27. Elsa
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Elsa
My cheeks were burning up as I started driving after I made a quick call to my boss to tell her I was taking Tommy to an appointment. I couldn’t get over what Tate had said back at the café.
“Haven had a crush on me?” I whispered to myself in the car. “You can’t think about this now,” I ordered myself as I skidded to a stop in the parking lot at the school.
I didn’t know the rules, but I figured I was supposed to go in through the main entrance. I smiled as I walked in because it was the same school I had attended, although it had definitely been upgraded.
When I got to the reception area,Mrs. Wilson glanced up, tipping her head to the side. She looked mostly the same, with just more silver in her hair.
“Mrs.Wilson?” I squeaked.
Her brows hitched up. “That’s me. Elsa Whitney?”
“It’s me.” I felt silly as I smiled at her.
She had always been so sweet to me. I had been, without a doubt, awkward in school. I’d always felt a little out of place. Mostly because, although Alaska was loosey-goosey when it came to the range of people who lived here, the whole off-the-grid lifestyle was fairly far to one side of that range.
“I just want you to know I have all my vaccines.” I patted my upper arms with my hands.
She chuckled. “Good to know, sweetheart.”
I remembered my parents arguing about that. My dad had wanted my mom to get an exemption, and she had refused.
“I already got a call from Haven Silver, and I understand you’re here to pick up Tommy Silver,” she added.
I tried to pretend I wasn’t blushing. “I’m renting a room out at Heartfire Falls,” I offered by way of explanation.
“Honey, you don’t need to explain. You’re on the pickup list. Tommy’s very excited. He thinks the doctor will be more fun with you.” She shook her head with a bemused smile.
I snorted a laugh. “We’ll see how it goes.”
A moment later, she made sure Tommy had his homework in his backpack, and off we went.
“What’s this doctor’s appointment for?” I asked.
Tommy let out a put-upon sigh. “It’s my annual appointment. Dad says I have to go. I already had to go to the lab yesterday and they took my blood. That’s more fun than this part.”
“It is?” I was genuinely curious.
Tommy’s head bobbed enthusiastically. “Yeah, it doesn’t hurt and then they have tubes of my blood.”
Sliding my gaze to his, I laughed softly. “Well, good for you. Annual appointments are important too.”
“Are they, though?” He slid his gaze sideways as I turned onto Main Street.
“Yeah. Take it from someone who knows. They’re important.”
“What do you mean, ‘someone who knows’?”
I pondered what I should tell Tommy. I’d spent enough time with his family to know they took a matter-of-fact approach to the things that happened in life, so I offered the truth.
“I don’t know how much you know about my childhood, but I grew up next door to your family.
My dad was... well, I loved him a lot, but he didn’t believe in modern medicine.
He died from pneumonia because he refused to go to the doctor.
We’ll never know if they could’ve treated him. As a result, I can never get him back.”
Tommy was very quiet before saying softly, “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I am too. I appreciate that.”
“Now I feel like it wasn’t nice for me to complain about going to the doctor,” Tommy added.
“Oh, that doesn’t mean I like going to the doctor,” I added, casting him a quick smile. “It just means it’s important to do these things.”
Haven had texted me the directions for where to go, but it was the same family medical office my mother had taken me to, so I knew where it was. Like the school, it had also been updated.
In short order, I was waiting with Tommy in the office after the medical assistant, a friendly woman named Rachel, escorted us in. She tipped her head to the side, her glossy dark hair swinging in its ponytail as she smiled at Tommy.
“This is Elsa,” he announced, gesturing to me. “She’s here in place of my dad.”
Rachel’s eyes sparkled as she met my gaze. “Your dad left a message with the receptionist.”
“Haven didn’t mention that there was anything to be concerned about, and I’ve never been to a doctor’s appointment with a child, so I’m here for moral support,” I said quickly.
“That is the most important part,” Rachel said. “Do you have any questions or concerns about your health, Tommy?”
Tommy drummed his fingers on his knees. “I keep growing out of my pants, and Grandma says I’m like an empty vessel when it comes to food.”
Rachel’s lips quirked. “And how much do you eat?”
“As much as I can,” Tommy answered honestly.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“All right, kiddo, let’s get you on the scale.” She glanced toward me. “Tommy’s always been healthy. When Haven called earlier, he said everything was status quo.”
After she weighed Tommy and checked his height, she announced, “No wonder you’re like an empty vessel. There are three more inches of you to feed.”
Tommy’s eyes went comically wide, and his hair standing straight up in the front gave him an exaggerated look.
There was a light knock on the door, and Rachel called out, “Come in.”
A pretty woman with glasses and dark hair with pink-and-purple streaks twisted into a knot came walking in. She looked at Tommy, her gaze quizzical when she glanced toward me.
“This is Elsa Whitney,” Rachel explained.
“Tommy’s chaperone,” I offered.
Tommy thought that was hysterical. “Elsa lives out at Heartfire Falls, and my dad has a crush on her.”