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“No!” Spencer exclaimed.
“Why not, big brother? We promise to play nice.” Grace batted her eyes.
“I’d love to come, but can I let you know tonight.”
“Sure. Give me your cell number.”
“So how do you know Spencer?” Claire asked.
“She’s a friend from work,” Spencer explained.
“I didn’t ask you,” teased Claire. “If you wanted to tell us about her, you should have done it a long time ago.”
“So, are you in the hiking club? I don’t really have anything against them,” said Grace.
“No, this was actually my first hike. I don’t hike or anything like that. My favorite exercise is ballet dancing. At least it used to be.”
“She’s also an artist,” said Spencer.
“How did you know that? I never tell anyone.”
His face reddened. “I... I just saw the watercolors in your cubicle and assumed they were yours. I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to tell people, but I thought they were really good. Grace does watercolors, too. I didn’t know it was a secret...” His voice trailed off.
Grace said, “Oh, would you like to take a class with me? There’s a great summer class with a fantastic teacher. He’s amazing—you’ll love him. It’s on Tuesday nights.”
“Actually, it sounds fun.”
She glanced at Spencer, who sported a rather miserable expression. “It’s okay, Spencer. I was only surprised you knew about my painting. That’s all.”
All four sisters observed the small exchange closely. Grace considered Spencer with narrowed eyes.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better, Emily. We’ve got a lot of things to talk about.”
When Steven called during the middle of their lunch, Emily sent a tense glance toward Spencer before stepping away from the table to answer.
“Steven? What is it?”
“They put her on an IV again, and now they’re sending us home. They told us to come back tomorrow if she still can’t eat or drink, and we’re seeing the doctor on Monday. I think we need to try a different prescription.”
“So what do they have her on now?” asked Emily.
“Uhmm... I can’t say exactly. But it isn’t working.”
“Do they have her on an antibiotic?”
“An antibiotic? For an ulcer? Uhmm, no I don’t think so.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. Most ulcers are caused by infection, so they usually prescribe an antibiotic. I wonder why they didn’t give one to Mom.”
Steven heaved a heavy sigh. “I wish I could answer that one for you, Emily. Maybe Monday I’ll be able to give you a better answer.”
“You’re worried, aren’t you?”
“I... I’m not... Yes. I am. But, your Mom’s going to be fine. I promise. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
She wanted to believe him. At least he’d admitted his concern, but she knew from her research things didn’t make sense.
She walked back to the table, avoiding the probing eyes of the Marshall sisters. She had to say something. “Good news… Mom’s fine. She’s just dehydrated again.”
