Page 78 of Sherry and Sunflowers
"Oh, he is. And that's why he warned me." She smiled to herself, grateful that he had. "He said it might take a day or two after this first infusion. I think my body just needs to get used to having iron in it again. I don't really know how it works. But it'll only last a day or two."
Zia didn't look convinced. "I hope so."
Alara swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "I'll just get dressed, and then we'll go down, okay? But you don't have to wait."
"I want to. What should I bring you? Do you want me to get your clothes?"
"I can do it myself."
Alara moved slowly, gathering clothes before heading into the bathroom. Once she was in there, she sat on the edge of the tub to brush her teeth. And again while she washed her face.
When she was done, she looked in the mirror as she brushed her hair. The woman who stared back at her was no longer terrified. But she still looked exhausted—and gray.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Zia called after a while.
She eventually opened the door. "I'm coming."
"Prince Daddy's here. I can see his Cruiser from the window. Want to come see him?"
Alara gripped the doorframe and rested against it to keep herself upright. Of course she wanted to see him; he'd come up if she asked. What she didn't want was for him to see her like this. She just needed a minute. Ten minutes. Then she'd be fine. "You know what, Z? Why don't you go down and see him and get some breakfast? I'll catch up."
"Okay. But I'll come back if you don't come down."
"I'll be there. See you in a minute."
As soon as Zia had gone, Alara went to sit back down on the bed.
This wasn't good. She wasn't going to be able to make it down the stairs. Maybe if she just rested here for a few minutes, she'd gather the strength, and this heavy, wrung-out feeling would pass.
~ ~ ~
"Hey, little buddy." Reaves caught Zia and scooped her up when she came running to him.
She settled in, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, and it occurred to him just how natural it had come to feel, her sitting on his hip like this. She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Did you have breakfast yet?" she asked.
"Not yet. Did you and your mom?"
"No. Mom says she's coming down in a minute. But I don't know if she can."
"What do you mean, Z? Why not?"
"She's tired. Very tired. And she looks sick again, Prince Daddy. She says the doctor's making her better, but I think he's making her worse."
Reaves turned, wanting nothing more than to run upstairs and check on her. "Is she still in bed?"
"No, she went in the bathroom and got dressed, and she says she'll be down soon."
Reaves was torn. But thinking about it from Alara's point of view, he figured that if she wasn't feeling great she'd probably want a little extra time to get herself together. And the one thing he knew for certain was that she'd want to make sure Zia was fed.
He forced a smile. "Let's go see what Faye has for us this morning, then, huh?"
"Yes, I'm hungry. But if Mom doesn't come down soon, I'll take some muffins up to her. And orange juice. She said maybe her body isn't used to all the new iron in it, and orange juice is supposed to help with that, isn't it?"
Reaves held her a little tighter. This kid! She was something else. "You're right, it is. That's a really good idea. Let's get you fed, and if Mom hasn't come down by the time you're done, we'll go and check on her. How about that?"
"Okay. We'll take her something to eat too."
