NIA'S POV
I wouldn't say today was not one of those days I would be lying it has been a rough couple of years now with my three-year-old Vivi, or should I say my smart sharp mouthed little girl who carries her father's personality like an Armour.
To my left the was a lady with a crying baby and on my right a man who keeps swinging with the camp chair he brought with him. The waiting room was too silent no one said a word just silence.
Until Vivi broke the silence "Why is his skin gray like a toaster?” Vivi asked, loudly.
I jolted. “Vivi—”
The man didn’t look up. Thankfully.
Vivi stood on the torn seat of her chair, hands on hips, chin tilted with curiosity and mischief. Her curls were sticking out from the two pigtails I just made a few minutes ago.
“I’m not being rude,” she said, crossing her arms. “I’m observing. You said curiosity is good.”
“There’s curious,” I muttered, pulling her down, “and there’s getting us kicked out from the only free clinic the is around.”
“I wouldn’t want to come back,” Vivi declared.
“why"?
Vivi pointed toward the hallway with a matter-of-fact shrug. “There was a woman in a hospital gown. She didn’t have feet. She went into the wall.”
I closed her eyes. “Baby. No more scary pasta at bedtime.”
“That’s not a pasta.”
“Shhh.”
The last dollar we had dropped on the floor, and I quickly picked it up and shoved it in my worn-out coat. The wasn't a lot going on my mind at this point.
I was thinking about the blood testes I took a week ago. The fatigue that never went away. The bruises on my legs I couldn’t explain. The panic attack I faked off as “low iron.” The nurse who was examining me told me to come back in person for my test results.
I am so nervous, I can feel my heartbeat through my eardrums and my hands are too sweaty.
A nurse leaned out the hallway.
“Estrada?”
I stood slowly, eyes down to Vivi, who had already slipped off the chair and was tugging her hand.
“You are coming with me?” I asked.
Vivi shook her head solemnly. “No, I will stay over here.”
I cupped Vivi's cheek. “Don’t move. Don’t talk to anyone. Just sit and... observe.”
Vivi nodded. “I’ll memorize everything.”
That was what scared me most.
I followed the nurse, never turning back to see Vivi’s wide gray eyes—identical to a man I swore I’d never see again—watching her disappear into the hallway.
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