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The curtain moved back and Alexa returned. “Good news. You’ve sprained your knuckle. Or jammed it, is another term. Nothing is broken. It’s going to be sore for a few weeks. We’ll put some tape on it to help keep it in place, but there’s not much more we can do about it. I’d recommend you lay off the yoga or putting any weight on your hand for a few weeks, but follow up with your primary if you don’t see an improvement in seven to ten days.”
“Thanks,” her mother said. “I didn’t think it was broken, but wanted to make sure.”
Alexa pulled out some tape and started to cut it into strips. “It’s always wise to double check. You don’t want to injure it worse though. Otherwise, you’re healthy as a horse.”
Her mother turned to look at her. “And stubborn as one too,” Kendra said.
“I think that would be you, not me,” her mother said, laughing.
26
Only So Much
The following Saturday, Ivan showed up at Kendra’s. He hadn’t seen her all week and when she was normally coming to his house on Friday she decided to stay home last night.
He was going to ask if she wanted to go to dinner, but she got held up at work like she had most of the week, getting out later than normal.
He figured work was kicking her butt, but then he’d heard from his mother via his Aunt Jolene that Ella was more relaxed this time around being out and not as concerned about work thanks to Kendra.
So one of two things were happening. Kendra was busting her ass so that Ella could have this time without worry, which was sweet and considerate.
Or Kendra was using it as an excuse to avoid staying at his house so she would not be away from her mother at night.
He didn’t want to accuse her of that without them talking. And though they hadn’t seen much of each other, they did talk nightly on the phone and it was good conversation. Not half-assed ones where they were killing time and not saying much.
Kendra said her mother wanted to cook today and had asked him to come over. He thought that was nice and he knew Karen’s hand was doing much better.
He’d tried his hardest to convince Kendra not to feel guilty about being with him when her mother got hurt, but there was only so much he could say. She’d have to believe it herself.
And it sounded like Karen had been drilling it into her daughter’s head just as much.
He climbed the stairs to Kendra’s place. They weren’t going down for dinner for a few hours, but he’d said he was coming earlier. She’d asked him to and that made him feel somewhat better.
When she asked him to stay the night at her place, he knew that she wasn’t trying to distance herself from him but rather not leave her mother.
He’d have to give her space and have patience.
“What do you have in the box?” Kendra asked when he knocked on the door.
“Cannoli from Fierce. I got them on the way over. I thought I’d bring dessert.”
“Yum,” she said, leaning in to kiss him. “My mother loves these. I’ve brought them home a time or two. We normally split one.”
“There are a half a dozen there.”
“Geez,” she said. “Are you trying to get me fat?”
“You could do yoga with your mom if you need to.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Very funny.”
“I thought it was.”
“Thanks for coming here tonight. It’s probably silly and I don’t want you to get mad.”
“It’s not silly and I’m not mad. We’ve been spending all our time at my place and that isn’t fair. You’ve got your own place and chores and things to do on the weekend too. I realize that. You have to do your laundry and take your mother to the store, things you probably did on the weekend before you spent it at my place.”
“Yes,” she said. “But my mother is flexible. She’d tell you it’s from doing yoga.”
