I heard Tommy’s disappointed voice in the background, and my heart nearly broke for him. My poor boy.
“Do we understand each other, Aunt Cari?”
I gulped. “What am I supposed to do when I get his blood together? How do I know when enough is enough?”
“We’ll call you and monitor your progress, and let you know when you’ve collected enough for our purposes. Sound fair?”
“And Tommy? I want to be sure he’s all right through all of this. You have to take care of him. Please.”
“We will. And to answer your question, he’s very comfortable here.”
A series of beeps indicated the call was over. All I could do was pull the phone from my ear and stare at it, like I’d never seen a phone before. Tears blurred my vision again, and I dropped the thing on the floor before curling up in a ball on my side and screaming behind my hands.