“Thanks,” Lauren said. “You too.” She closed the door, relieved to have the “inspection,” if one could even call it that, over with. Not that she had expected anything else in particular; she just wasn’t familiar with the process. It’d been a while.

Once again, her cell phone buzzed, and she took it from her back pocket. “Hello, this is Lauren.”

“Hey, Lauren, it’s me. Charlotte.”

Taken by surprise, it took Lauren a second to shift gears. “Hey, there, what’s up?”

“I went to the store; some man said you didn’t work there anymore. Is that true? I thought you, like, owned it or something.”

Lauren couldn’t help but smile. “Actually, it’s my parents who own the store. It’s been in my family for decades. My father’s health has improved”—she almost hated saying this, given Lee’s diagnosis—“and he decided he wants to work again.”

“Darn, but can I still call you, will that be okay?”

“Anytime you want,” Lauren promised. “How is your mother?” She was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Well, that’s why I stopped by the store. Mom’s agreed to do the bone-marrow transplant. I wanted to thank you for making it happen.”

Tears came to Lauren’s eyes. “That’s the best news ever. I’m so happy for you and Lee.”

“I have to, like, go into the hospital soon. Mom says I need to be isolated for a few days while they do some tests, but I don’t care. If it helps her live, I’ll do whatever she wants. Though it’ll be in Chapel Hill, at the cancer center. Mom says it’s kind of a specialized place, with special pressure filters, so all the air is clean, no germs. It was kinda complicated, but we’ll get to hang together once I get, like, majorly checked up.”

Amazed at the girl’s maturity level, Lauren felt a wash of pride, almost maternal, when Charlotte spoke of her willingness to do whatever it took in order to save her mother’s life.

“I am so very proud, and if I’m being honest, in awe of you, your bravery. I don’t think I could have done this when I was fifteen.”

Charlotte laughed. “Yeah, but you gave up a beach house and boyfriends to take care of your dad.”

She laughed. “Then I guess we do have something in common, though in all honesty, Charlotte, your mother’s diagnosis is much more serious than my father’s was. Actually, he’s decided to return to the store because he’s on a brand-new medication and says he feels like his old self.” She paused. “But I think he’s being a little ornery, if you ask me.” A thought occurred to her. “Charlotte, I’m curious. What time did you stop by?”