Chapter 1

It wasn’t a goodbye. It was just a shuttle ride, that’s all. They’d both agreed.

They never bothered packing any of Joana’s belongings, not a suitcase full of clothes, not even her medicine. It saved them the hassle. Though Laura and her grandmother struggled to get Joana’s wheelchair into the packed shuttle, and later to navigate a city so far from home.

In the weeks to come, they would sell all of Joana’s possessions. Joana’s footprint would slowly disappear from their home, taking with it the familiar smells of vomit and antiseptic, the clutter of needles and pads, the bathroom messes.

Laura hated that losing her sister would come as a relief.

The agency was deep inside a mall. They passed a food court on their way.

“Do you want to eat?” Grandma was looking at a food print restaurant.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to,” Joana said.

“They say it doesn’t matter.”

“What about our appointment?”

“We have fifteen minutes,” Grandma replied. “And it’s around the corner. So how about it? Do you feel like you could keep food down?”

“I can try.”

No one ordered much, despite Grandma’s insistence.

“It must be getting close,” Joana said, poking at her food.

“It’s fine, honey.”

“What time is it?”

Grandma didn’t check. Laura did. “1:55.”

“We should get going,” Joana said.

“Finish your food,” Grandma replied.

“Didn’t the appointment cost money?”

“Don’t worry about that. Take your time. We’ll have to wait in line anyway. It’s a doctor’s office.” But then she took a few large bites of her own food. “How about I go on ahead and check you in? You two enjoy yourselves. You remember where it is, right, Laura?”

“Yes.”

“Then eat.” Their grandmother left, and the two sisters sat in silence, neither really eating.

Joana finally spoke. “What kind of a walk-in clinic takes appointments? Aren’t you supposed to just walk in?”

Laura shrugged.

“Is this costing Grandma any money? Has she talked to you about it?”

“She had to put down a deposit, but she’ll get it back.”

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“I was there.”

“Am I actually allowed to eat, or did she just say that?”

“I think you’re not supposed to a few hours before, but there’s probably a whole prep stage that’ll take that long.”

Exasperated, Joana dropped her fork.

“I don’t think you ate enough for it to matter,” Laura said.

“But Grandma always does this. She’s bending over backward like it’s my last day on Earth. It’s just an appointment. We shouldn’t be making a thing out of today.”

“It is your birthday,” Laura added.

Joana gave a wan smile.

“Happy birthday, by the way.”

This book is currently up for pre-order on amazon. As the books are released, I will begin releasing the chapters here as well, and eventually this book will be freely available, but only after the books are published.