Page 93 of You Were Invited
And at this moment, his dad’s voice filled the void with,“Clive Lincoln.”
"–an inmate at Montana State Prison,”continued the robot voice.“To accept the call, press one. To refuse, press tw-”
“Go to hell,” Julian growled, jabbing the two on his phone screen. He wasn’t compelled to have any contact with the man. True, the day he’d run into Clive again was fast approaching– but it caused nothing but dread. And, as Teagan would probably put it, Clive’s return would bring on a tide of tea big enough to cover the town.
Maybe not that literally... but something like it…
After Julian picked up his food order, he went to meet Annie. She was sitting up in her chair, propping her head on her hand with her eyes shut.
“Annie,” he whispered. When she opened her heavy eyes, he sat the two fruits in her lap.
“Thank you.” She peeled the orange. As he ate, her eyes roamed to his breakfast platter. It wasn’t long before she commented how good it looked, then sheepishly requested a few bites. He enthusiastically gave them away.
“Feeling better?”
Annie let out a satisfied sigh and nodded. The look in her fatigued eyes was still far away. “My mind is so hectic. Did I really drift off?”
“Mmm-hmm. The doctors know what they’re doing, Annie,” Julian said before adding, “If there were any big worries, they would have sent Peter to the waiting room to get out of their hair.
Annie nodded slowly. Unconvinced. She then rocked her head to the side and rubbed her neck.
“Is it bothering you?”
“A bit.”
Julian lightly massaged her flesh. Her skin was warm beneath his fingers. He worked her ache away, looking at the waiting room clock after a few minutes. Since Annie had first texted him, hours had passed. Grimly, he wondered how many more they had to look forward to. For everyone’s sake, he hoped the doctors would hurry up.
They watched the news together. Annie rested her head on Julian’s shoulder before her eyes slipped shut again. Her breathing slowed and deepened. He didn’t move. Just held her hand. He lamented the circumstances, but at that moment, he didn’t want to be anywhere else. He hoped–
Julian froze as a burly man stepped towards them. The man met Julian’s eye with a thin smile on his face. Julian wiggled his shoulder and patted Annie’s hand, curiosity filling him.
“Peter!” Annie jumped to her feet. “How’s Molly?”
“Resting,” Peter said. “The doctors think they know why she hasn’t been feeling well.”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Peter’s face broke into a grin. The edges of his eyes sparkled with unshed tears. He could barely get the words out. “She’s pregnant.”
Annie squealed and bounced into Peter’s arms. She looked so small as he hugged her. “I’m so happy!”
“Congratulations, Peter.” Julian extended his hand.
Peter nodded his head and shook Julian’s hand with a solid, firm grip. “Do you want to see her?” Peter asked. “They’re– the doctors– they are letting people visit for about thirty minutes at a time.”
“Yes, please,” Annie replied. She looked up at Julian.
Peter had technically included Julian, too, but without knowing Molly closely, he thought it better for Annie to go by herself. He’d have time to visit later. “I’ll wait right here.”
Annie tucked her hair behind her ear. “You sure?”
“Don’t worry. When you’re ready, I’ll be here waiting.”
Relief softened Annie’s stiff posture. She nodded.
“And you didn’t want to give him a chance.”
Annie raised a brow. She walked down the hospital hallway at Peter’s side.
