Page 14 of Cluelessly Yours

This situation doesn’t need Dorothy.Oh no.This calls for the Cowardly Lion.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay, sis? I’ll stop by to check on you.” With a wave over my shoulder, I’m out the door and heading in any direction my feet can carry me while I hit send on the message I have typed out.

Me: Time for me to head out. Assuming you’re still alive, where should I meet you to get Seth?

His response comes in promptly.

Noah: Alive and well, just like I promised. You can find us in the cafeteria, behind the wall of shrubbery and out of sight of our enemies.

Me: I’m sorry…what?

Noah: You’ll see when you get here.?

On that note, I double the speed of my walk and follow the signs down to the cafeteria.

When I arrive, it’s mostly full of hustling medical personnel, with a few patients and their families sprinkled throughout the massive space.

I scour the room for Noah and Seth, but I don’t see their faces anywhere. Suddenly, a balled-up napkin comes flying from behind a wall of faux bushes, out into the cafeteria, where a male in baby-blue scrubs and a white lab coat blocks it with a lunch tray.

“Ha! Blocked!” he shouts, and the sounds of Seth’s belly giggles fill my ears.

“We’re gonna get you, Scott!” my son exclaims.

“Yeah, Scott!” a voice I know is Noah’s adds. “You’re going down, bro!”

Now Noah’s message is starting to make a little more sense.

Marching cautiously through the firing zone, I make my way around the wall of bushes until both Noah and my hugely smiling son come into view. They’re hunkered on the far side of a table, Seth rolling napkins, and Noah setting up their medical-supply-made launcher with one from the pile.

I clear my throat, and Noah’s warm eyes come to mine.

“Hey, Mom!” Seth shouts.

“Hey, Mom,” Noah repeats cheekily, his voice more of a whisper.

I put a hand to my hip. “So…what…um…exactly are we doing?”

“We’re playing Cafeteria Battleship with Dr. Shepard!” Seth explains excitedly as he looks over at Noah with the biggest smile on his face. “And we’re beating him!”

“Oh, really?” I ask through a soft laugh. “And whose idea was this?”

Noah chortles, shaking his head with a false crease in his eyebrows. “Scott Shepard. He’s a real kid at heart, you know?”

“Are you sure he’s the only kid at heart?” I tease, and Noah’s grin grows.

“Seth might’ve also loved the idea.”

I quirk one eyebrow at him. “And what about you?”

“Oh, I’m just happy to help Seth take down Shepard.”

“Mm-hmm,” I murmur. “I see. Very magnanimous of you.”

A raspy chuckle jumps from his throat, and I have to jerk my gaze to the floor to avoid staring at the bob of his Adam’s apple.

“Well, I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I need to get Seth home.”

“Ah, man!” Seth groans. He looks over at Noah like the man walks on water, and it makes my chest crack with discomfort.This, right here, is the kind of fun he should get to experience with his actual father.

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