She stood in the mirror for a long time, staring at the chosen outfit and wondering why making herself pretty wasn’t giving her the usual boost-my-mood feels.
“Because you’re still sad, Sid,” she mumbled at her reflection. “That’s why.”
She grabbed her purse, her car keys, and her I-can-do-this attitude, gave the cat a loving scratch, and then left.
She was grateful they’d only chosen to tell three people about the pregnancy. The three people they trusted most in life — her brother, Simon, and Ike’s brother and sister-in-law, Adam and Bree.
In her car on the drive to Hope House, the women’s shelter where she worked, she forced herself to think only of the day ahead.
“We’re not going to wallow, Sidney. We’re going to move forward.”
The pep talk to herself wasn’t completely working, but she decided she would just repeat it throughout the day, however many times she needed to hear it. She would focus on the work, not on her sorrows.
It wouldn’t be a hardship. She enjoyed her work. In fact, she’d been loving it the past couple of weeks. Zoe Ridley, the shelter’s owner and director, had been off recovering from minor brain surgery — an emergency procedure after being whacked in the head with the butt of Tom Billings’ gun during a domestic disturbance when one of the residents’ husbands had held them all hostage for several hours.
Thank God Isaac had been there to get them all out safely. But while Zoe recovered, Sidney had been in charge at the shelter, making sure things ran smoothly in Zoe’s absence.
It was perfect timing that Zoe had come back to work when she did, just in time for Sidney to miss two days due to…
“But we’re not going to dwell on that, Sid. We’re not going to wallow; we’re going to move forward.”
She pressed on, navigating the morning traffic, and pulled up outside Hope House only fifteen minutes late.
She walked into the shelter and spotted a chubby-cheeked four-year-old with a syrup smile and a milk mustache standing in the kitchen doorway.
“Hi, Miss Sidney.”
“Hi, Laney. Did you just have pancakes and milk for breakfast?”
The little girl nodded, and Sidney smiled at her.
“Laney, let me clean your face.” The girl’s mother, one of the residents, came to her wielding damp paper towels. “Oh, hi Sidney!”
“Good morning, Ann.”
Sidney waved at the little girl and headed for the back office. Zoe looked up from her desk with a bright surprised smile.
“Sidney! You’re back.”
“I am.”
“How are you feeling? I hear there’s a summer flu bug going around. I only hope no one carries it into the house. That’s all we’d need, right?”
Sidney smiled and locked her small purse in the bottom drawer of her desk, and took her seat. “Well, it won’t be me. I didn’t have the flu. I was just a little under the weather.”
She had no intention of sharing the details of her absence with her boss or anyone else. It was no one’s business as far as she was concerned.
“So, how are you doing, Zoe?”
“Oh, I’m fine. The doctors said my bleed was very minor. Whether it was caused by the blow from the gun or when my head hit the floor, they aren’t completely certain. But they’ve given me a clean bill of health, and that’s all that matters.”
“Still… you should probably take it easy.”
“Well, I’m not sure what your ailment was, but right back at you.”
Her smile was coaxing, but Sidney simply grinned and let the subject drop.
“Any word on Diane and Tom Billings?”
Zoe looked disappointed at the change of topic, but she thankfully followed Sidney’s lead.
“Yes, actually. Tom will be staying in police custody until his court date in three months.”
“That’s great to hear.” Sidney nodded, and opened up her work files.
“Unfortunately, we’ll all probably be called to testify. So, keep that in mind.”
Sidney softly groaned at that idea.
“Diane has filed for divorce and is making plans to move to Palm Beach to be near her parents.”
“Wonderful. A fresh start will be good for her.”
She got to work on Dress For Success — the program where they took in donations of gently used business attire to help those residents who needed something nice to wear to a job interview, or to court. But she looked up to see Zoe watching her.
“What?”
“Hmm. What about your fresh start?”
Sidney felt her brow crinkle. “Excuse me?”
“Well, I know I got hit on the head pretty hard, but I seem to recall something about a spontaneous marriage proposal. It’s been over three weeks now, yet I still don’t see a ring on your finger. And you seem extremely distracted and a little blue. Is everything all right with you and your beau?”
The look she gave her bordered on pity, and Sidney huffed out a small breath.
“My beau and I are doing very well, thank you. I’m just… not a hundred percent yet, I guess.”
She looked away, wondering why she felt so annoyed by Zoe’s gentle probing. The woman was only trying to show concern. She glanced back at her and saw Zoe gearing up to respond, but someone caught her eye.
“Oh!”
Sidney turned to see Dr. Lance Tobey standing in the doorway. He stepped inside the office with a sheepish grin.
“Good morning, ladies. Hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Of course not!” Zoe smiled at him. “Come on in. I have that paperwork you needed right here.”
She grabbed a form from her desk and handed it to him.
“Oh, Sidney, I almost forgot to mention… We got a note from Carla Day yesterday. She and her children have settled down in Cincinnati. She begins her new job next week, and the boy… Kevin was his name, right? He was a student of yours?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
If it hadn’t been for her helping Kevin when he was being bullied at the school Sidney was substitute teaching in, she never would have found the Hope House or her new job here.
“Well, Kevin will
