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Mia grinned. She always did love being right. “Thanks, Robyn.”
“Anytime, girl. You know that. Now, can we circle back to the topic of babysitting? If Drew and I don’t get a date night in before his parents arrive for the holidays, it willnotbe pretty.”
Ah yes, Dr. and Mrs. Owens—two lovely people who unfortunately had a penchant for getting under their daughter-in-law’s skin. Would things be like that between Mia’s and Alex’s parents? She put a hand to her mouth to smother a giggle. It was far too early to be thinking thoughts like that. For now, she’d focus on saving Robyn from her own in-laws.
“I’ll be sure to ask Brooklyn just as soon as she gets home.”
Chapter Fifteen
Alex awoke inhis childhood bedroom late morning, groggy and disoriented. Muffled voices sounded from down the hall, those of his father and uncle, aunt and mother. It took him a moment to remember where he was and why. Laughter rang out, which brought a smile to his face. His mother must be feeling better today.
No sooner had he thought that than his memories from this morning came rushing back. Her cast. Her prognosis. Her scared husband, trying to keep it together and failing.
Alex had struggled to stay composed, too. But somehow he’d managed, for his father’s sake if nothing else. They would be leaning a lot on each other as they navigated the uncharted waters ahead.
But where did that leave Mia?
He reached a hand to the empty space in the bed beside him. She’d never been here, yet he missed her all the same. Hopefully in time, she’d come to Indy and meet his folks. Sooner, preferably, than later.
Funny, he figured her curiosity would have prompted her to call by now. Alex checked his phone and was disappointed to see he’d forgotten to hit send on the text message he’d typed to her before laying down for a short nap. In it, he’d told her about the broken arm and the even worse news about his mother’s diagnosis. But as his thumb hovered over the send button now, Alex hesitated.
Was it too soon to share about the Alzheimer’s? He himself had yet to fully wrap his head around all that he’d learned just hours ago, and it was a disease he admittedly knew very little about. Besides, she was probably busy trying to get Brooklyn home and everything ready for school to resume tomorrow. At least, he assumed it would—in typical Indiana fashion, their snowstorm was being followed by a small heat wave that would bring temps into the midforties in Indy today—a fact he’d learned as he was lying here a few hours ago, waiting for his mind to stop racing so he could get some sleep. The snow he’d slid on for hours this morning would likely be gone by noon.
Stupid weather.
After staring at his text for another minute, Alex deleted it and opted to call her instead.
“Hey there, miss me yet?” he asked.
Mia laughed. “Of course. How are things in Indy?”
“Well, I hear Mom and the rest of the family chatting amicably in the other room, so she can’t be feeling too bad. Dad said her arm was a clean break of only one forearm bone, and they were able to set it without surgery.”
“That’s so great to hear!”
“It is.” Unlike the other news. “And I’m sorry, I texted you all of that earlier but apparently forgot to hit send. Guess the fatigue finally caught up with me. Feeling much better after that cat nap, though.”
“No worries at all. I’m just so glad to hear everyone’s doing okay. She’ll want to wear pants with elastic waists for a while, to make it easier to get in and out of them. Oh, and you’ll want a garbage bag to put over the cast when she showers—can’t get that plaster wet. Unless they gave her a fiberglass one already.”
“You sound like you’ve lived through broken bones before.”
“Brooklyn did something similar on the playground a few years back,” Mia said. “It was the end of the world for a few days, but once people started getting to sign and doodle on her cast, the inconvenience of it all quickly subsided. Did your mom hit her head or anything?”
“Thankfully, no.”
“Oh, good. I’d hate to hear that she blacked out or suffered any memory loss.”
“Yeah…”
Alex stared up at the ceiling, still grappling with his mother’s diagnosis. How much would she forget? And how soon? Would there be a day when she eventually forgot who he was? Forgot the name she gave him?
“Oh, shoot, that’s Brooklyn trying to call on the other line,” Mia said. “She’d better not be stuck again. Can I call you right back?”
“Actually, just give me a buzz later this afternoon. I’m going to go and spend some time with my family.”
“Aw, enjoy, Alex. I’ll chat with ya later.”
“Bye, Mia.”
