27. She is sick

Ten years later...

Adeline had the rare Saturday day shift. She was off by 3 pm. Of course, she started at 4:30 am, but now she'd have some time to spend with her half-siblings: Marla and Little Dave, who were thirteen, and Stewie, who was ten.

She hadn't seen them in a while because she worked nearly seventy hours a week at the diner as assistant manager. She planned to make the best out of this day. Thankfully, Tommy wasn't getting out of work till eight this evening.

She stopped by Dunkin Donuts, even though their mom Steph watched their sugar consumption like a hawk, but Addie seldom got to visit them these days so she was pretty sure her stepmom would let it pass this once.

She and Tommy lived in Humboldt Park, while the James-Silvermans lived in Beverly. After her father died seven years ago, she and Stephanie struggled by themselves for a while, until Steph met Dr. Brian Silverman, an English professor at the University of Illinois, a couple of yea