In a Book Club Far Away(41)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Regina




Regina lunged for her phone when it rang three hours after Sophie took Adelaide to the ER. “Hello?”

“It was a bile duct leakage,” Sophie said without pretense.

“Wait, what?” Regina asked.

Genevieve, lying on her belly on the living room couch next to her, looked up from a video on the iPad. Her eyes were droopy, and her hair was disheveled—just about how Regina felt. Standing, Regina went to the foyer to pace out of earshot. Toddlers knew and absorbed more than adults gave them credit for.

“It was a bile duct—”

“No, I heard that part. Was that what caused the infection?”

“Yes, but they won’t know how bad it is until they go in.”

“Go in meaning s—” She lowered her voice. “Surgery again?”

“Yes.”

“Did you get a hold of Matt?”

“Jasper did. I spoke to him briefly, too.”

“Damn.” Besides her relief that Adelaide was exactly where she needed to be, Regina was impressed with Sophie’s clear head. “Thank you for telling me. I was so worried.”

“How are you guys doing?”

Regina half laughed, looking around the house and then at her copy of Waiting to Exhale cracked open and turned pages down on the couch. In the hours since Sophie and Adelaide had left, ironically, she could only read. Somehow, she felt a little closer to Adelaide by doing so. “Yeah, I’m totally fine. Genevieve is calm, the house is standing, and there’s food in the fridge. And I’m at the part where Gloria’s ex-husband came out as gay to her and she’s in denial.” She stopped, cringing at her earlier lie. “So I guess I can admit that I’m not at a hundred pages.”

“It’s all right, I knew.”

“Busted.” She looked at the floor. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay, I was plotting on getting up early tomorrow so I could beat you to the kitchen.”

“God, we are petty.” Regina shook her head, though at that moment, she was grateful. Grateful that, at least, at this moment, they were able to put things aside.

“As can be. Or in denial.”

“Like Gloria.”

“Now that was a book club statement. Who are you?” Sophie laughed.

Regina remembered their first book club together, their first threesome conversation when Sophie assured her that she belonged in book club. The decade had flown, though the days had been protracted. But those almost nine months together at Millersville had been filled with great memories.

“Soph, I’m worried.”

“Me, too, Reggie.” After a pause and a sniff, she said. “The doctor said that this would be an overnight stay, maybe two.”

“Okay, well… do you want to switch off, if that happens?”

“That sounds good. Let’s play it by ear?”

Regina sighed. “Okay. I’ll probably take Gen out on a stroller walk after we get off the phone, maybe to the park. I think she and I could use some air.”

“Okay. I’ll keep you posted.”

“And hey, Soph?”

“Yeah?”

“You were amazing. I don’t want you to get a big head about it, but I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad you’re there for Gen. Maybe Adelaide had a sixth sense about this all. We needed all hands this morning.”

“Even Jasper.”

Another pause. “Yeah, I guess that guy, too.”

Regina couldn’t discern Sophie’s tone, if it was loving or sarcastic. But as she opened her mouth to ask, the doorbell rang. “Someone’s at the door.”

“I’ve got to run, anyway. I’ll keep you posted.”

With a supervisory glance at Genevieve, Regina padded toward the front room. “Just let me know if you need food. I can bring you some from home.”

“Thank you. Bye.”

Regina stuck the phone in her back pocket and opened the door, belatedly thinking that she was no longer in small-town Georgia and perhaps she should have checked the peephole.

But she was rewarded by a sight for sore eyes.

She felt her body give. “Henry.” Under an arm he carried a box, and with the other hand, a reusable bag, with the blooms of flowers overflowing out of its top. On his face was a tentative, shy smile.

“I know I should have probably called, but your last text was—”

She rushed to him, and wrapped her arms around his torso. What was it about him? Her usual defenses were nowhere to be found. Though logic would insist that she make sure he hadn’t misrepresented himself these eighteen months, her instincts eased her worry. The fact that he was at the front door after her last text, a simple I feel so helpless, meant that he listened to her.

Then, she realized how much she was squeezing him, and stepped back. “Sorry, I—”

“No, no need to apologize. I… I kind of liked it.” His cheeks pinkened. “Anyway, I’m not here to impose. I just wanted to drop this off.” He shook the box. “Pastries from the shop, and I remember you eyeing the flowers at the market the other day. I figured… well, my sister, Carolina, loves fresh flowers. So anyway.” He held both packages out.