Chapter 17

Sandy braced her hand on the wall of the bathroom, closing her eyes for a moment. The terrible nausea she was feeling was subsiding a little bit—throwing up had helped. She groaned, wincing from the swirling feeling of sickness that filled her body.

What is making me sick like this? she wondered. I must have eaten something bad. It feels like it just came out of nowhere.

Another wave of nausea swept over her, and she crouched down at the toilet again.

A couple of minutes later, she was feeling better. She cleaned her mouth out and washed her hands, wanting to feel clean. The soap smelled of lavender, and that was soothing.

I should go lie down,she thought. Her body felt weak from throwing up, and she hoped laying still would eliminate the rest of her nausea.

She made herself a cup of peppermint tea and lay down on the couch in the living room. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. Why am I so sick? she wondered. What was it that I ate? Daniel and Tommy aren't sick. Did I eat something they didn't?

She heard footsteps treading along the hallway, interrupting her thoughts, and in the next moment, Tommy stepped into the living room. "Sandy? I—"

He paused in the doorway when he saw her lying on the couch. His eyebrows lifted in concern.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"

She forced herself to put a brave face on it, smiling and nodding. "Yes, I'm fine. My stomach is just upset."

He winced, nodding. "I'm sorry."

For a moment, she wondered why he had come into the living room, and then she remembered. "I'm sorry, Tommy, I know I was supposed to help you with your math homework."

She'd seen him frowning over his homework the night before, and he'd confessed that he was still playing catch-up as a transfer student. In addition to that, he had a whole bunch of tests coming up before the start of winter break. She had been worried that he was feeling overwhelmed but didn't want to ask for help, so she had insisted on helping him. And now here she was backing out of the help she'd offered to give him!

"It's okay, don't worry about it. It should be okay."

She winced. "Well, hopefully I'll feel better soon and—"

At that moment, they heard the sound of the front door opening. The familiar bellow of Daniel calling, "I'm home!" reached their ears, and she smiled.

"We're in the living room!" she called. Usually she greeted her husband with a kiss at the door, but today she wasn't feeling up for it. A moment later, Daniel appeared in the living room doorway, grinning—but his smile vanished when he saw his wife lying on the couch.

"Sweetheart! What's wrong?"

"I'm fine!" She waved her hand through the air dismissively, smiling at him as he came to kneel down next to her. "My stomach is just a little upset, that's all." She left out the part where she had spent almost fifteen minutes in the bathroom.

Daniel frowned in concern. "Can I get you anything? Tea?"

She laughed and inclined her head toward the tea steaming on the coffee table beside her. "I beat you to it. I'm fine."

"What about bread or something? Toast? Toast with butter? Toast without butter?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "I don't need anything, sweetheart." Then she was struck with an idea. "But there is something you could do! I was supposed to help Tommy with his math homework. Would you be able to help him instead?"

"I'll try." Daniel winked at Tommy. "I won't be nearly as good at it as Sandy, but I'll definitely give it a shot."

Tommy grinned at him. "Thank you! Even a little help would be great. Math is not my favorite thing."

The two of them settled down at the kitchen table. Through the doorway, Sandy could see them sitting side by side, their heads held close together. She watched them fondly as Tommy laughed, throwing his head back over a joke that Daniel had made. Her husband grinned, gesturing in the air as he kept talking.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but they seemed to be having a good time. After a while, their focus became more intent, and she saw Tommy nodding and taking notes as he listened to the older man's words.

Her heart swelled as she watched them, feeling a surge of love for both of them.

They get along so well, she thought. Daniel is kind and thoughtful, and Tommy is such a sweet kid. I'm feeling more certain than ever that I'd like to adopt him.

She smiled, closing her eyes for a moment. Images of a happy home with the three of them in it filled her mind. She opened her eyes and lifted her head again to take a sip of tea, then laid her head back down.

Her stomach was feeling better, but she felt drowsy. She closed her eyes again and, listening to the low murmur of Daniel and Tommy's voices, she fell asleep.

* * *

Wesley's thumb hovered over the screen of his phone. He was standing in the middle of his kitchen at home, wondering whether or not he should give Josie a call.

I really like her, he told himself, remembering vividly the flash of her hair in the sun and the warmth of her smile. His heart lifted up at the thought. And I think she likes me too, but—

After she had pulled away from their almost-kiss the other day, he wasn't sure where he stood. Would she like to keep seeing him in that way?

I don't want to pursue her if she's not interested in it, he thought. But if she just needs some time, and she is interested, I'm more than happy to be patient.

He shuffled back and forth on his feet. He remembered how she'd told him "no" when he first asked her out, and then changed her mind. So I think she does like me, he concluded. But all of this probably feels like scary new territory for her.

He tapped his foot against the floor, still not dialing her number. He walked over to his coffee maker and poured himself a steaming cup of coffee. He took an invigorating sip of the dark liquid, trying to convince himself to just bite the bullet and call her right that second.

"Do it, Cliff," he said out loud to himself, and picked up his phone. He dialed Josie's number before he could hesitate again. He stood there listening to it ring, feeling his heart beat faster.

"Hey, Wesley."

He smiled as soon as he heard her voice. "Hey! How are you?"

"I'm doing well." She sounded a little breathless. "How about yourself?"

"Oh, fine, fine. I was wondering if I could see you today." He held his breath as he waited for her response.

After a short pause, she said, "I would like that very much." He grinned. "Would you be okay with coming over here? Paige is doing a bunch of baking for Alissa Lewis's wedding shower today, and I want to make sure I'm home, in case she needs something. Or, you know, in case she starts the place on fire."

In the background, he could hear Paige call out, "Hey!", sounding amused, and Josie laughed.

He grinned. "Sounds great to me. I'd be happy to go over there. I'll be there in twenty minutes?"

"Perfect."

They hung up, and he took a deep breath, feeling happy and relieved. She does want to see me, he thought. This is great.

He got into his car and drove over to Josie's apartment. He rang the buzzer downstairs, and Josie let him into the building. She greeted him at the front door of her apartment.

"Come on in." She was wearing leggings and an oversized white sweater. There was an added sparkle to her eyes and a flush to her cheeks, and he thought she looked lovely.

"Hey, Paige!" He waved to the teenager, who was busying herself in the center of the kitchen, surrounded by a whole army of baking ingredients and mixing bowls. "Congratulations on getting hired to make cookies for the shower. That's amazing."

Paige flipped her hair back from her face, streaking flour across her cheek, and grinned at him. "Thanks. I've got a lot to do, though. It's kind of overwhelming."

Wesley smiled back at her, happy that she seemed to be getting used to opening up more to people, just like her sister.

"Don't worry, we'll stay out of your hair," Josie told her, winking.

"I'm sure you will," her sister replied, winking back, and then Josie flushed a little. Wesley wanted to grin, but he kept his face expressionless.

"You want some tea or something? Coffee?" she asked him.

"I just had some coffee," he said. "Tea sounds nice."

"We've also got some killer juice," Paige offered, and Josie laughed.

A few minutes later, Wesley and Josie were sitting on the couch in the living room together, sipping mugs of cinnamon tea with milk and sweetheart added.

"This is really delicious," he said eagerly, taking another sip. "I never would have thought that cinnamon tea would taste so good."

She smiled, looking pleased. "I'm glad you like it. It's the milk and sweetheart that make it. I think cinnamon is actually the most relaxing tea."

For a moment they sat smiling at each other, and then Wesley swallowed, feeling his heart rate pick up.

"Josie, there's something I want to talk to you about," he said slowly.

She blinked, suddenly looking nervous. "Yes?"

"It's nothing bad," he assured her hurriedly. "At least, I hope it isn't." He smiled at her.

Come on, Wesley, he thought. Just be honest with her, that's usually the best policy.

He took a deep breath and let the words spill out of him. "I like you. Very much. I'm interested in you romantically. If you're not interested in me, then I'll back off and stop pursuing you, and I'd be happy to be your friend and still see you sometimes. I'll still like you no matter what. You're a great person."

She flushed, looking down at the mug of tea in her hands. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he wondered what she was going to say.

"I—I guess you're thinking of the other day," she said, her words broken awkwardly. "It wasn't that I didn't want to kiss you. But I just… well, I'm not sure it's a good idea. There's just a lot of things to think about, and I don't want to rush into anything. I want to give myself time to think things over."

"I understand." He watched her face carefully. She wasn't looking up at him, and it was hard for him to get a read on her emotions. "You did want me to, didn't you?"

She looked up, blushing. "I did." Her nervous expression broke suddenly into a grin, and he grinned back at her. "I definitely did. I like you a lot too, Wesley. I find you very attractive, and I… well, I have romantic feelings toward you too."

His grin softened, something happy and warm filling his chest, and he realized that his heart was racing a little. She gazed up into his eyes, and he found himself leaning toward her. She tilted her face up toward his, and he lowered his head—but just before their lips could meet, a loud cry of distress rose up from the kitchen.