That evening, after getting home from the airport, unpacking, and settling Roman into the guest room, the house finally grew quiet.
Lori curled up in her favorite corner of the living room with a mug of tea balanced on the arm of the couch and the novel she'd been trying to finish for nearly three weeks.
Jessica and Roman would be arriving in just two weeks, and Lori had made herself a promise.
Finish the book before they get here.
She wanted every minute of their visit to be spent with them—not buried in another chapter. Trips to the park with Roman, afternoons browsing little antique shops with Jessica, lazy mornings over coffee... she'd rather make memories than spend the visit reading.
She smiled to herself as she flipped the page.
Last chapter.
"Finally," she murmured.
She settled deeper into the cushions.
Halfway through the chapter, an itch suddenly appeared just above the middle of her back.
Not dead center—thankfully.
Just a few inches higher.
Reachable...
...barely.
She reached behind herself, twisting her shoulder until the tips of her fingers found it.
"There you are..."
She scratched for several seconds until the itch disappeared completely.
"Huh."
She shrugged.
"Well... that's odd."
Then she went back to reading.
She didn't think about it again.
Until the next afternoon.
She was driving home from the grocery store when the familiar itch bloomed in exactly the same spot.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
She shifted against the driver's seat, trying to rub the spot against the upholstery while stopped at a red light.
No luck.
She twisted one shoulder backward.
Still couldn't quite reach it.
The light turned green.
"Oh, fine," she grumbled. "You win."
She waited until she got home before scratching it properly.
That evening she reheated leftover pasta.
Just as the sauce began bubbling...
...there it was again.
"Oh, honestly."
She looked around the kitchen.
Nothing within reach.
Then her eyes landed on the spaghetti server resting beside the stove—the big pasta spoon with the rounded bowl and little teeth around the edge.
She picked it up.
"...Don't judge me."
Carefully reaching behind herself, she maneuvered the pasta server until the little prongs landed on the exact spot.
"Ohhh..."
Her shoulders dropped.
"That's actually wonderful."
