Page 74 of The Lies Between Lovers

“Upstairs in my little kit I have that—”

“Where’s the pain and how does it feel?”

Vera rolled her eyes, but went ahead with giving her mother the run-down of the odd location and how the pressure of her bladder—it was actually full—didn’t help the matter. At her mother’s prodding, and even though Vera all but refused, Claire convinced her to head for the closest bathroom and let her know what happened.

Except she didn’t want to hang up.

Vera had to take the phone with her.

“You know, this is harder when you’re listening,” Vera complained in her upstairs bathroom. She opted for that one because there, she could snag the thermometer, too.

Claire laughed softly. “Oh, come on—I was too late to potty train you, but we’ve done the period thing and everything else.”

Vera sighed.

Yeah, they had.

Her bladder finally relieved—with a burning woosh that sent air rushing out of her lungs—at the same time, the thermometer in her ear beeped. She relayed the number to her mother knowing it was too high.

“It burned when you peed, too?” Claire asked.

“Yeah.”

“Sounds like an infection in the bladder. You’re going to need antibiotics if you’re dealing with those symptoms all together.”

Of course, Vera pined. Of course, the first time had great sex in an embarrassingly long time, she ended up with a bladder infection. If a God existed, he was laughing at her.

“And that fever is concerning,” Claire added. “If it gets any higher, don’t wait for your regular practitioner. Just head into the nearest—”

“I will,” Vera interjected.

She wanted her mother to stop going in with her medical tone because it was a few short steps away from asking one too many questions.

“Your father is flying to Russia.”

Vera, only just gaining enough sense to get off the commode, stayed frozen to the chilly seat. “What?”

“He’s waiting on clearance for his pilot’s flight plan and which airport will give them—”

“Fuck,” Vera hissed, slamming her palm too hard on the sink’s white-pink counter.

She could practically imagine her mother’s flinch.

“You and Roman both, I swear.” God, Vera didn’t know how long it had been since she last spoke with her little brother. She didn’t have long to think about it before her mother continued on ranting, “Just like Demyan with your mouths. Honestly.”

“Ma, I thought you had it handled?”

Claire made a noise under her breath, then. “I did have him distracted and minding his own business for a while. He was even willing to pay for that Italy flight with a bit of half-truth. However, you still won’t get on the phone and talk to him, so he’s made calls. And apparently, he’s found something he doesn’t like.”

Vera’s dry tongue peeked out between her quivering lips as the sharp pains came for her kidneys again. The longer she sat there, the more it felt like her bladder was filling up—or maybe that was just the pressure.

“Ow,” Vera wailed.

Claire’s anger melted away in an instant. “You really should go get that checked out. God, I think the last time you had an infection like that was—”

“Another time I made a stupid choice,” she muttered, remembering the only one-night stand she’d ever had in her life.

“What?”