Chapter 6

At the laughter, Wesley grins.

“They’re too damn nosy,” he mutters, flipping the page. Jason

scrawls his signature at the bottom of his own form, then moves

onto the next. More questions—he almost says something but he knows

he’ll be ignored.

Minutes pass

slowly like water dripping from a leaky tap. The elderly couple

shuffle to a pair of seats close to the nurse’s desk so they won’t

have far to go to return the forms. Behind Jason, the door opens

but shuts again, then opens wide as a woman enters. She’s young,

maybe a few years older than he is, and already has that frazzled

look about her that he’s always associated with his own mother.

This woman holds a bulky baby carrier in one hand while two small

children play hide-and-seek between her legs. The girl in pigtails

can’t be more than five, and her younger brother’s buzz cut leaves

his ears red from the wind outside. “Kids, come on,” the woman

sighs, trying to disentangle herself from the children. “Brenna,