Emma jumped when her doorbell chimed. She glanced at the clock on her laptop screen, wondering who would be at her door at eight o’clock on a Monday morning. Not that the day or time made any major difference to her at this point. She had finally capitulated to the reality of her illness – bouts of sickness from the chemo, dizziness and exhaustion increasingly hitting her out of nowhere, even at Dean’s – and was now on an extended leave-of-absence from work. The whole idea of a ‘work day’ was a bit ludicrous, but still. Eight o’clock on a Monday was early for almost everyone else on the planet, wasn’t it?
“Who is it?” she asked through the door.
“It’s Nigel, sweet thing, and I come bearing gifts.”
She swung the door open, delighted. “Nigel!”
“Hey, Emma. Liv sent me.”
“Of course she di
