Page 163 of Nobody Told Me Thrift Shops Sell Stolen Dragon Heirlooms

“That’s why I’m calling you.”

“Good. What do you need?”

“How do I take care of her and Max without requiring her to give instructions?”

Avery was quiet for half a second. When she spoke again, the edge had gone out of her voice. “Okay. Soup. Chicken noodle. Ginger tea if her stomach’s weird, honey if her throat’s bad. There’s a pharmacy two blocks from her place. Get fever reducer, electrolyte packets, tissues, and the good cough drops. Not the chalky ones.”

I opened a note on my phone.

“And Max?”

“She hasn’t picked him up yet, so you can either grab him from me or leave him here for me to care for. If you pick him up, his food is in her fridge. Blue-lid container has supplements. Silver container has meat. Half scoop of kibble from the bin beside the sink. He’ll need a short walk, not a long one. He’ll try to act noble about it. Don’t believe him.”

“I’ll pick him up. And understood.”

“And don’t make Quinn feel like a project.”

I stopped typing.

Avery continued, “Ask before you do things in her apartment. Give her choices where you can. Don’t stand there looking like you’re about to buy her building unless you want her fever to turn into violence.”

“I wasn’t planning to buy her building.”

“Great. Keep that energy.”

I looked toward the conference room door. “Anything else?”

“Yeah. If she says she’s fine, she’s lying and also probably believes it. Don’t argue. Just make the useful thing easier than refusing it.”

That was perhaps the clearest instruction anyone had ever given me.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Take care of her, please,” Avery said.

“I will.”

She hung up.

I stood in the hallway with my phone in my hand, the list open on the screen.

Pick up Max. Pharmacy. Soup. Quinn’s apartment. Max’s dinner. Short walk. Ask before doing. Choices where possible. Make the useful thing easier than refusing it.

Care, then.

By the time I reached the elevator, I had texted my driver with four stops: Avery’s for Max, the pharmacy, soup, and Quinn’s apartment.

A measured response. A reasonable one.

At least, that’s what I would continue to tell myself.

21

QUINN

RAMEN FROM THE PLACE WITH A WAITLIST

By noon, I had accepted that my body had joined opposing counsel.