THOUGH SHE AND JEREMY HAD STAYED UP LATE TALKING, with him trying to allay her fears, Taylor didn’t feel any less worried the next morning.
She wanted to stay busy, knowing that until she heard back from the doctor, she’d be on pins and needles. She still had some follow-up on her story and a video call with Karen at nine, but afterward, she would suggest that they take Evan to the playground. The weather forecast for the day was clear and sunny, and she thought the fresh air would do them all some good. After making coffee and pouring herself a cup, she put some milk on the stove and mixed in some Irish oats.
“Come here, sweetie. Oatmeal’s ready.”
Evan stopped what he was doing and ran over, crashing into her legs. “Mmm mmm.”
He climbed into his booster seat and she put the bowl in front of him. He dug in, singing and kicking his legs while he ate. Beau sat patiently at his feet, waiting for the inevitable drips of food that would be coming his way.
“Nummy.”
“Glad you like it.”
“He seems more energetic today,” Jeremy said from the doorway.
“Hope we didn’t wake you,” Taylor answered.
Jeremy shook his head. “I’ve been up since five. Had to finish up some reports.” He walked over to the coffeepot, took a mug from the counter, and filled it. He smiled at Evan. “Hey, buddy. Can you show me your nose?”
Evan stared at him.
“Where’s your nose?” Taylor asked.
He pointed proudly.
“That’s my big boy.”
Jeremy looked at Taylor. “Did you get any sleep?”
She sighed. “A little. I just wish the doctor would call and tell me everything’s fine.”
Jeremy nodded. “He will. I’m sure of it.”
“But you know even better than I do what it could mean.”
Jeremy reached over and squeezed Taylor’s hand. “You can’t go there. Listen, there are many, many reasons for low iron. Your doctor is just being thorough. Evan’s not sick. His color’s good, his energy is returning. It’s going to be okay. Really.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind keeping an eye on him while I do some work this morning? I know you’ve probably got a million more important things to do.”
Jeremy said, “There is nothing more important than spending time with my favorite nephew.”
Taylor smiled at him. “Thank you.”
An hour later, Taylor was in the study finalizing her notes on a potential case to replace Cora’s. When nine o’clock rolled around, she found Karen’s Zoom invite and clicked on the link. After a few seconds, her boss’s face appeared on the screen, and the rest of the team soon came into view.
Taylor launched into her update. “We’re all set with Georgia Lakos for the age discrimination, and Molly and Clyde Edwards cover both the religious and the pregnancy classification, so the last one we wanted to cover was the disability discrimination. I still think our best case is Cora’s. It really pulls at the heartstrings,” Taylor said.
“Taylor, Mr. Wheeler made his position clear on that. I thought we had agreed that you would find something else,” Karen said.
Taylor sighed. She’d had to try one more time; she felt like she owed Cora and her parents that. “We did, and there is another case that might work.”
“Great. We’re all ears,” Karen said.
“Okay. Lawrence is thirteen, on the autism spectrum, nonverbal. He lost his sight when he was four as a result of a car accident, but his doctor believes he can restore his sight through a corneal transplant.”
“Poor kid,” Karen said.
“Yes, well, the insurance company denied the procedure on the basis that the therapy required for him to adapt to seeing after being blind for eight years is impossible to administer due to his autism.”
“So they’re just going to leave him blind?” one of the writers asked.
“Yes. They’re saying that Lawrence doesn’t have the capacity to participate in the required therapy to transition successfully. From what I’ve been reading, and from talking to his doctor, seeing is not just in the eyes. The brain has a vital role, as it translates what we see into something we can understand.”
“Wow. I think this is good. What do the parents look like? Are they attractive and well-spoken?” Karen asked.
Taylor forced herself not to cringe. She was disappointed to see that Karen could be so superficial. She knew that it was easier to garner sympathy for good-looking people, but Karen’s blasé tone angered her. She nodded. “Yep. The father is a professor at Yale, and the mom takes care of her son full time. She says he can understand perfectly, and he communicates with some sort of sign language he came up with. He doesn’t have an adaptive technology device, because there isn’t one for blind people.” She took a breath before continuing. “This could open up a whole new world for this child, but the insurance company won’t do it.”
Karen nodded. “This looks good. I’ll send it along to Mr. Wheeler as well. He emailed this morning and wants all hands on deck for meetings next week to finalize the details of the show. Will you be able to come in?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Taylor said, then quickly added, “I’ll call you this afternoon to confirm.” She knew Karen would understand that she meant everything was contingent on Evan being okay.
“Good. Great job, Taylor. This is going to be a wonderful piece. Talk to you later.”
Taylor disconnected and went into the playroom to see how Jeremy and Evan were doing. Evan was happily building blocks with his uncle and looking more like his old self. She could almost believe everything was fine, but in the pit of her stomach, she felt something gnawing, something deeply amiss. She didn’t know if she could trust her gut instinct anymore. If she did, she’d have to take Evan and hide him away to keep him safe forever, but she knew, even in her worried state, that her fear and paranoia could be more dangerous than any of the other threats looming in her mind.