She snatched the thermos from my hand. The metal clinked against her silver bracelet with a sharp, ringing sound.
“Thank you,” she said.
“How is Lily doing today?” I asked. “Aaron said she was having a hard time yesterday.”
Diane stiffened, her chin lifting slightly as she looked over my shoulder toward the empty gymnasium doors.
“Lily is doing exactly how she is supposed to be doing,” she said.
She did not wait for me to answer. She turned toward the exit doors, her boots clicking against the polished tile, leaving me alone by the lockers.
I watched her go, my thumb automatically finding my gold wedding band. She was just exhausted from the long nights, I told myself.
The red thermos looked very small in her grip as she walked through the heavy double doors into the parking lot.
The wind outside the living room window rustled the dry maple leaves against the double-paned glass. The house was quiet, the television turned off to save electricity.
Aaron sat on the edge of the corduroy armchair, his head tilted down. He rolled a silver quarter over his knuckles, the metal clicking softly against his skin as it flipped from finger to finger.
I carried the basket of folded towels over to the sideboard. The wood was dusty, but I did not have the energy to find the polish.
“Are you still getting your homework done before you go to the hospital?” I asked.
“Most of it,” he said, the quarter making a sharp click as it hit his knuckle. “I do some of it in the waiting room.”
“The lighting in there is terrible,” I said. “You will ruin your eyes.”
“It is fine, Mom.”
“And Lily?” I asked. “Does she still have the blue wool blanket?”
“Yes,” he said.
“How was her afternoon? Did the new medicine help with the nausea?”
He stopped the quarter with his thumb, pressing it flat against his palm. He did not look at me.
“She is resting,” he said.
“She needs to keep her strength up, Aaron. Did she eat any of the chocolate granola bars I sent?”
“She can’t eat solid food anymore, Mom,” he said.
The words were quiet, but they seemed to fill the room. He started rolling the quarter again, faster this time, the silver flashing in the lamp light.
“They put her back on the liquid drip this morning,” he added.
