“So, I, uh—” I closed my eyes, pausing my strides. Maybe I should have considered what I was going to say before I called.
“Have you heard from…someone?” she supplied for me.
“Ellie, yes,” I said, but it sounded more like a croak. “I talked to Ellie, and she told me you’re the only one who knows, otherwise I promise I wouldn’t be bothering you?—”
“You’re not bothering me, Sully.”
“I’d be bothering Natalie or Blake instead,” I continued. “You know, it’s my favorite thing to do. Bothering the Dr. Londons. Do you go by Dr. London, too? Or Dr. Delacroix?”
“Sully,” she interjected, repeating my name in that no-nonsense way that sort of reminded me of my brother. And it was good—that they were meant for each other like that and also that Delaney was calm because I was very muchnotcalm about this entire thing. “Are you okay?”
“Okay?” I repeated, a humorless laugh bubbling out of me.
Okaydidn’t seem like the right word for how I was feeling. I was everything but okay. I was so far above it and so far below it, simultaneously.
Delaney waited patiently while I tried to find the right words. I set the phone on my kitchen island, clicking the speakerphone so I could use both hands to lean against the counter, bracing myself.
“She said the pregnancy is high-risk, Delaney,” I said finally, forcing myself to breathe when I realized I hadn’t been.
“Yes,” my sister-in-law confirmed, and just like that, I wasn’t breathing again. “Based on her medical history and circumstances, I believe it would be.”
“Can you just—” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Tell me that she’s going to be okay. She doesn’t want me to come with her to her appointment with the MFM doctor this week.”
Delaney’s voice softened. “She’s going to be okay. They’re going to put her on a medication, a safe medication for pregnant women and for the baby. Safe but effective. I’m sure she’ll tell you about it after the appointment.”
“Okay.” I nodded, repeating the wordsShe’s going to be okayin my head, but it wasn’t quite enough. “One more time?”
“She’s going to be okay,” Delaney said. “There are many women who have had healthy pregnancies with her history.”
I exhaled, taking that in. “Okay. Thank you. This is…enough to appease my brain for the night, I think. But if I call you again tomorrow, don’t be surprised.”
She laughed, but it was soft and sweet. Understanding. “Is she back in Minnesota?”
“Yeah, she is.”
She was back.
She came back.
She camehome.
“Good,” Delaney answered. “I was worried about her being alone in California.”
Yeah, I couldn’t really get that thought out of my mind, either—what it must have been like for Ellie when she found out. Had anyone been with her? What had her reaction been? How long had it taken her to decide that moving home was what she wanted?
“Hey, Sully?” Delaney cut through my thoughts.
“Mm?”
“I know it’s a lot, and I know the circumstances could be better, but the two of you are going to get through this. And, not that I’ve said anything to Blake or the others yet, just know we’re all here for you. Okay?”
“Okay.” I hated to admit how badly I’d needed to hear that. “Okay.”
Maybe if I kept repeating it, I’d eventually believe that Iwasokay.
“Thanks, Delaney.”
If anyone could make this work, it was me and Ellie.
