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She looked over her shoulder, and I could tell her windows were open, too. “Meet you out there?”
Sweet. She went for it. I hustled over and slid the sliding glass window open and stepped out. Mid-October in Minnesota was proving to be cold. I much preferred the warm desert climate, but Dad knew that Mom and I both did, so this was as good a place as any to hide. Well, besides Alaska.
I gripped the railing atop the fence hemming in our concrete patio. The cement flooring chilled my feet. I heard the door roll open next door and headed to the far end of my patio. “Lina?”
She coughed then said, “I’m here. Um…”
“It’s okay. One step at a time. You can do it.” She’d opened the door.
And hearing her voice without the door between us, or the distortion from the phone and video feed was such an improvement. Her voice was quiet, but smooth, and slid over me like my thousand count bedsheets.
Not that I should be getting closer to her, but something about her demanded it. I couldn’tnotbe around her. I couldn’tnothelp her. Even Mom had commented on it.
It had probably looked weird sitting outside her front door talking to her. At first, it felt weird, but I blasted through that as soon as I started learning more about her.
“You okay?” I asked.
“No,” she said, then laughed. “You?”
“I’m good.” I leaned over the railing to check out the small people scurrying around below. I glanced to my right and saw the tail end of her railing. A thick, brick wall separated us, so I couldn’t see much more than a few feet of her railing at the far end of the patio.
But if she were to lean forward…not that that would happen, at least not today. It was just cool she was willing to try stepping outside. Had to give her props for that.
“Talk to me about something,” she said. Her voice was raspy, and I could tell she was breathing heavy.
“Did you know that Ritalin is actually a stimulant? We’re actually giving hyperactive kids a stimulant.”
“That soundsbass ackwards.”
I laughed. “I know, right? But it’s got something to do with ADHD’s wiring. The stimulant calms them down. You know like to us, it hypes us up, but to them…it’s fascinating.”
“You going to work with young criminals or something?” she asked.
Dang, her voice sounded good…and closer. I glanced to my right, wishing I’d get to see her. “No. I hope to focus on the adults, but there are some developmental classes I have to take as part of the degree.”
“You like kids?”
“Sure. Unless they’re screaming their heads off. You?”
“Yeah, I guess, not that I can have any. They freak me out…then again, not much doesn’t.”
Hmmm, she can’t have kids.A question for another time. “Speaking of freaking out, how are you doing? You sound like you’re really outside your door.”
“I am, and the world isn’t tilting so much.”
“Good. How’s it feel?”
“Boy, you are going to be a shrink, aren’t you?”
“No way. That’s medical school, girl.”
“Are you going to get your master’s degree or anything?”
“Eventually. As much online stuff as I’ve been doing lately, I might opt for an online degree of some sort.”
She laughed. “I’d like to make it to a classroom.”
“You will.”
