Chapter 266
Waking up with a headache that felt like a marching band was playing in her skull, Leanne dragged herself out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed for work.
While sitting in her clinic, she occasionally massaged her temples and swallowed a painkiller, which only slightly eased the discomfort.
By noon, after a morning of back-to-back patients, she stepped out of her office just in time to hear the receptionist, buzzing with excitement about some snow. Leanne paid it no mind.
Heading to the cafeteria to grab lunch, she bumped into Selina, who seemed to have just snapped out of a daze.
Both she and Joy had partied too hard the previous night. Joy was so exhausted she couldn’t stop yawning.
“Surviving a night out and then working the next day. What a curse!” she lamented.
“Why don’t you sneak in a nap?” Leanne suggested.
Ms. Turner didn’t quite grasp the survival tactics of the working dead. Joy, unabashed, retorted, “With my stunning looks, the boss keeps an eye on me all the time. No chance for naps.”
Then, turning to Leanne, she asked, “When did you leave last night?”
“I’m drawing a blank.”
Leanne genuinely had no recollection of how she got home. That bottle of whiskey wa small, but mighty.
“Weren’t you the ones who brought me home?”
“Nope,” Selina said. “We were both out cold and woke up at Devin’s place this morning.”
“Tell me about it! We were sprawled out on the floor, and that idiot didn’t even bother to cover us with a blanket. I almost caught a cold” Joy grumbled.
“That must’ve been Devin who took you home,” Selina chimed in with a hint of jealousy in her voice. “Special treatment, huh? I’m not getting him a birthday present next time.”
“Must’ve been because I passed out early,” Leanne guessed.
Devin was notorious for outlasting them all. By the end of the night, he probably didn’t even know his name, let alone be in any state to take anyone home.
After the brief chat, Leanne excused herself, only to be intercepted by Amy, bursting with excitement. “Did you see the snowman outside the clinic?”
1/2
13:32
The sweet and sour pork she had picked up was overly rich, almost making her
gag. After
having her soup, Leanne replied nonchalantly, “You’re finally hallucinating from overwork. There’s been no snow. How could there be a snowman?”
snow!
“It’s real!” Amy insisted, grabbing her arm and dragging her outside.
The recent warm spell had coaxed the young and fashionable back into their light, vibrant outfits. Yellow forsythias were blooming along the walls, and the rose bushes were flaunting their first buds.
In such a season, the sight of a large snowman in the hospital courtyard was utterly incongruous.
Passersby gave it curious glances. Initially, Leanne thought it might be a fake, part of some atmospheric decor, but their hospital wasn’t known for such whimsy.
Besides, winter had passed. What was the point of a snowman now?
Upon touching it, she was surprised to find it was made of real snow.
“I told you,” Amy said with all curiosity. “Who in the world put it here? Where did they find snow this time of year? It’ll melt before long. What’s the point?”
“I have no idea.”
Leanne was as puzzled as Amy about who would go to the trouble of placing a snowman there, offering a fleeting touch of whimsy to the spring.
Amy joked, “The carrot nose is real, too. Let’s take it back for our soup later, haha.”
Leanne stooped to get a closer look, noticing its eyes were made of round and black grapes.
It reminded her of the snowmen she used to build with Curtis. But he had been keeping his promise to stay away from her lately. There were many people who could use grapes for snowman eyes. It couldn’t necessarily be him.
The snowman became the talk of the day among the hospital staff and patients, drawing a small crowd throughout the afternoon.
Snowmen were nothing new in Stonebridge, a town accustomed to heavy winter snows. But a snowman appearing in springtime like a traveler lost in time was warmly welcomed.
No one knew who had placed it there.
Undeniably, its unexpected appearance added a sprinkle of surprise and delight to Leanne’s workday.
Whenever she had a moment, she found herself drawn to the window, looking down at the melting traveler. Despite the warm Stonebridge, it was losing its form, fading away in
2/3
13:32