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“No, it’s fine. I have nowhere else to be right now.”
Their conversation continued and Daniel looked at me occasionally as if he was trying to confirm things Jennifer said. This was not looking too good for me. Knowing Jennifer, she was probably telling him about my teenage escapades. Or about the massive crush I had on him back then. I moved closer to them, flashing my phone so he could see the time. It was almost midnight but he ignored me.
Something tightened in my chest. Was I happy that he ignored me? Did Iwanthim to stay?
Daniel excused himself to find the restroom.
“What was that about?” I asked Jennifer as soon as he left the waiting area, raising an eyebrow.
“You failed to tell me he was that, that… cute.” I could tell that Jennifer was trying to sound excited. Sometimes we just needed a distraction from the crises in life we could do nothing about in the moment.
“Daniel Reed is not cute.” It wasn’t a lie.Cutewas the last word I’d use to describe Daniel Reed. Sexy, hot, and an amazing kisser were probably among the top choices.
“You might need to see an optometrist,” she laughed weakly.
Despite everything, Jennifer had this enthusiasm every time she laughed, and it was very contagious. She had been through things that should have left her miserable for the rest of her life, but she had always found a way to pull through. When she kept having miscarriages, she tried again. When her husband died, she saddled up to the responsibility of being both father and mother. When Jordan was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, she worked hard to give her daughter a fighting chance.
A nurse came out of Jordan’s room and walked toward us.
“Your daughter's condition is stable now and you can see her. I’ll take you.”
I squeezed Jennifer’s hand as she stood up, swaying slightly from emotion. I’d let her have some time with her daughter alone before seeing if she needed support.
Not being able to sit still, I started wandering down a hallway and found Daniel. He was slouched against the wall. The day had been a rollercoaster, to say the least, and this was certainly not how I saw it ending.
I walked over to him and took his hand, resting my head on his shoulder.
Chapter 24
Daniel
WhenImetJenniferfor the first time, I was surprised when she pulled me in for a hug. When I realized she was the Jennifer that had called in Amy’s office, I gulped slightly. I could see the tears well up in her eyes and I wanted to provide some sort of comfort. I didn’t know why I felt the urge to impress her, but I knew I could not mess this up. I was about to ask her a question when she interrupted me.
“You like Amy, don’t you?” I looked at Amy, who was standing a little bit away from us in the waiting room.
“I haven’t had time to figure that out yet,” I replied honestly.
“So you do like her.” She chuckled lightly. “I’m pretty sure she likes you, too. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen her like this with anyone else.” Her voice was a whisper, as if she didn’t want Amy to hear. I shifted in my seat, a little uncomfortable with the conversation.
A rush of emotions surged through me. I wanted to protest, but I knew that would be dishonest on my part. I suspected she liked me and I knew that I cared for her. I just didn’t know if it was anything past our obvious physical attraction for each other.
“Can you tell me about your relationship with Amy?” I asked, successfully changing the topic.
Jennifer talked about Amy with so much pride, one would definitely mistake them for mother and daughter. She talked about Amy’s childhood, her parents, how she had tried to support Amy when she was younger. She didn’t say too much about Amy’s parents, just the fact that Amy felt neglected as a child.
That made two of us, I thought to myself.
Jennifer also talked about her daughter and how Amy was basically her big sister.
That was when I decided I needed a minute and excused myself. I found a dimly lit hallway not too far from the waiting room and just leaned against the wall, thinking.
Now I looked at the top of Amy’s head resting on my shoulder.
“Jordan is stable now,” she whispered in the dim hallway. “Jennifer is with her now.”
I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that. I longed to reach out and stroke her hair, give her a hug or do… anything. But I wasn’t sure what she wanted.
Finally, Jennifer found us.
