Counting Miracles

Chapter Four

I

In the morning, not long after her eyes fluttered open, Kaitlyn found herself thinking, I haven’t forgotten how to be happy. Casey doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Yeah, her life was busy and yes, raising a teenage daughter could be occasionally wearying, but she loved her kids and her work. She volunteered for the community—something that had always been important to her—and made house calls. Add in the fact that she had a comfortable amount in savings, her health was good, she was close to her parents and siblings, and all in all, there was nothing to complain about. Casey had simply been trying to press her mother’s buttons. Right?

Right.

Glancing at the clock, she was surprised that she’d slept later than usual, and slipping on a robe, she padded down the hall. Peeking in their rooms, she saw that both Mitch and Casey were still asleep. Downstairs, she enjoyed the quiet as she sipped coffee and had some fruit for breakfast.

Mitch appeared in the living room just as she was finishing. He was still in his pajamas and sat down in front of his Lego creation.

“Morning, sweetie. Want some cereal?” she called out.

“I’ll get some in a little while,” he answered.

She walked toward him and kissed his messy hair. “Can you let me know when Casey gets up? And we’ll probably be leaving around eleven-fifteen.”

As she went upstairs, she felt a flutter of nerves in her tummy, knowing that in just a little while, she’d see Tanner again.

II

After her shower, Kaitlyn stood in front of the mirror in the master bathroom, trying to convince herself that technically, she wasn’t going on a date. A real date would mean leaving Mitch at home. Today, she told herself, was more of an outing . And surely, her thoughts continued, Tanner didn’t view it as a date either. What had he said? That it beat being stuck at the hotel all day?

It was settled, then. It definitely wasn’t a date, but if that was the case, why had it taken twenty minutes for her to figure out what to wear? She’d finally decided on a pair of newish jeans and a top her sister had bought her for Christmas that she hadn’t yet worn.

“Mom?”

It took Kaitlyn a moment to register Mitch’s voice. He was standing in the bathroom doorway, his hair uncombed and his shirt wrinkled. “Yeah, sweetie?”

“When are we leaving again?”

She glanced at her watch. “We still have half an hour,” she said. “C’mere. Let me fix your hair so it’s not so messy.”

Turning on the faucet, she wet his hair. “You should probably change your shirt, too.”

“I like my shirt.”

“I know, but you wore it yesterday. You should put on a clean one.”

“Why?”

“Just do it for me?” she asked, bending over to kiss his forehead. “Do you know if Casey’s awake yet?”

“Uh-huh,” he answered. “But she left. Camille just picked her up.”

“And you didn’t tell me? I thought I asked you to let me know when she got up.”

“I did. That’s why I came upstairs to find you.”

Casey had a knack for remaining one step ahead of her mother. Kaitlyn finished combing through Mitch’s hair with her fingers and showed him his reflection in the mirror. “That’s better, don’t you think?”

Mitch shrugged. “I guess.”

“Hey, listen,” she began, squatting down to meet him at eye level, “I know I asked you last night, but I wanted to make sure it doesn’t bother you that Mr. Hughes will be joining us at the zoo.”

“Who’s Mr. Hughes?”

“He was the one who drove Casey home last night. After she hit his car.”

“I thought you said that a friend was coming with us.”

“He’s a new friend,” she said, thinking Mitch was still young enough to likely accept that as an answer. “Now do me a favor and change your shirt?”

“Okay,” he said. Looking up at her, he squinted. “Why are you so dressed up?”

“I’m not dressed up. I always dress like this.”

“Not on the weekends.”

“Well,” she said, “we don’t always go to the zoo, do we? Why not make it special?”

III

Half an hour later, with Mitch seated behind her playing on his Switch, Kaitlyn pulled up in front of the Hampton Inn and saw Tanner standing next to the entrance. When he raised a hand and sauntered toward the car with the same easy confidence he’d displayed the night before, she was struck by what an anomaly he was in a town like this. Most men’s bodies were testimonies to their love of extra sausage gravy on their morning biscuits.

“Good morning,” he said as he climbed into the passenger seat.

“Hi,” she answered. He held her gaze for a moment before turning toward her son. “And you must be Mitch. My name’s Tanner. Thanks for letting me tag along with you and your mom today.”

Kaitlyn watched Mitch in the rearview mirror.

“You’re welcome,” Mitch said, studying Tanner. “Have you been to the zoo before?”

“No,” Tanner answered. “I’ve been to other zoos, though. Which animals do you like to see?”

“I like the lions. And the giraffes.”

“I like giraffes, too.”

“Did you know they have the same number of neck bones that people do?”

“I didn’t,” Tanner said, sounding intrigued. “That’s cool. What game are you playing?”

“Mario Kart Tour.”

“I love Mario. I used to play it all the time.”

“Do you want to try?”

“Maybe later.” Tanner nodded.

Tanner turned to buckle up, and Kaitlyn smiled to herself, liking how relaxed he seemed with Mitch. Releasing the brake, she started toward the road.

“For some reason you didn’t strike me as the videogame type.”

“I was deployed for months on end in both Afghanistan and Iraq. You can only work out so much, and watching the same movies over and over gets boring. Everyone plays videogames.”

“Were you any good?”

“Depends on the game,” he said. “I was good at Mario, above average with Madden and FIFA, but if you ask me about Call of Duty, I’d have to say I’m an expert.”

“Good to know.”

He lowered his voice. “How’s Casey this morning?” He stole a quick look at Mitch behind them. “I’ve been wondering…”

Mitch piped up from the backseat: “They had a fight in Casey’s room last night.”

Kaitlyn’s eyes flashed to the rearview mirror. “We didn’t fight, sweetie. We had a discussion.”

“It sounded like a fight to me. And then Casey snuck off this morning.”

Kaitlyn sent Tanner a long-suffering look. “Camille picked her up even before I knew she was awake. I’m pretty sure she did it to avoid talking to me again.”

“Smart girl,” he said, looking amused. “When my grandparents were angry with me, I’d stay at my friend’s house all day.”

“Changing the subject, how was your morning?”

“Great. I went for a run, explored the town a bit, and now I’m off to the zoo.”

“I have to admit I’m impressed by your energy and enthusiasm.”

“Why? I like animals.”

“I don’t know. I guess given all the exotic places you’ve been to around the world, I didn’t think our little zoo would hold much appeal.”

“You forget that I didn’t grow up in the States, so pretty much everywhere I visit is new to me,” he reasoned. “I was planning to go to the zoo anyway while I was here, so this worked out perfectly.”

“Seriously?” Kaitlyn looked skeptical.

“According to Tripadvisor, it’s the number one thing to do in Asheboro. I’ve become a big fan of Tripadvisor in the last few years.”

She laughed, shaking her head.

IV

As soon as they reached the zoo, Mitch jumped out of the car, skipping ahead of them to the entrance.

Tanner nodded in his direction. “He looks like he knows where he’s going.”

“It’s his happy place,” she explained. “Well, here, and the Lego section at Walmart. And Chick-fil-A. And the gazebo, where our neighbor Jasper is teaching him how to carve.”

She caught Tanner’s fleeting smile as he followed Mitch’s progress toward the entrance.

“How about I get the tickets and lunch?” Tanner offered. “It’s my treat.”

“You just need to get your own ticket,” she said. “We have a family membership, so Mitch and I get in free.”

While Tanner paid, Kaitlyn ran a hand through Mitch’s hair.

“Are you hungry yet?” she asked. “Do you want to eat?”

“Not yet,” he said. He pushed up his glasses. “I want to see the animals first.”

Once inside, he veered to the left, toward an area of the zoo called the Cypress Swamp. Tanner and Kaitlyn followed at a desultory pace, just fast enough to keep an eye on Mitch, and as she walked beside him, she marveled at how ordinary this expedition felt. “Tell me more about Cameroon,” she ventured. “I know it’s in Africa, but that’s about it.”

“The country itself is stunning,” he answered. “It’s on the west coast and close to the equator, so it’s generally warm year-round, but the landscape is hugely varied—desert, rainforest, and mountains.”

“Where were you posted?”

“Yaoundé.”

“Is that a village or a city?”

“It’s the capital. It’s almost three million people.”

“Oh,” she said, feeling foolish.

“Don’t feel bad,” he said, catching her reaction. “Until I learned I was being posted there, I hadn’t heard of it either.”

“What do you remember most?”

“The people,” he said. “Even though it’s a poor country compared to the U.S. or Europe, there’s a lot of laughter there. People seem to have a knack for finding pleasure in everyday things, despite their hardships. The country has a refugee crisis because of the wars going on in neighboring countries, and there’s definitely poverty and suffering, but I was always amazed at how much more resilient, and even happy, most people seemed there compared to folks living in America.” Then he broke into a wide smile. “Oh, and I remember playing soccer. I played a lot of soccer.”

“Yeah?”

“On my first day there, I met a guy named Vince Thomas. He’d been with USAID in Cameroon for a few years. He helped me settle in and we ended up becoming pretty good friends. He convinced me to join him in pickup soccer games after work. He had this crazy ability to locate a game we could jump into, anytime—games in empty lots, even on the streets. Some of my best memories are of chasing the ball, sweating like crazy and having the time of my life.”

“Were you any good?”

“I think I could be categorized as…a slightly below-average player. But in my defense, people are absolutely obsessed with soccer in Cameroon. They have one of the better national teams in Africa, and everyone plays the sport growing up.”

“Excuses…”

He laughed. “You asked.”

“What did you do there? For work? You mentioned something about the Office of Security yesterday?”

He nodded. “USAID had a lot of different projects, with people working all over the country. It was my job to help keep them and the locals we were working with safe, sometimes by setting up procedures like traveling in caravans with the right emergency supplies; other times by guarding the perimeter of our camps. In the far north and southwest, there’s ongoing violence from insurgencies and political instability, like the spillover effect of Boko Haram. Girls and women are at particular risk, so having an armed presence was critical, even when all we were doing was vaccinations.”

She glanced over at him. “It sounds like you were able to change people’s lives for the better.”

“I hope so,” he said with a nod, “and the longer I was there, the more I fell in love with Cameroon. I can’t wait to visit some of the places I didn’t get to the last time.”

“Like where?”

“The Nki National Park, for one. It’s one of the few places in Africa where you can see huge groups of elephants and chimpanzees together in their natural habitat. Usually, they live in different places.”

“And you’ll play soccer again.”

“Knowing Vince, I’m sure that will be a big part of it.”

By then, they’d reached the Cypress Swamp. Up ahead, Mitch was peering into one of the enclosures, looking for the mountain lion.

“If you enjoyed Cameroon so much, why did you leave?”

“That was Vince’s fault. He promoted me, and then recommended me for what was essentially his position in the C?te d’Ivoire.”

She smiled. “And you did the same thing in C?te d’Ivoire?”

“Kind of. Because I’d been promoted, I had people working under me, which meant more time in the field office and less time in the field. And unlike Cameroon, the country is growing fast economically. C?te d’Ivoire harvests a big chunk of the cocoa in the world, so a lot of our work there was about helping with governance or arranging for other business initiatives. Like…helping the cashew cooperative get commercial financing, things like that.”

They caught up with Mitch. She put her hand on his shoulder, bending close to his ear. “Do you see the cougar?”

“He’s lying in the rocks over there,” Mitch said, pointing to a mountain lion. “In the shade. You can see part of his head, but I think he’s taking a nap. He hasn’t moved at all.”

“Don’t they sleep during the day?” asked Tanner.

“They do,” Mitch answered with authority. “C’mon. Let’s go check out the alligators.” He turned and was off again, leaving them behind.

She nodded in his direction. “This is how the whole day will go. He runs ahead and gets there first. Then, as soon as I arrive, he’s off to see the next one. We usually finish the entire zoo in about an hour and a half.”

As they set off for the next enclosure, Kaitlyn said, “And Haiti was where you went next?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m impressed you remember. Yes, that ended up being the last place I worked.”

“How was it?”

“Again, an amazing local population. But the field office there is huge, so it was much more bureaucratic. And then there’s the work itself. It seems like the country gets hammered by hurricanes and earthquakes every other year. You finally think you’re making progress on infrastructure or cholera or setting up polling stations or whatever, and then another disaster strikes and you’re back to square one. There was a constant sense of being overwhelmed, with never enough time or money to make a lasting difference.”

“Which I suppose made your efforts even more critical, no?”

“I guess,” he said. “That’s why I went. But I felt a bit burned-out by the end.”

“So you took a break?”

“Between that and Covid making it impossible to get back there, yeah.”

“Hey, Mom!”

Kaitlyn spotted Mitch sandwiched between a family and a woman taking photos.

“Coming!”

“He’s got his mouth open!”

As they hurried to join Mitch, Kaitlyn reflected on the fact that she hadn’t had such an interesting conversation in years, maybe ever. In her world, people didn’t talk about soccer games in Cameroon, or cashew initiatives in the C?te d’Ivoire.

Sure enough, one of the alligators was lying in the sun with its mouth wide open.

“He’s regulating his temperature,” said Mitch. “I wonder if he could swallow me whole.”

“Hmmm…” Kaitlyn said. “His mouth is big, but you’ve grown since the last the time you were here.”

“They grab you and drag you in the water and spin you in circles until you drown. It’s called a death roll.”

“Good to know.”

“C’mon. Let’s go see the polar bears,” he said.

A moment later, they were retracing their earlier steps.

“Sorry,” she said to Tanner. “I warned you.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m having a great time, but I feel like I’ve been doing all the talking.”

“My life’s not all that interesting.”

“I doubt that. You’re a physician who also makes house calls, and a mom who’s raised two amazing children.”

She squinted at him skeptically. “That’s not exactly in the same league as vaccinating kids in a war zone.”

Tanner picked up a cup that had been discarded on the ground and dropped it in a nearby garbage can before returning to her side. “It wasn’t me who vaccinated the kids. Nor did I set up the program or pay for it.”

“I still think it’s remarkable that you chose to do that kind of service work in the first place. I try to do that, too, but obviously on a much smaller scale.” His expression encouraged her to go on. “In addition to my house calls, I volunteer once a week at a place that provides free meals to those who need them.”

“That’s great,” he said. “Is it at a church, or…?”

“No, it’s a nonprofit called Our Daily Bread,” she said. “They’re only open at lunch, but I’ve been volunteering there on Mondays since I first moved to Asheboro. They’ve been around for a long time, and I think they serve something like twenty thousand meals a year.”

“What made you decide to do something like that?”

“My dad,” she said simply. “He always had this thing about Mondays. When we were little, we’d be at the breakfast table and he’d walk in to pour himself a cup of coffee, and say, I was just thinking that Monday is the perfect day to start being the best version of yourself, since you’ve got six more days to practice. Or, Every week should begin with generosity, don’t you think? Wouldn’t the world be a better place? My brother and sister and I would roll our eyes at each other. But over time, I guess his attitude sank in, at least with me. He always walked the walk. He’s a dentist, and the first thing he did when he set up his practice was to reserve Monday mornings for patients who couldn’t afford to pay. It’s all his fault.”

“It’s a good thing.”

“I know it is, and I love him for it,” she said. “And I guess it makes sense, because he understands more than most people what it means to need help. He was born in the mountains of Kentucky, which is very rural and very poor, to a single, teenage mother with a sixth-grade education. He grew up in a decrepit mobile home. They lived on whatever his mom could trap or shoot along with food donations from the church, and in the winter, sometimes there was no heat at all. Not that my dad ever talks about his youth like that. He’s the kind of guy who just shares the good stories in life, like how much fun he used to have catching lizards or swimming in the pond or whatever. My mom told me about it. She’s a little more objective when it comes to my dad’s past.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“My dad’s a natural optimist, but I also think it was important to him that his kids love and respect his mom as much as he did. And we did. I mean, my grandma was her own cup of tea, no doubt about it. She chewed tobacco and was addicted to soap operas, and spending time with her was like visiting a different planet. I remember once when I was little, we arrived at her house to find her in the backyard shooting squirrels with a pellet gun. Of course, my sister and I started to cry when we saw the little corpses all laid out on the picnic table, but she was excited about the squirrel stew she planned to make for us. I think my sister and I gagged on the spot.”

Tanner grinned. “How was the stew?”

“Thank God my mom arrived in time to save us from having to eat it. But as out-there as my grandma seemed to us, she had a lot of love in her heart. I mean, look at how my dad turned out. He worked hard and had some caring teachers, but clearly his home life was somehow solid enough for him to earn a full scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University. And as soon as he could—even before he bought a house for himself and my mom—he moved my grandma to a small house in the suburbs of Lexington. She said it was the first place she’d ever lived with hot water that you didn’t have to heat up yourself.”

“That’s quite an upbringing.”

“No kidding. My dad is still practicing, by the way, though he’s finally—just this year—begun to cut his hours. He loves what he does. Nonetheless, he always made us feel like we were the true passion of his life. He made it to every one of our games and dance recitals and never a missed a parent-teacher conference.”

“And your mom?”

“She’s probably even smarter than my dad.”

“Yeah?”

“She went to fancy private schools and her family belonged to the country club. She majored in math and philosophy and was valedictorian in both high school and at the University of Kentucky. She started off teaching, but after she and my dad got married and had kids, she chose to be a stay-at-home mom. She was always available when one of her own kids needed her, even after we moved away. When I was pregnant with Mitch and on bed rest, she dropped everything and stayed with me for months.”

“They sound like a great pair.”

“They are,” said Kaitlyn.

By then, they’d reached the polar bears. Because one of them was splashing in the water, Mitch had hung around longer than usual. Nearby were seals and sea lions, as well as arctic foxes, which captured his attention as well. When Kaitlyn asked him again if he was hungry, he shook his head and announced that it was time to check out the African animals, and again, he led the way.

“What do you do when you make house calls?” asked Tanner.

“The same things I do in the office. I’ll check vitals and take blood samples and make sure people get the prescriptions they need. If there are children, I’ll do vaccinations. Or I clean wounds and do stitches. It sort of depends on who I’m seeing. Officially, they’re patients of the office, even though they’ve never set foot inside.”

“What if they need an X-ray or something?”

“In that case, I try to convince them to go to the hospital.”

“It seems like it would make for a long workweek, since you’re probably on call as well, right?”

“Not really. Being on call is different than it was when I first started to practice. The hospital here now has its own clinicians, so you’re not expected to go in. Instead, you might hear from a patient who didn’t get their prescription or needs a prescription refilled. If they’re having problems, you either tell them to come into the office in the morning or you send them to the emergency room. If you have your phone, you don’t even have to leave the house.”

As they reached the area of the zoo dedicated to elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos, and chimpanzees, their conversation drifted back to Tanner’s time overseas. He described puff-puff and beans, which he ate whenever he went to the market, and mentioned ndolé, a flavorful spinach stew that Vince had introduced him to on his first night in Cameroon. He described watching the African Nations Championship in 2016 in a bar so packed that the crowd spilled onto the streets; Cameroon beat DR Congo 3–1, and the jubilation lasted until almost dawn. He told her about the apes and monkeys he saw at Mefou National Park, and somewhere along the way she found herself thinking, One day I’d like to go there, too.

On their way back—as they viewed the exotic animals a second time—Mitch asked if Tanner had heard about the white deer that had been spotted in the woods.

“I haven’t,” he said. “I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a white deer.”

“There is,” Mitch said solemnly. “It’s been on the news.”

When Tanner glanced at Kaitlyn, she nodded. “It’s real.”

“Maybe they’ll catch it and put it in the zoo,” Mitch speculated.

“I hope not,” Kaitlyn interjected. “I want it to remain free in the wild.”

“I want to see it,” Mitch said, before skipping ahead again.

Over lunch at Junction Springs Cafe, Mitch was spellbound by Tanner’s description of the wildlife in Cameroon. For his part, Mitch shared a stream of animal trivia he’d learned from a book—that an elephant has forty thousand muscles in its trunk, or that lions can get their hydration from plants. Through it all, Kaitlyn found her gaze drifting from Mitch to Tanner, relieved that Mitch seemed perfectly at ease. As they were leaving, somehow they started talking about Frisbee. In the end, Mitch convinced her to swing by a nearby Walmart, where Tanner hopped out of the car and vanished into the store, reappearing with a Frisbee a few minutes later.

They drove to Bicentennial Park and for half an hour, Kaitlyn, Tanner, and Mitch tossed the Frisbee back and forth. They started by standing close to one another, but as they gradually moved farther apart, Tanner and Kaitlyn found themselves chasing one errant throw after another while Mitch giggled and called out, “Sorry!” After twenty minutes, a thin sheen of sweat coated both their foreheads.

Kaitlyn tried to remember the last time, if ever, George had done something like this with Mitch, but nothing came to mind. It warmed her heart, but it was getting late.

Tanner made a final lunge to retrieve Mitch’s wildly undirected throw. As he approached her, Frisbee in hand, he smiled.

“I know you’re working tonight,” he said, still catching his breath, “but I couldn’t resist the Frisbee thing once Mitch said he wanted to try.”

Mitch ran to join them.

“Do we have to go?” he said.

“It’s time. But you had fun, right?”

“It was awesome!” Then, with his mind moving quickly, he furrowed his brow. “Is Casey going to be home tonight?”

“She should be. She knows the drill.”

“Okay,” he said. “Can we have hot dogs for dinner?”

“I was thinking tuna casserole.”

“With potato chips on top?”

“Of course,” she said. Satisfied, Mitch started toward the Suburban. As they followed, Kaitlyn glanced at Tanner. “I assume you’ll want me to drop you at the hotel?”

“If you don’t mind,” he said. “After all this running around, I think I need a shower and some horizontal time before dinner.”

The drive to the hotel took only a few minutes. After Tanner got out, he hovered in the open door.

“I had a great time, Mitch,” he said with a playful salute. “And thanks for teaching me about the animals.”

“No problem,” Mitch said, sounding distracted; the engine noise of Mario Kart Tour drifted from the backseat.

“Thanks again for today, Kaitlyn,” Tanner said. “And just so you know, I’m going to be thinking about your dad and his ideas about Mondays. I think it’s a good goal for me.”

“Thanks for coming with us.”

With that, he started toward the hotel entrance. Part of her expected him to look back at her, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled open the glass door and stepped inside, quickly vanishing from sight.

Releasing the brake, she tried not to feel deflated that he hadn’t suggested getting together again; at the same time, it was probably for the best. Wasn’t it enough to simply enjoy the day they’d had?

Of course it was, she decided. She hadn’t spent a day like today in forever—couldn’t remember when she’d felt like just a woman—not simply a mother or a doctor—and Tanner made her realize how much she’d missed that feeling.

V

“Where were you?” Casey asked, as soon as Kaitlyn walked in. Mitch had already burst inside, making a beeline for the kitchen.

“We were at the zoo,” she said. “You knew that.” Catching sight of her son reaching for the cookie container, she called out, “Mitch! What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m getting some cookies.”

“Only take one—”

“Mom,” Casey interrupted. “I’m trying to talk to you. Why didn’t you answer my texts earlier?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t check my phone.”

“She was talking to Mr. Tanner,” Mitch explained. “He’s cool.”

“Who’s Mr. Tanner?” Casey asked.

“Tanner Hughes,” Kaitlyn said. “The guy you hit last night?”

“Why were you at the zoo with him ?”

“When he found out we were going, he asked if he could join us,” she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Then she quickly deflected. “Why were you texting?”

Casey stared at her, but miraculously she let it pass.

“I wanted to know when you were getting home because I need the Suburban to pick up supplies. We’re decorating the lockers tonight, remember? Ahead of the baseball game? I told you last week.”

Kaitlyn vaguely remembered Casey mentioning it, though she hadn’t realized it would be on Sunday.

“You can’t go to the school tonight. I’m working and you have to watch Mitch.”

“It’s only going to be an hour or two. He’ll be fine by himself. Or we can ask Mrs. Simpson to watch him.”

“Casey—”

“All right,” she said, cutting her mother off. “What if I bring him?”

“To the high school? With your friends?”

“Why not? He’d have fun.”

“What if he doesn’t want to go?”

Casey turned toward the kitchen. “Hey, Mitch! You wanna come with me and my friends to the high school tonight? To decorate some lockers with streamers and stuff?”

“Yeah!” he cheered. “That sounds awesome! Can I help?”

“Of course.” Casey turned a triumphant look on Kaitlyn. “See? No problem. He wants to come.”

Kaitlyn felt cornered. “Fine. But you need to be home no later than eight.”

“If Camille can give us a ride to school later, can I use the car to get supplies now?”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Kaitlyn said.

“Because of the accident?”

“You’re making it sound like it’s no big deal.”

“I know it’s a big deal! But just so you know, all of this is partly your fault, too. I shouldn’t have had to drive the Suburban last night in the first place.”

It took Kaitlyn a moment to catch up.

“Are you talking about having your own car? We’ve talked about this and decided that once you graduate…”

“No, you decided that. And if I lived with Dad, I’d already have a car.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I just talked to him, Mom. Right before you got home.” She tossed her head in defiance. “He said”—she drew out the words deliberately—“that if I move in with him, he’d be happy get me a car.”

Kaitlyn felt a chill go through her. Of course he’d say that. “You don’t want to move right before your senior year. You’d leave all your friends behind.”

“I’m going to leave them behind as soon as I start college anyway, so what’s the big deal? And until then, I’d have a car.”

Kaitlyn stared at her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mitch in the kitchen and knew he’d heard his sister as well. “And you’re considering it?”

Casey put her hands on her hips, a challenging light in her eyes. “Why shouldn’t I?”

VI

While Casey headed out for supplies, Kaitlyn made dinner. She didn’t want to think about Casey and what she’d threatened, but she couldn’t help it. There’d been something in her tone this time that made Kaitlyn wonder if her daughter was serious.

The thought of Casey going to live with her dad made her feel ill; she couldn’t imagine not having her around. The truth was, Casey was a good kid—what other teenager would invite her nine-year-old brother along when doing something with her friends? She really tried to make time for her brother in her busy life. She took him to the beach last summer, she regularly watched movies with him, and when he’d been sick last November, she’d let him sleep in her room. Mitch, Kaitlyn knew, would be heartbroken if Casey left.

Trying to push the worry aside, she went to her home office and opened her laptop. Uploading the accident photos from her phone, she dashed off an email to Dan Hendrix—her insurance broker and someone she’d known for years—explaining what had happened.

Then she organized the medical bag she used for house calls, checking the batteries in the oximeter and that the blood pressure cuff, thermometer, and portable EKG were working. She reviewed the list of patients to visit and their medical charts on her iPad, making a list of supplies to get from the office. Because one of her patients had a joint infection, she needed to prefill a syringe with lidocaine and triamcinolone; because one of the families had children in kindergarten, she would bring along DTaP, MMR, and IPV vaccines. Still another patient might need a cortisone injection in her knee. She reminded herself to pick up the prescriptions that had been delivered from the pharmacy, some of which she paid for herself when she knew her patients couldn’t afford them.

Finally ready, she emerged from the office. Casey had returned and was sitting with Mitch watching one of the Transformers movies.

“I’m heading out,” Kaitlyn announced. “The casserole is ready to put in the oven for dinner. Is there anything you need before I go?”

“How about a million dollars and a red Ferrari?” Casey said without looking up.

“And I’d like Bumblebee,” Mitch added.

Kaitlyn felt proud of herself for remembering that Bumblebee was one of the characters in the Transformers movies. “Anyway, you’ll be home by eight, right?”

“Yes, Mom,” Casey drawled.

“I shouldn’t be home much later than that, but I’ll let you know if something comes up. See you in a bit.”

Engrossed in the movie, neither replied, and a moment later, Kaitlyn was out the door.

VII

Kaitlyn drove to the office and collected everything on her checklist. As she was leaving, her phone rang. She was surprised to see that Dan, her insurance broker, was calling.

“I didn’t expect to hear from you already,” she said. “It’s Sunday. Why are you working?”

“Lori went to her mom’s this weekend with the kids,” Dan replied, “so I was just getting a jump start on the week. Can you tell me what exactly happened?”

Kaitlyn told him what she knew, including the fact that the Suburban seemed fine and that neither Casey nor Tanner had been hurt.

“Okay,” he said, before letting her know that the adjuster would contact Tanner in the morning and everything would be taken care of. For a few minutes they chatted about their families.

After hanging up, Kaitlyn was about to put the phone back into her bag. Instead, she pulled up the text thread with Tanner and messaged him:

I spoke to my insurance guy. You should hear from the adjuster in the morning. He also said not to worry—your car will be good as new by the end.

Her fingers hovered as she debated. Then, after drawing a breath, she added:

I had a lot of fun today. Have a great night.

She waited for a moment, watching for the dots that signified he was responding, but none appeared. Sliding the phone back into her bag, she loaded the Suburban and hit the road, leaving Asheboro for the surrounding county. Her first stop was a mobile home park six or seven miles outside the town limits.

For the next hour and a half, she saw one patient after another. She injected one patient in the elbow and another in the knee. She took a dozen blood pressure and temperature readings; examined ears, noses, and throats; listened to hearts and lungs; and immunized a five-year-old. There were two new patients, both of whom had cuts that had become infected. She cleaned the wounds, provided them with antibiotics, and while she knew it made them nervous, nonetheless created medical records for them. She dropped off three prescriptions as well.

After finishing up at the trailer park, she visited three more homes. These patients were elderly, so all received an EKG, in addition to the more routine tests. She also took vials of blood to forward to the lab.

From there, she made two more visits to drop off prescriptions, arriving home at half past eight.

When she walked in, Mitch and Casey were sitting together on the couch again, this time with a bowl of popcorn between them.

“How did it go at the school?” she asked.

“It was awesome!” Mitch answered. “We put up balloons and everything!”

“I’m glad you had fun,” she said. “But shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed about now?”

Reluctantly, he rose from the couch.

“Good night, you bedbug,” Casey said, tossing a piece of popcorn at him.

“Good night, you bubble butt,” Mitch retorted, and Casey giggled.

For a moment, Kaitlyn wondered whether she should try to speak with Casey again but decided that it might be best to let things rest for now.

The last thing she wanted was another argument, if only because it might make Casey even more determined to go.

VIII

Later, after Mitch had bathed and put on his pajamas, she read him a chapter from the novel Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Though Mitch was old enough to read on his own, it was something she’d done with him ever since he was a baby, and she wasn’t willing to give it up just yet. She figured the day was coming soon enough; Mitch would bring an end to that tradition just as Casey eventually had.

After kissing him good night, she was about to turn out the light when Mitch spoke up.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, sweetie?”

“Casey isn’t really going to move in with Dad, is she?”

“She just talks sometimes,” Kaitlyn answered, hoping she was right. “You know how she is.”

“I don’t want her to leave.”

Kaitlyn could hear the fear in his voice. “I know, honey.”

She gave him an extra kiss and turned out the light before half-closing the door behind her. Peeking in on Casey, she saw her studying in bed and decided not to interrupt. It had been a long day—a long weekend, in fact—and she was tired.

And yet…

She wrapped her arms around herself, thinking again that, even if Casey’s threat had definitely thrown her for a loop, today was one of the better days she’d had in a long time.

IX

Kaitlyn tidied up the living room and the kitchen downstairs before traipsing up the steps to the master bathroom and turning on the shower. As steam began to fill the room, she found herself reflecting on her time at the zoo with Tanner.

It was uncanny how comfortable she felt around him, almost as though they’d been friends for years. Their easy give-and-take underscored how much she missed her social life. She missed adult conversations. All in all, it was a reminder that she was more than simply a mother and a physician, and if nothing else, their afternoon at the zoo had reawakened that awareness of herself.

In the shower, she shampooed and lathered before rinsing her hair. After drying off, she wrapped herself in a towel and realized she’d left her phone in the bag downstairs in her office. Making sure her towel was secure, she padded from her bedroom to the office and retrieved it. When she pressed the side button, her heart skipped a beat as she saw that Tanner had answered her text.

I appreciate you reaching out to the insurance company already. Thank you also for letting me tag along today. It was great getting to know you a little better, and meeting Mitch. Perhaps I’ll see you around?

She smiled and debated sending a response. I’d like that sounded too eager, maybe even desperate; We’ll see struck her as too coy. Unable to reach a decision, she decided to sleep on it.

Perhaps I’ll see you around?

He likes me, she thought, feeling slightly breathless. And I like him. But again, that wasn’t the issue. He’s leaving, she reminded herself .

On impulse, she crawled into bed naked for the first time in years. Luxuriating in the feel of the sheets against her skin, she waited for her mind to slow down. Instead, she kept visualizing Tanner as he walked beside her.

He likes me, she thought again, and it took her a long time to finally fall asleep.

X

Monday began with the rush typical of a weekday. Kaitlyn got the kids to school and went to the office, where she worked steadily until eleven. Then she replenished her medical bag and headed for Our Daily Bread.

As soon as she entered the nondescript building, she grabbed an apron from one of the hooks on the wall. She called out greetings to the regular volunteers. Entering the bustling kitchen, she did a double take when she noticed a man slicing tomatoes for a huge container of salad.

“Tanner?”

“Hi, Kaitlyn,” he said with a friendly wave. “Happy Monday.”

A few of the other volunteers exchanged glances but said nothing.

“What are you doing here?”

“Volunteering,” he said. “I called earlier to see if they needed help today, and it turns out that Evelyn couldn’t make it. So here I am.”

“But why?”

“Because I had some free time, and it’s a good thing to do,” he explained in a matter-of-fact way. “And I wanted to see you again.”

The other volunteers’ eyes widened with what seemed to be delight. As for Kaitlyn, she wasn’t exactly upset by his presence, but she wasn’t sure what to think. All she knew for sure was that she didn’t want an audience while she tried to figure it out.

“Oh, well…good for you,” she responded. She swallowed. “I’m going to head out front since they’ll be opening the doors in a minute.”

“Do your thing,” he said with a casual wave before turning his attention to the tomatoes again.

Kaitlyn walked to the serving line while trying to ignore the obvious fascination of those around her.

“Everything okay?” Linda asked her. She’d been volunteering here even longer than Kaitlyn had, and they had been friends for years.

“I’m fine,” Kaitlyn answered.

“I’m glad,” she commented. “Because, you know, Margaret’s already nicknamed him Handsome Stranger.”

All Kaitlyn could do was close her eyes and think, I can’t believe he’s here.

XI

They served more than seventy meals over the next hour and a half, and toward the end, an older man with a bad cough asked if she had a few minutes to see him. She conducted an exam in the small administrative office and diagnosed bronchitis. Kaitlyn gave him antibiotics, the samples courtesy of the pharmaceutical rep who’d brought donuts earlier that morning.

Afterward, Kaitlyn returned to the kitchen, where the cleanup was in full swing. While most of the other volunteers were out front cleaning the tables, Kaitlyn wandered to Tanner’s side as he was scrubbing down the cutting board in the sink.

“How did it go with the patient?” he asked. Though she had the sense that the few remaining workers were watching out of the corners of their eyes, she managed to maintain her composure.

“It was fine.”

“You didn’t mention that you treat patients here, too.”

“It doesn’t happen that much.” She cleared her throat. “But…I must say that your presence here was a little unexpected.”

“I told you that I’d be thinking about your dad,” he said, “and it’s Monday.” He smiled, those green-gold eyes holding her captive. “It’s good to see you again.”

She felt the familiar flush creeping up her neck. “You, too. But I have to head back to the office.”

“Did you even have time to eat?”

“No, but I usually skip lunch.”

“That’s not good for you, you know. I’ll have to talk to your doctor about that.”

She tried and failed to suppress a giggle.

“Can I walk you out? I’m guessing I’m going to be here for another hour or so.”

“Sure,” she answered, before falling in beside him. “Oh, before I forget,” Kaitlyn went on, “did you hear from the insurance adjuster yet?”

Tanner nodded. “I spoke to him this morning. He’s already had the car towed, and I’m supposed to meet him at Bill’s Body Shop at three to go over everything. He also set up a rental for me.”

When they reached the Suburban, he said, “I’m glad I came here today.”

“If I’d known, I would have warned you that we wouldn’t have a chance to talk.”

“It’s okay,” he said with a lazy shrug. “But I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

She felt her heart start to race in her chest. Not a good idea, a sensible voice inside her head scolded.

“I’ll have to see what the kids are doing,” she replied after a moment’s hesitation. “Can I text you later? Once I talk to them?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “And if tomorrow doesn’t work, maybe another night?”

She expelled a sigh. “Sounds good.”