Sisters In Love (Snow Sisters, Book One: Love in Bloom Series)

Chapter Ten, Sisters in Love

Chapter Ten

At seven o’clock Monday morning, Danica sat in her office reviewing the file of her first client and ignoring the flashing red message light on her phone. She always arrived early to prepare for the day, and most days she had a client come in before they had to go to their own job. She set the file down on her neatly organized desk and glanced at the time. Like every morning, she had just enough time to run down to the local café and grab a cup of coffee before her client arrived. She stared at the blinking light. She’d already let it go overnight. Ever since Saturday night, Danica had been thinking about trying to strike a balance between work and some sort of social life. Who was she kidding? She had no social life, and the one time she tried to go out and pretend to have one, she’d obviously gone way overboard and drank too much, which she not only regretted, but was terribly embarrassed about. Not answering her messages over the weekend was one of the changes she hoped to make. Reclaiming her weekends was a good start, she decided, but as she noticed the time—7:07—her foot tapped and her heart raced. It was one thing to leave messages until after the weekend, but it was officially Monday morning, and early or not, she was in work mode. She bit her lower lip, fighting the urge to retrieve the message.

It was Monday. Someone needed something. She grabbed the phone, pushed the blinking light, and retrieved the message from a new client. She scribbled down the phone number and dialed the phone.

“Hello?” a deep voice answered.

“Hi, this is Dr. Snow. Uh, um...” She realized that there was no name left on the machine and hesitated to say much more in case the person who called needed discretion. Thankfully, she didn’t have to fill the gap.

“Oh. Thanks for calling back. I wanted to make an appointment.”

He sounded tired. Didn’t they all? “Sure. Can you please tell me what you’re hoping to get help with?”

“I…uh…my best friend just died. I think I need to talk about it.”

She listened to him breathe and knew that he needed her to take charge. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She flipped through her calendar. She had time today at two o’clock, but she’d hoped to get out and buy Michelle a black shirt that wasn’t so…grungy looking. “I can see you tomorrow at three or Friday at one thirty.”

“Oh.” Disappointment sifted through the airwaves. “I was hoping to start sooner.”

“Are you having suicidal thoughts?” Her ears perked up. Even after all her years of experience, she couldn’t find a more tactful way to ask the most important questions.

“What? No.” He sighed. “To be honest, I’m afraid I might back out of the appointment if I think about it too much. But I know I need it.”

That made sense. She’d had too many cancellations to count, and she’d worried about each one of them for days afterward. That was another thing she had to work on, letting go of the people who didn’t want her help. “Okay.” She sighed. “Today at two is the only time I have this afternoon. You should be aware that I don’t take insurance. My address is—”

“I know just where you are. Thank you. I’ll be there.” He hung up the phone.

Danica stared at the receiver. She hadn’t even gotten his name. She set the receiver down and scribbled new client in her appointment calendar, adding friend died, and then wrote down the phone number next to the note.