“I had to stay with Mari,” Leah explained with a shrug. “I imagine it was standing-room only, though. I knew she was here, so I could’ve forced myself to be here at any time.” But she hadn’t. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, and yet it felt like one. Apart from Vienna’s visit, Leah’s night with a sleeping Marigold had been rather lonely.
Combing her fingers through her hair, Leah also glanced at the door. “That honestly doesn’t surprise me, that they got the dates wrong. Guess we can’t exactly expect all this medical equipment to work like it should all the time.” It was definitely a surprise that EJ was healthy, though. After all Rae had been through these last several months… and the short span she’d spent in the government facility.
Leah bit her lip and nodded. “I can imagine.” She could’ve added more to that statement, wanted to add more to it to keep the conversation going and not have to talk about other things, but she likened these things to her own experiences too often, so she went quiet for a moment.
She nodded again. “That’s part of why I didn’t feel like I should be there… here… while it was happening. It’s a family thing.” She paused, then added, “Godfather’s part of that family, though. A small part, but still a part. Elliot probably would’ve dragged you in there, if he was still around.” She gave a hollow, awkward laugh.
Leah arched an eyebrow. Be EJ’s godmother? As a sentiment, that meant a lot, but she wasn’t honestly sure what was meant by it. The Stones had a vague Christian upbringing, but godparents had never been a part of it. Those who followed Buddhism, like Leah, didn’t have a use for it either. “I… If she thinks I’m the best choice,” she answered after a moment. “She’d want us to look after EJ if anything ever happened to her or Luke or David or Ellie or…?” The list seemed to go on, making it sound as though she thought the title was superfluous. She didn’t want to insult Rae like that, so she simply repeated, “If she thinks I’m the best choice.”