“Good night, Mr. Sutton,” she sleepily spoke.
I stared at her for a moment as she closed her eyes.
“Good night, Hope.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jack
The next morning, I got up, showered, and woke Hope up to get ready for school. I headed downstairs and made a pot of coffee. A few moments later, she walked into the kitchen.
“What’s for breakfast?” she asked.
Oh shit. “Umm…what do you want?” Of all times for Madeline to be gone.
“Pancakes,” she spoke as she climbed up on the stool in front of the island.
“I don’t have pancakes.”
“What do you have?” She propped her elbows on the counter.
“Let me look.” Opening the pantry, I found it was pretty bare. I walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. “I have eggs.”
“Okay. I’ll have scrambled eggs and toast.”
“I only have wheat bread.”
“Yuck.” She made a face. “Just eggs then.” She sighed.
I took out the carton of eggs and grabbed a frying pan from the bottom cabinet. After cracking them in a bowl, I heated the pan and poured them in.
“Coffee?” I asked as I held up the pot.
“I don’t drink coffee.” She giggled.
“You don’t? I thought all kids drank coffee.” I smiled.
“I’ll have orange juice please because I’m sure you don’t have apple.”
A burnt smell suddenly filled the air. “Oh shit! The eggs!” I ran over to the pan.
“You said a bad word.”
“Sorry. Don’t tell your mom.” I tried to scrape the eggs from the pan.
“Did you put butter in the pan before pouring the eggs in?” she asked.
“No.” I sighed and looked at my watch. “Grab your school stuff. We’re going out to breakfast.”
“But I’ll be late for school.”
“No you won’t. Hurry up.”
I threw the pan in the sink and grabbed my phone from the counter.
“Hello, Jack.”
“Tony, I’m taking Hope down the street to that diner for breakfast. Pick us up there in about forty-five minutes. We have to hurry or she’ll be late for school.”
I heard snickering on the other end. “I will be there.”
“Ready,” Hope said as she walked into the kitchen with her coat on and her backpack over her shoulder.
We walked out of the building and down to the diner. When we were seated, I told the waitress that we were in a hurry and I slipped her a twenty-dollar bill to expedite our breakfast. Hope got her pancakes and orange juice and I just ordered a bagel and coffee.#p#分页标题#e#
“I’m going to pick you up from school today and we’ll go visit your mom, but we have to go to the grocery store after to get some food.”
“Okay. Mr. Sutton?”
“Yes, Hope.”
“You didn’t pack me a lunch.”
“Shit!”
“You said a bad word again.”
“I’m stressed, Hope. I can say that when I’m stressed. Just don’t tell your mom. Can you buy lunch?”
“I don’t like the school’s food.”
“Just this once? Please?” I begged.
She sat across from me shaking her head no.
“Okay. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your lunch is delivered. What do you like?”
“Peanut butter and jelly is fine. Or I like ham and cheese.”
After rushing through breakfast, I told Tony to step on it.
“We’re going to be late,” Hope said.
“No, we aren’t.”
“Yes, we are.”
“Hope, we won’t be late.”
We were late. Just as Tony pulled up to the building, the doors shut and we were locked out.
“Ugh!” I placed my hand on my head.
“Told ya we were going to be late. Just push this button.”
I did and the door unlocked. As we stepped inside, there was a manly looking woman standing at the entrance with her arms folded.
“I apologize. Traffic was bad.”
The woman glared at me and then looked down at Hope. “You may go to your classroom, honey.”
“Bye, Mr. Sutton.” Hope smiled as she waved.
“Bye, Hope. Have a good day.”
****
By time I got to the hospital, I was exhausted. I had no idea how Lorelei did this full-time and by herself. I carefully opened the door to her room and saw she was awake. As I stepped inside, she looked at me.
“Jack,” she softly spoke.
Walking over to her bed, I placed my hand on hers. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugged. “Like shit.”
I gave her a small smile.
“How’s Hope?”
“She’s good. I just dropped her off at school.”