A Rather Unfortunate, Unavoidable Truth

Noelle was beyond stressed about the situation with her mom. Larry had been incredibly kind to give her tissues and get her out of work like that but it was embarrassing that someone she saw so often caught her crying. 

She didn't know much about him. He was a programmer at BritTech based on his badge and seemed to be about her parents' age, maybe a little younger. He gave good tips too. 

She would have to thank him again the next time she saw him. For now, all she could do was stress herself out while she waited for further news. She tried reading but couldn't focus very well. 

When her phone rang, she pounced on it. "Dad? What's happening?"

Doug Stevenson sighed. "Your mother has pancreatitis. They're taking her gall bladder out tomorrow morning. It's a fairly routine procedure so she should be fine. The recovery time isn't supposed to be that long either."