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room. A copy machine sat next to her desk and once she made copies of a patient’s paperwork, she stapled it to a folder. The doctor in the front of the line came forward to take the folder and call a patient to be seen.
    Lonnie watched for a moment or two, and then he turned to Michelle and Devin. “I’m going to make the copies for Vonnie. It’ll go quicker that way.”
    When Lonnie had left their little group, Michelle turned to Hannah. “Isn’t that Norman near the back of the line?”
    “I don’t see … oh, yes. It’s Norman. They must have called him in for any dental emergencies. I think I’ll go over and …” Hannah stopped speaking and gave a little sigh. “No, I won’t. She’s with him.”
    “I wasn’t going to mention that. I know how you feel about her. But you probably should do it anyway. Lake Eden’s not that big, and you have to get along with her if you want to stay friends with Norman.” Michelle stopped and frowned. “Unless you don’t want to stay friendly with Norman.”
    “Of course I want Norman to be my friend. He’s going to need to come over and see Cuddles.”
    “How’s that going anyway?”
    Hannah gave a little smile. She’d agreed to take Norman’s cat, Cuddles, when he’d said that he had to find a new home for her, that his fiancée, Doctor Bev, was allergic to cats and she was going to move in with him. Hannah’s cat Moishe, and Cuddles were best friends so it wasn’t an imposition at all. “Moishe’s happy to have Cuddles with him. He really likes her you know. And Cuddles is crazy about Moishe.”
    “Does Cuddles miss Norman?”
    “I think so. I know my place is the second-best home for Cuddles, but Norman’s house, with Norman, is the best home for her. It’s just a pity that …” Hannah stopped speaking as tears came to her eyes. She blinked several times and managed to keep them at bay. “Never mind. We can talk about that later tonight. You’re staying with me, aren’t you?”
    “Of course. I know I could stay at Mother’s, but she’s never home. She’s either at the hospital with the Rainbow Ladies, or over at Doc’s house. It wouldn’t be as much fun to stay there by myself.”
    Hannah blinked, and this time it wasn’t to blink away tears. “Mother stays over at Doc’s house?!”
    “Oh, no. I didn’t mean that . I just meant that Mother spends a lot of time with him at his place, at her place, at the hospital, or out doing something. That’s all.”
    Hannah gave a relieved sigh. It wasn’t that she was concerned about her mother’s behavior. It was just that she didn’t want the other members of the phone tree they’d unofficially dubbed The Lake Eden Gossip Hotline to gossip about their founding member, Delores herself!
    “Buddy Neiman?” a voice broke into Hannah’s thoughts. “The doctor will see you now.”
    “Come on, kid.” Buddy got up from his plastic chair with an agility Hannah wished she could emulate, and motioned to Devin. “He’s probably going to send me to X-ray. Let’s go.”
    Hannah got to her feet. “I’ll go with you. I want to make sure your wrist is okay.”
    They walked in pairs, Buddy and the nurse in the lead, and Hannah and Devin following behind them. As they passed by Norman and Doctor Bev, Norman’s fiancée stepped behind him quickly, almost as if she didn’t want Hannah to see her.
    Bev’s maneuver couldn’t have suited Hannah better. She gave a little wave as she passed them, said a quick “Hi, Norman.” And then they were on their way to see Doctor Ben Matson.
    “Hello, Hannah.” Ben greeted her. “You weren’t injured, were you?”
    “Not me. Your patient is Buddy Neiman. He’s with Cinnamon Roll Six.”
    Ben glanced down at the chart. He took the time to read it through, and then he turned to Buddy. “So you’re the keyboard player. Let’s see what’s going on with that wrist of yours.”
    As Ben began to examine Buddy’s wrist, Hannah glanced at her watch. Almost