrupts, hanging up before I can say anything else.

“Thanks,” I say, handing the phone back to James.

“Who was that?” he asks.

“That was Jim. He’s at my house fixing my lamp. I’m not great with electronics and he offered to help.”

He nods.

“I didn’t want him to worry. He’ll be here in about ten minutes.”

“Here? Why?”

“He cares about us,” is all I say, because it’s true.

Soon after, Olivia returns from her tests.

“Lovebug!” I greet her, hugging her gently.

“Mama.” Olivia looks better. Her face isn’t as pale and it seems her fever is subsiding.

“She looks better,” James observes, and I nod in agreement.

“Anna, James, could you come with me please,” the doctor requests. I give Olivia a quick kiss before following him into the hallway.

“What’s the diagnosis?” I ask.

The doctor sighs.

“We’re not certain. The MRI didn’t reveal anything specific, but the X-ray showed another case of pneumonia. I’ve started her on an antibiotic drip.

“She’s stable for now, but there must be a reason for these recurring pneumonias. I need a complete family medical history, Anna.

“Nothing in your history suggests a reason for the pneumonias, or their severity. And from what you’ve told me, lung issues don’t run in James’s family either.”

“So, you’ll need to contact your parents. Ask them if there’s anything they haven’t told you.”

“M-my…pa-r-ents?” I stammer.

“James?” the doctor turns to him.

“I don’t know of any lung-related issues in my family. My grandma died of cancer, but she was eighty-five and a lifelong smoker.

“My mom has asthma, but that’s it,” he says, shaking his head.

“Just as Anna said. I need more information. This could be more serious than pneumonia. I think we need another specialist on the case, too.

“I can confirm it’s not cancer, based on her bloodwork. But we need to find the root cause, we can’t keep relying on antibiotics.”

“Alright,” I agree.

He informs us she can go home later tonight, once her drip is finished. She needs to continue the antibiotics for four more days, and then we’ll need to return for more tests.

We go back into the room. She’s lying in her bed, a smile on her face.

“Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

“Who are you?” she asks James.

I close my eyes. “Are you sure?” I ask him, and he nods.

“Honey, remember what I told you about your daddy?”

She nods earnestly. “I have his eyes and he’s very nice and he loves us a lot, but he works in that big co—”

“Company,” I correct her.

“That, yes.”

I give James an apologetic look. I mouth, “sorry,” but in my defense, this was the closest to the truth.

“Daddy’s back, sweetie,” I tell her, looking at James.

“Hi, princess.”

Olivia starts smiling and tears fill her eyes. “Daddy?” she asks, and he nods.

“I’m back, I’m not leaving.” She sits up and reaches for him. She wraps her arms around him and starts crying.

‘Oh, baby,’ he comforts her.

“I missed you, Daddy!” she sobs. Then she whispers, or at least her version of whispering. “Mama cried while you were away. She missed you.”

“What makes you so sure?” he questions her, his love for her evident in the way he holds her. It’s as if he was born to do this.

“I overheard her when I was climbing out of—” She halts abruptly, realizing she’s confessing to something she wasn’t supposed to do.

“Olivia,” I chide, using my stern mom voice.

She turns to me, grinning widely.

“Don’t even think about it, young lady. You know you’re not supposed to climb out of your bed and over the gate.”

“I was worried, Mommy,” she explains, and I can’t help but feel a pang of guilt. I avert my gaze, but James pulls me into a comforting embrace.

“I love you, Mommy,” Olivia declares, her small hands cupping my face.

“I love you too, Lovebug.”

“Oooh…,” a voice echoes from behind us. We swivel around to find Liz and Jim standing in the doorway.

“Uncle Jim!” Olivia squeals.

“Hey, Pumpkin.”

Her face lights up as she requests a hug from them.

“Hi, Jim,” I greet, giving him a friendly wave.

“This is my daddy!” Olivia announces proudly, clambering over James’s legs.

“Hi?” he responds, a hint of shyness in his voice as he waves at the couple. Jim and Liz exchange a proud glance. They’ve been nagging me about meeting Liv’s dad, and now they finally have. I can only hope this turns out well.

“Liz is my boss at the bakery, she’s been a huge help with Olivia. I can bring her with me when I work nights. They even sold me their house for a bargain.

“I couldn’t have managed without them,” I admit, causing them to blush.

“Thank you!” James expresses his gratitude, making them blush even more.

“Trust us, it’s our pleasure. We couldn’t do anything with the house anyway, and let’s be real, Anna, you paid a fair price considering the condition it was in.”

I nod in agreement. “It was a fixer-upper. I love that place.”

“So what’s the latest?” Liz inquires.

“Same as before.”

“Pneumonia? Again?” We nod in confirmation.

“I need to confront my parents about this.”

“Your parents?” Liz’s voice rises in anger.

“Uhh…” I can feel my face draining of color.

“Hell no. I’m coming with you. I’ll give them a piece of my mind!” And just like that, Liz Stanford’s tirade begins. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

“I guess I’m not the only one who despises them,” James comments after a while. And I burst into laughter. For the first time in a long time, I genuinely laugh.

“You’ve met them?” Jim asks.

“Yes, sir. We dated for two years. They didn’t approve of me because I’m not baptized.”

I can’t help but laugh again. “As if that’s the only reason.”

“Oh yeah, and that too…,” he adds, winking at me.

“I was fifteen and he was eighteen, so you can imagine, they threatened to report him to the police for…you-know-what…,” I explain, glancing at Olivia.

“Narrow-minded A-S-S-H-O-L-E-S!” Liz shouts.

“Ow!” Olivia exclaims, covering her ears. “Lizzy!”

“Sorry,” Liz apologizes. “When can she go home?”

“Once the IV is done.”

They nod in understanding.

“Then it’s time for dinner. I didn’t get a chance to cook, but if you want to stay, I have some pasta left.”

Jim and Liz’s faces light up. Liz nudges Jim and gives him a knowing look. I recognize that look—it’s the look of Elizabeth Stanford with a scheme.

“We’d love to, but we need to get back to the bakery. We haven’t finished this weekend’s delivery.”

I can tell there’s more to it than that. Knowing my duty as her employee, I respond immediately. “That’s a massive delivery. I’ll come help tomorrow.”

I know she needs my assistance, but she shakes her head.

“No, you stay home. You haven’t slept in twenty-four hours. You need to rest. You worked the night shift at the café and then came straight to the bakery. Rest, or you’ll fall ill.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m fine,” I assure her.

James shakes his head. “I’ll talk to her,” he promises Liz.

“Good luck, she’s stubborn.” And with that, they bid us goodbye.