C18 The Heck It Is..

A year had passed.

A lot had changed during that year.

Elizabeth and Chris had welcomed a baby boy, and the arrival had brought a completely different kind of excitement into the family. Sam and Sierra had both quickly accepted their new roles as aunts, even though neither of them had quite gotten used to how much attention the baby received.

Every conversation seemed to eventually find its way back to him.

How he was sleeping.

Whether he had eaten.

Who he looked like.

What he had done that day.

Sierra joked that Elizabeth and Chris had forgotten they existed.

Elizabeth always denied it.

Sierra's own life had changed too.

She and Miles had gradually grown closer after that first dinner.

What started as getting to know each other had turned into regular outings, conversations after work, and eventually dating. There was nothing rushed about it. They simply got along.

Miles was easy to be around, and Sierra appreciated that.

They could talk without forcing conversation, laugh about ordinary things, and spend time together without needing every moment to mean something.

It wasn't the kind of relationship that had arrived all at once.

It had simply grown.

Sam knew about them, of course.

She had watched Sierra slowly become more comfortable with Miles and was happy that her cousin had found someone she enjoyed being around.

But Sam didn't spend all her time asking about the relationship.

She had her own life too.

And a large part of that life now included Joan.

Over the past year, Sam and Joan had become incredibly close.

They had started as classmates who happened to talk after lectures.

Somehow, they had become the people each other looked for whenever they arrived at school.

Sam was usually the one nudging Joan whenever she noticed something interesting.

Joan was the one who always seemed to be there whenever Sam needed help.

They studied together, complained about school together, and occasionally spent hours talking about things that had nothing to do with either.

At this point, they could easily have passed for best friends.

That afternoon, Joan was going to visit Sam.

Alex happened to be heading out too, so Joan asked if he could drop her off.

He had heard plenty about Sam.

Joan talked about her often enough that he knew she was one of her closest friends.

But he had never really thought much about who Sam was beyond that.

She was simply Joan's friend.

So when Joan asked for a ride, he had no reason to say no.

“Thanks for dropping me,” Joan said as they pulled up near Sam's house.

“No problem.”

Joan unbuckled her seat belt.

“I'll probably be done before four.”

Alex nodded.

“I'll come back around four.”

“I think I'll be done before then.”

“Text me when you're ready.”

Joan smiled.

“Okay.”

Alex glanced at her.

“You have to show off to your friend, right?”

Joan laughed.

“Obviously.”

“Thought so.”

She opened the door.

“Aye!”

She stepped out and closed the door.

Alex drove away.

Sam was already standing outside.

She had seen Joan arriving, but she hadn't seen who was driving.

She looked at Joan with a curious expression.

“Was that your brother?”

“Yep.”

Sam glanced toward the direction the car had gone.

“Wow.”

Joan laughed.

“What?”

“You'll have to give me his number sometime.”

“You don't even know him.”

“I know. That's why I need the number.”

Joan laughed.

“You're ridiculous.”

Sam shrugged.

“I'm just asking.”

Joan shook her head and walked toward the house with her.

But for some reason, after the car disappeared down the street, Sam felt a strange little feeling.

She couldn't explain it.

It wasn't excitement.

It wasn't nervousness.

It was simply an odd feeling that came and went before she could even understand it.

She ignored it.

“Come inside,” she said.

Joan followed her.

---

After dropping Joan off, Alex drove to the hospital.

By the time he came back outside, he had already finished with the doctor.

He walked over to his car and sat in a quiet area beside the hospital, away from the main entrance and the constant movement of people coming and going.

For a while, he simply stared ahead.

His thoughts wandered.

He found himself remembering some of the things the doctor had told him during his last visit.

Nothing specific came to mind for long.

Just pieces of conversations.

Things he understood.

Things he wished he didn't have to think about so often.

Alex lowered his gaze and let out a slow breath.

There were days when he could push everything to the back of his mind and focus on normal things.

Work.

Driving.

Spending time with Joan.

Anything that made life feel ordinary.

But sometimes, no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts found their way back.

He stayed there for a while, lost in thought.

Eventually, he stood and went back inside.

---

Back at Sam's house, she and Joan were having a good time.

They talked about school, lecturers, work, and all the small things that had happened during the week.

At some point, the conversation shifted toward people they had both come across recently.

Joan suddenly frowned.

“I know I've seen her somewhere before.”

Sam looked at her.

“Who?..my sister?”

“yeah.”

Sam thought for a moment.

“You couldn't have.”

“I feel like I have.”

“Maybe on TV.”

Joan shook her head.

“Actually...”

Sam looked at her.

“No kidding?”

Joan smiled.

“I don't know. She just looks familiar.”

“Well, she's good at her work.”

“Yeah. That's what I've heard.”

They continued talking for a little while before moving on to something else.

Eventually, Joan's phone rang.

She glanced at the screen.

“My brother.”

Sam nodded.

“Go ahead.”

Joan answered.

“Hey.”

She listened for a moment.

“Yeah, I've arrived.”

She ended the call and picked up her bag.

“I should go.”

Sam nodded.

“Okay.”

Joan smiled.

“I'll see you sometime.”

“Yeah?”

“Or maybe you should come by.”

“I would.”

Joan started toward the door, then suddenly turned back.

“I hope your brother is hot, by the way.”

Sam laughed.

“You—”

Joan laughed too.

“What?”

“You're ridiculous.”

“I had to ask.”

“Go home.”

“I'm going.”

They laughed as Joan stepped outside.

Sam followed her to the doorway.

A car was waiting farther down the street.

Joan walked toward it.

Sam stood by the door, watching her.

Then she froze at the sight before her..

Alex was resting against the side of the car, waiting for her.

He straightened when he noticed Joan approaching, then looked toward the house.

His eyes landed on Sam.

He stopped.

The smile on his face disappeared.

Joan noticed.

“What's up?”

Alex didn't answer.

Joan turned to see what he was looking at.

“Alex?”

Sam's expression changed.

She stared at him.

“What?”

For a moment, nobody moved.

"Sam... nice to see you?"

"the heck it is.."