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“I’ll go look. You stay here.”
I started back for the living room, when my phone rang in my pocket. I had never been so glad to see Leslie’s name in the weeks I’d known her.
“Morning, Leslie.”
“Morning, Hayden. I saw your email when I got up this morning and put some feelers out. A Dr. Nguyen will be at your place at 9:30 to visit Charlotte. Does that sound okay?”
“That sounds amazing. Thank you so much, Leslie.”
“How’s she doing this morning?”
“Still the same. I just had to stop her from trying to go to work. I better get back to her before she starts trying to get dressed or something.”
Leslie laughed.
“Sounds like a woman after my own heart. I’m glad I could help you take care of her. I assume you’ll be working from home today?”
“Yeah, I think so, and maybe the rest of the week, too? I’ll keep you posted. Let’s check in this afternoon?”
“You got it. Have Dr. Nguyen send the bill to my email address, and I’ll take care of that, too.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Leslie. Thanks again.”
I hung up, thankful that a perk of living in a big city was having doctors that could make house calls with a few hours’ notice.
I reached for Charlotte’s bag, still where she had dropped it upon her entrance yesterday. Her phone was resting on top. The screen lit up with missed calls and notifications. Grabbing the phone and hanging the bag on the hook in the entryway, I was thinking about how I would need to stop her from returning all these calls when her phone vibrated in my hand.
The name Austin appeared on the screen, one I had seen several calls and texts from. Before I could stop myself, my thumb swiped across the bar and I answered the call.
“Hello, Charlotte’s phone, Hayden speaking.”
“Well, hello, Hayden. Is Charlotte available? Or did you accidentally murder her in another prank gone wrong?”
“Charlotte can’t come to the phone right now. I’ll let her know you called.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear, moving to hang up the call, when I heard a tinny voice from the speaker shout, “Wait, wait!”
I put the phone back to my ear.
“Yes?”
“Look, I’m just worried about her. She mentioned she got sick at work yesterday when she was on her way home and then she didn’t answer any of my texts or calls. Seriously, is she okay?”
“Would she be comfortable with me sharing this information with you? What’s your relationship?”
The man apparently known as Austin laughed in my ear.
“Subtle, man. I’m Austin, one of her best friends from back home. You don’t have to tell me colors or smells, just that she’s okay.”
Best friend, huh? Not a boyfriend or love interest then. Interesting.
“She’s okay. It was a rough night, but a doctor will be here to take a look at her in an hour. She just needs fluids and rest, I think. I hope. Do you know what she likes when she’s sick? Like a type of sports drink or a certain brand of crackers? I want to get the right stuff.”
There was silence from the other end of the line before Austin continued. “Hayden, what’s your relationship with Charlotte?”
“All right, well, if you’re done being helpful…”
Austin laughed.
