Chapter 4
FOUR
W hy hadn’t she looked at his card when he gave it to her? She would have had at least a minute to compose herself. Instead, she stood there like a fool, trying to settle her scattered thoughts, which were all screaming that any hope of her getting a permanent position had gone out of the door.
Sickly, she stared at him. So much was riding on this job, and despite how nice and understanding he appeared to be, she had no doubt she’d be getting an email terminating her employment.
Concern flashed across his handsome face. “Are you okay? Did some of the coffee splash on you?”
“I’m fine.” She was uncomfortably aware of Brian watching from behind the reception counter and other employees observing them as they walked through the lobby to perform their various tasks.
If Livvy was upset at Nancy mentioning Kent Bryant, she would certainly be livid at her drenching him with coffee.
“Sorry again,” she apologized, starting to edge away from the embarrassing situation.
“Mr. Bryant.” Livvy’s voice made her feet freeze as her supervisor came up next to them. “What happened?”
Unable to find her tongue to explain with Livvy’s piercing gaze on her, she could only stare back at her with quivering nerves.
“I wasn’t watching where I was walking, and I accidently bumped into Ms. …?” Mr. Bryant explained without missing a beat.
The stern expression on Livvy’s face didn’t relax. “If you bumped into her , then why did I hear Sage apologizing to you?”
“I asked her if there were any more napkins behind the counter, and she must have been about to tell me no,” Mr. Bryant told Livvy sharply.
Sage had never seen Livvy’s attitude change so abruptly.
“Let me help you get cleaned up. There’s a spot remover in the women’s lounge.”
Using the opportunity to escape, Sage didn’t even look back to see if he went with Livvy. She returned to her desk, grabbed her purse, and made sure she had logged off from her computer. Double-checking everything she did in the office had become second nature to her.
Indecisively, she hesitated. Unless she got the money from lunch back, she wasn’t going to be able to make her rent.
With lagging footsteps, she headed to Livvy’s office. If she was still with Kent Bryant, she would wait for another day. There was no way she was going to seek her out and ask for the money in front of him.
Livvy wasn’t in her office. Sage bit her lip while she twisted the strap on her purse. About to give up, she gave a sigh of relief at seeing Livvy come around the corner.
“Whatever you need, Sage, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I’m busy. Mr. Hollingsworth is waiting for me to bring him a contract that needs his signature.”
Livvy opened her office door and went inside, shutting the door behind her.
Gaping at the closed door, Sage was still standing there, stunned at Livvy’s blatantly rude behavior, when she came back out with a file in her hand
“Sage, what do you not understand? Any problem you have will have to wait until tomorrow,” Livvy said scathingly, walking away before she could remind her that she didn’t work tomorrow.
Giving up, she left the office, fighting back the ball of dread that she was never going to get her money back.
On the drive home, she went over what few possessions she had left that she could sell. There wasn’t a lot left that could replace the missing money.
She pulled into a parking spot reserved for her apartment and listlessly got out of the car.
Every day, it seemed as if there was another problem bearing down on her. When was she going to catch a break? The last two years had become a never-ending nightmare from which she didn’t think she was going to wake up.
When she opened the door of her apartment, the welcoming sounds of running footsteps made her problems melt away.
“You’re home!” a childish voice, which she recognized as belonging to Colby, shrieked.
She braced herself in time before arms circled her legs. Glancing down, she saw her niece grinning up at her. She grinned back, then bent down to pick Colby up and give her a tight hug.
“Where’s your sister?”
“She’s coming.” Twisting in her arms, Colby pointed down the hallway. “She’s so slow.”
Her niece complaining about her sister’s slow speed always made her laugh.
“In a few months, Tinsley will be outrunning you.”
Huffily, Colby folded her arms across her chest. “I’m faster,” she bragged.
“For now.”
She carried Colby down the hallway, then set the to-go box she had brought home with her onto the ledge of the kitchen counter before bending down to pick up Tinsley.
“And what have you been up to, little miss?”
The girls giggled at her calling Tinsley little miss. She hugged them both before turning around to find her sister sitting on the couch, watching the interaction between her and her daughters.
“These two little rug rats behave today?” she teased, placing Colby on the floor. She kept Tinsley on her hip and carried her over to the couch to sit down, setting the two-year-old on her lap as she carefully gauged her sister’s appearance.
Glory gave her daughters a gentle smile. “They’ve been angels.”
Sage turned her gaze back to her nieces, who were staring at her expectantly.
“I guess that means you can have your special kisses.”
Juggling Tinsley to her side, she reached into her purse to take out a baggie, then pulled out two chocolate kisses and opened them one at a time, giving each girl a piece.
With the chocolate dissolving in her mouth, Tinsley sidled off her lap.
“I love you, Aunt Sage.” Colby’s arms reached around her for another hug.
Sage looked down at her niece. She couldn’t love the child more if she were her own. Both girls, and her sister, were worth every sacrifice she made.
“I love you, too, sweetie.”
Tinsley showed her love by giving her a chocolate kiss on her cheek before toddling off to follow her sister, who was shoving a pink Teddy bear into a play stroller.
After contently watching the girls play for a few moments, Sage turned back to her sister, catching the pain-filled expression on her face before Glory could mask it.
“Having a bad day?” Sage asked her quietly.
Her sister shook her head. “Not at all.”
Reaching out, she touched her sister’s pale hand. “Don’t lie to me,” she said softly so the girls couldn’t hear. “Do you need me to get your pain medicine?”
“No, they make me sleepy. I’ll take it after dinner.”
Knowing it was useless to argue, Sage dropped the subject.
“I had lunch out today. I brought the sandwich and fries home. I’ll heat it up for you while I make the girls dinner.”
“You have it. I’ll eat what the girls are having.”
“I’m going to fix them fish sticks and tater tots. You hate fish sticks. I love them.” Releasing her sister’s hand, she rose from the couch. “I’ll get dinner on.”
She walked to the small kitchenette and took out the small box of fish sticks crusted with vegetables and tater tots.
Placing them in the oven, she took the half steak sandwich and fries and placed them in the air fryer.
She then set the table while keeping watch over her nieces and her sister, who was beginning to doze off. She started talking to keep her awake.
“I finally met the new lawyer Hollingsworth hired.”
Glory’s pain-filled eyes opened. “What did you think of him?”
“He seemed nice.” She shrugged, setting three forks on the table on a pretty napkin, which she had bought at a Dollar Store.
“Was he good-looking?”
She turned back toward the kitchen to check on the fish sticks. “He was passable.”
Curiosity brought life to Glory’s gaze. “What kind of answer is that?”
Closing the oven door, Sage leaned against the kitchen island to face her sister. “He had thick brown hair, blue eyes, tall. He was just average.”
Her sister stared at her. “Has his picture been added to Hollingsworth’s site yet?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t checked.”
Giving her a disbelieving sound, Glory reached for her laptop on the small table next to her. Her sister had been curious about what Kent Bryant looked like since she had started working at Hollingsworth.
Grinning, Sage pulled out the leftovers from the air fryer and placed them onto a plate. Then she took out the fish and tots. She placed the food on the table, as well as homemade applesauce she had made during the weekend.
Satisfied that her sister had perked up, she went to the couch. “Ready for dinner?”
Glory looked up from the laptop. “His picture isn’t on the website. I can’t find it anywhere on the Internet.”
“Hmm.” Reaching out, she closed the laptop before holding out her hands. “I guess Mr. Bryant is camera shy.”
Her sister took her hands and slowly rose to her feet.
“I want to see what he looks like. That way, when you talk about him, I can picture him in my mind.” Her grin slipped. Living through Sage vicariously was one of the true pleasures Glory still had.
When she saw her sister was stable on her feet, she dropped her hands. “Then I’ll make sure not to talk about him anymore until his picture is posted,” she teased through a tight throat.
As her sister slowly walked toward the small table, Sage followed her with the oxygen tank on wheels, maneuvering it around the girls’ toys.
How she wished she could afford one that was smaller.
Buying the oxygen machine, which her sister’s insurance deemed an unnecessary luxury, was just one of the many reasons she was so desperate to gain more hours.
Once Glory was seated at the table, she wound the oxygen tube around the handle so the girls wouldn’t trip over the tubing.
“Or you could take a picture of him for me.”
Pouring her a glass of water, Sage made a face at her sister. “No, thanks. With the way my luck is going, someone will see me taking a picture of him and Livvy would find out.”
Glory raised curious eyes to her. “Why would she care?”
“She seems to consider Mr. Bryant her personal property.”
“Oh …” Glory drawled out. “Livvy is aiming high, isn’t she?”
Sage plucked up Tinsley as she toddled past her and placed her in highchair on Glory’s other side. “Come eat, Colby,” she said before returning her attention to her sister. “Seems she has a thing for men in power.”
At the mention of food, Colby deserted the stroller to climb onto a chair at the table. Taking the remaining chair, Sage started putting food on Tinsley’s suction plate then gave her a sippy cup filled with milk while Glory filled Colby’s plate.
After seeing the girls were taken care of, Sage started serving herself, only taking a couple of fish sticks for herself before she scooped out a spoonful of applesauce.
“Is that all you’re going to eat?” Glory asked, raising her eyes from the plate.
“I had a big lunch. I’m not going to be able to eat this.”
When Glory hesitated to eat the food she had given her, she gave her a serious frown. “Eat.”
Her sister gave in and reached for the sandwich.
Sage couldn’t help but smile at the blissful expression on Glory’s face. “Good, isn’t it?”
“It’s delicious. I don’t know how you managed not to eat the whole thing.”
At the enjoyment on Glory’s face, she wished she had saved it all for her.
As she stared down at her plate, a lump in her throat prevented her from being able to take a bite of her own food.
“The restaurant served a basket of bread. I ate too much.”
Glory took her at her word. Restaurant bread had always been her weakness whenever their parents had splurged.
“What made you eat out today? You haven’t eaten out before.”
“It was Nancy’s birthday. I really didn’t have a choice.”
“Ahh … now I understand. I bet you worried about money the whole time.”
Looking up from her plate, she started feeding Tinsley her applesauce. “Not when I was eating the bread,” she joked. Glancing at her sister, she forced a smile on her lips. “Don’t worry; it’s all good.”
“Will it be, though?” Glory’s eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t cry. I used my emergency cash. I’ll make it up.”
“How?”
“Let me worry about that,” she said sternly. “Don’t worry; you’ll get frown lines.”
With a hiccupping laugh, Glory gave Tinsley a fish stick to play with.
“I don’t have to worry about getting winkles anymore.”
“Stop, Glory. Everything is going to be okay.”
Their eyes met. They both knew nothing was going to be okay again. Her sister was slowly dying, with each beat of her heart. Every part of their life was as far from being okay as it could possibly get.