Chapter 42
During mid-November, the flu was going around at school. All it took was one sick kid, and the whole class would come down with it.
Children had weak immune systems to begin with. Valeria was worried Selena might catch it. With Selena’s heart condition, even a common flu could get serious. So, she took no chances and made Selena stay home for a week.
However, what Valeria didn’t expect was getting sick herself first.
Not wanting to risk infecting Lucy or Selena, an elderly woman and a young child who were both high-risk, Valeria insisted Lucy wear a mask around her.
Lucy just laughed at her, saying her constitution was probably worse than theirs combined.
Valeria had taken time off work. After three days of IV drips at a clinic near her apartment, she still wasn’t getting better. The fever kept coming back.
Around noon, Lucy dropped off lunch and urged her to get a blood test at a hospital.
Valeria had planned to wait until tomorrow because her body felt too drained to move. However, she saw Selena standing at the bedroom door, eyes red from crying, worry written all over her little face. She wanted to reach out and hug Selena but feared that she would pass the virus on.
Valeria had never met her own mother.
When she gave birth to Selena, she was only 21 years old with no idea how to be a mom.
However, Selena had always been like a little angel. When she was three or four, the roof in the attic started leaking during a storm. Due to the weather, the building management didn’t come to fix it.
The leak was right in the living room. Valeria had placed a plastic pail under it to catch the
water.
Selena, mimicking the serious tone of adults on TV, told her, “Ms. Neal, one day, I’m going to buy you a really, really big house-just for you to live in.”
…
The hospital outpatient infusion area was packed. Valeria wore a double-layered mask and walked in. Adults, elderly folks, and parents with sick children were huddled together, like a can of sardines.
They finally called for her, and she found an empty seat. In a crowded room like this, the air felt thick and heavy. Her head throbbed, and the noise from crying kids, coughs, and murmurs was relentless. She popped a mint into her mouth, praying to finish the drip fast so she could
head home.
She closed her eyes to rest for a bit, then peeked up at the IV bag. It was still half full. The nurse had said she would need four full bottles of that.
Time crawled by.
“Sebastian, my head hurts so bad. There’s nowhere to sit. Can I rest in your office?” a woman’s voice asked.
“Hospital policy. Sorry.” The man’s voice was low and indifferent.
The woman sounded soft, coy, and familiar, causing Valeria to open her eyes. Valeria opened her eyes. Was she hallucinating? There was no way she had just heard Sebastian and Sabrina.
However, there he was, tall and striking even in the crowd. He wasn’t in his usual white coat but wore a coffee-colored velvet jacket instead.
He was holding Sabrina’s IV bag for her. Sabrina stood close to him, small and delicate, leaning in like she needed him to keep standing.
Sebastian looked around. All the seats in the infusion area were taken. It was no surprise with
flu season in full swing.
Just then, an elderly woman who had been there with her grandkid finally stood up, clearly
relieved to be done.
Valeria’s heart sank at the realization.
At the very next second, her body moved before her brain could. She quickly pulled up her
hood.
Valeria was wearing a black windbreaker, and thankfully, it came with a hood. With her mask on, almost her entire face was covered.
Forget Sebastian and Sabrina, even if Lucy showed up with Selena, no one would recognize Valeria in this crowd.
