Gemotions

The school nurse had called. Liam had a mild fever. Jane, panicking, raced to the school, her heart thumping against her ribs. Mrs. Bell. The very same Mrs. Bell who'd bandaged her scraped knees and offered a comforting hand when she'd been upset as a child.

She fussed over Liam, checking his temperature repeatedly, hovering near him, despite his protestations. When the fever broke, she felt a profound, almost childish sense of relief. She needed reassurance, a guiding hand, to calm her anxieties.