Daisy: But, Aud, I thought they couldn’t operate?
Audrey: New doctor = more optimistic. Maybe he can fix me.
I desperately want to be happy for Audrey, but something about the possibility of surgery now, when it’s never been an option before, makes me feel skeptical. But I don’t want to be a downer.
Daisy: He will! Think positively!
Audrey: I’m trying.
Daisy: I’ve got fingers and toes crossed for you.
Audrey: Thanks, Dais. Have a great time in Seattle. Miss you already!
Daisy: Miss you, too.
I put away the phone and Mason looks over at me quizzically. His tall frame is squished into the aisle seat. Despite her height, Cassie has room to spare in the middle.
“Everything okay?” Mason asks.
“I’m not sure,” I say, pressing my head against the window as we pull up at the gate, incredibly thankful that my fellow travelers are a disinterested fembot and a man who’s never been one to pry.
We check in to the hotel, have dinner, and bid one another goodnight. After posting a response to Megan’s note about my theory that Monday morning is clearly better than Sunday night, I check my email.
There’s nothing from Matt.
I start a movie, but it’s a romantic comedy, and all it does is make me see how unfunny my life is. I turn it off and climb into bed hoping tomorrow will be a better day. Before I turn out the lights, I text Megan.
Daisy: Crap week. Can’t wait to hang out.
Megan: Always here for you. Get some sleep and we’ll fix it tomorrow.
Daisy: Love you
Megan: Love you more
In the morning, Mason is reading an email on his phone when I join him and Cassie in the lobby. He frowns at the text on the screen, and then shows it to Cassie.
“Interesting,” she says as we walk to the car.
“To say the least,” Mason mutters.
When we’re all buckled in, I ask what’s going on.
“God seems to be starting another lab.”
“Why?” I ask. “Isn’t the one in Virginia doing well?”
“It is,” Mason says. “It was custom made for the program in its current iteration. The only reason I can think that he’d want another one is…” His voice trails off, like he’s considering his words.
“What?” I ask.
Cassie lets out her breath sharply. Sometimes I think she gets annoyed by how much Mason shares with me. But Mason tells me anyway.
“Expansion.”
I’m still wondering what Mason meant when Cassie knocks twice on the Holloways’ door. When Megan’s mom, Alicia, flings it open, I jump in front of my parental figures to hug her. The apartment smells like the world’s best banana muffins, and instantly, I’m calmer.