we should go,” Thomas said softly from the doorway.
“How much of that did you overhear?” Harold demanded.
“Enough to realize why Mom doesn’t want you back,” he told him.
Terri could see tears in Thomas’s eyes. “You weren’t supposed to be listening,” she told him. “The problems that your father and I had are nothing to do with you. Your father still loves you dearly and so do I.”
“Whatever. Let’s go,” Thomas replied flatly.
“Son, let me explain,” Harold began.
Thomas held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it, not right now, anyway. I just want to go home.”
“I thought you might stay here tonight,” Harold said. “I haven’t seen you in two weeks.”
“Next week is your week to have him,” Terri reminded him. “It’s probably best if we keep to our normal routine.”
Harold looked as if he wanted to object, but after a moment, he nodded. “Sure, that’s probably best,” he agreed.
Thomas was silent on the drive home.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me any of that?” he asked as they walked inside.
“Because it was between your father and me and not anything you needed to worry about.”
“I’m sorry that I wanted you to get back with him.”
“Don’t be. There’s a part of me that will always miss the family that we had before, too.”
“Maybe you can get Lucas to fall in love with you. I’ll bet he’s never roasted a chicken in his life, but we could have dinner at the Riverside every night, instead.”
Terri laughed. “I don’t think Lucas is going to fall in love with me.”
“If he’s smart, he will. You’re amazing,” Thomas said, before giving her a hug.
“Remember that the next time I won’t let you do something you want to do,” she teased.
“Yeah, whatever, good night,” he told her.
Terri crawled into bed a short while later. As she reached for the light switch, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“It’s Lucas. I miss you.”
“Wow, that’s sweet. Is your mother listening?”
There was a short pause before Lucas spoke again. “She’s sleeping now,” he said. “Are you coming to visit tomorrow?”
“If she’s up to seeing me, then, yes. I have a student book club meeting right after school, but I should be there by four. She’s at Ramsey General?”
“She is, although she isn’t happy here. Once she’s a bit stronger, she’ll be transferring to a private facility somewhere closer to home.”
“Do you have any idea when that will be?”
“I’m meeting with her doctors tomorrow morning. They can’t tell me much, though, not without her permission, and she’s reluctant to give them that.”
“Why?”
“She’s a fiercely private person. I don’t think she feels comfortable with the idea of her son knowing everything about her health concerns.”
“I suppose I can understand that. I’ll see you around four, then.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said softly.
Chapter 14
“Where is everyone?” Terri asked the only student who appeared in her classroom just after the last bell the next day.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but if you don’t want to have our meeting with just me, that’s fine. I have lots of homework, anyway.”
“I’m happy to sit and talk about books with you for the hour if you want, but if you’d rather go and get your homework done, that’s fine, too.”
The girl thought for a minute and then got to her feet. “If you really don’t mind, I’ll go. Pre-calc is killing me.”
Terri laughed. “That’s why I’m an English teacher.”
She waited a few more minutes, just in case anyone else showed up for the book club before giving up. Thomas had his own club meeting and then he was going home with Jack, another friend, to work on a project for their engineering class. As she started her car, Terri decided that heading for the hospital was probably smarter than going home. Once home, she knew she wouldn’t want to go back out.
Ramsey General was on the outskirts of town. She parked in the large parking lot and walked through the entrance doors. Lucas had texted her his mother’s room number, so she didn’t have to stop at the information desk to ask.
“We have to talk,” she heard Lucas’s voice as she reached the door.
“I’m tired,” his mother’s voice replied.
“Really? You’ve been sleeping all day.”
“I’m unwell.”
“That’s what you want me to believe, anyway.”
“Please let me rest. Terri will be here soon. You’ll expect me to be polite to her, won’t you?”
“Of course. But we have to talk before Terri gets here.”
Terri glanced up and down the corridor. No one seemed to be paying her any attention. She took a