Someone knocked on Leigh’s bedroom door. Her eyes fluttered open. She had meant to lie down and rest for a bit. Instead, she’d ended up on her stomach, fully clothed, stretched across the bed. When had she dozed off? Must have been somewhere between kicking herself for letting Jesse take her to the doctor in the first place and feeling guilty from that look on his face when she told him she had to keep it professional.
“Leigh, you awake?” Jo called softly.
“Yeah, I’m up.” She sat up and stretched. A drool spot darkened her bedspread. Lovely. Grabbing a tissue from the nightstand, she wiped her mouth. Her toes felt cramped. She hadn’t even taken off her flats.
The door opened, and Jo came in, holding a Burger King bag. She rarely bought fast food, which was a true guilty pleasure for Leigh. She must have thought her poor daughter could use a pick-me-up.
“I hope you’re hungry.” Jo held up the bag and a drink carrier with two large sodas.
“I could eat.”
“Good.”
She brought the food to the small round table under Leigh’s window and unpacked it. Leigh kicked off her flats, and padded barefoot across the hardwood. That heavenly, greasy, salty smell made her drool again. What was she, part bulldog? She plopped down ungracefully on the cushioned chair.
Jo set a box of fries and a soda in front of her before taking the other seat across the table. She still wore her scrubs from working in the animal clinic, but of course she had removed as much pet hair as she could before entering the house. “You’ve had quite the morning, haven’t you?”
“You could say that. Has Dad got the car running?”
“I don’t know. But I can take you to work tomorrow if needed.”
Leigh sighed and bit into her Whopper, savoring the beefy, picklely, oniony goodness. She just wished her car was working. It wasn’t a bragworthy vehicle, but it meant at least some independence. At this rate, she was destined to be an old maid living with her parents. Then she chuckled. Old maid. Old in itself would be a miracle.
“That was very kind of Jesse to pick you up and bring you home.” Jo squeezed some ketchup from a packet onto her burger wrapper. “I hope you thanked him.”
“I did.” Or did she? She couldn’t recall everything she’d said, but she’d hung on to his every word, had seen how proud he was of his home, and how much he loved his grandpa. But this was the guy who had caused mental anguish for several of her clients. From their point of view, he was still a spawn of Satan. Hopefully, he would prove them wrong.
“Leigh?”
She snapped out of her reverie and looked up at Jo. Her happy face had sunk into her worried mother expression. “I asked you what the doctor said.”
“Oh, sorry. He said he couldn’t find anything obvious. He wants to do an MRI just in case, but he thinks it’s normal.”
“Normal? The headaches, light and noise sensitivity? What’s normal about that?”
“Migraines, for one. Lots of people have them.”
“We should get a second opinion.”
Leigh set down her burger and picked up her soda. “No. Not yet. Don’t go hypochondriac on me.”
“But aren’t you concerned?” Jo’s lips pinched together as though she wanted to say more.
“Sure, but I’m more worried about you being worried. That’s always been worse than me being sick.”
“Don’t say that. I can’t help but worry. I’m your mother. You know, when you have kids…” Mom stopped short and grabbed her soda cup, drowning the rest of that statement with a slurp of Diet Coke.
“We both know how likely that is.” Leigh’s burger lost its appeal and sat heavy in her throat, thanks to the emotion clogging it. She wiped her mouth and left her room, grabbing her cell phone from the charging cable on the way.
“Honey, I’m sorry!” Jo called after her. “Don’t you want your lunch?”
“I’ll finish it later. I just need to be alone for a bit. Is that okay with you?” Leigh yelled as she stormed down the hall.
As soon as she stepped out the front door, onto their tiny porch, her eyes welled with guilty tears. She plopped down on the hard, sun-warmed concrete and pushed her hair from her forehead. There was only one person she could air her dirty laundry with. She dialed her up.
Two rings later, Avery answered with a curt, “Yeah?”
“Girl, can we talk?”
“Hon, it’s a bad time now. I’ve got a lady stuck in a bridesmaid dress and another arguing that her shoes are ecru and not eggshell. How about you come over here? They might need counseling by the time they’re done.”
Leigh laughed. “Okay, maybe I can get Mum to drop me off on her way back to work. My car is down for the count at the moment.”
“Great. See ya!”
When Leigh came back inside, Jo was in the kitchen, wrapping up their food. She glanced at Leigh but said nothing, her jaw set in a tight line.
“I’m sorry, Mum. I was just tired and stressed today. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
Jo’s shoulders relaxed. Then she smiled and hugged Leigh tight. “It’s okay, love. I have to remember you’re a grown lady now. But you’ll always be my little girl.”
“I know. Hey, can you drop me off at Bride Pride?”
“Yes. Do you want me to pick you up?”
“No, Avery can probably bring me home, but I think I’ll eat that burger on the way.”
Mom smiled, grabbed the bag, and her car keys. “That’s my girl.”