When their conversation hit a lull, Seth told her why he was calling. "Hey, a couple of my buddies and me are going cross-country later in July."
Linda thought of skinny guys in shorts jogging around the school grounds when she heard the word "cross-country."
"We're going all the way to California," Seth went on. "And your place is kind of along the way. How would you like us to pop in for a visit?"
Linda shrugged. "That'd be fine, I guess."
Lauren called often, also, usually every weekend. Linda told her all about Seth's impending trip. "What did I tell you," Lauren said. "He likes you big time."
Over the past couple of phone calls from Lauren, Linda struggled over whether to tell her about the strange incident at the Outpatient Center. When she remembered this, it dampened her enthusiasm in talking about Seth. "Yeah, I guess so."
"You guess so? You guess so? Seth's fucking fine, and he wants you! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking about something weird that happened at the hospital." She told her all about the strange appearance of Cindy.
Lauren paused thoughtfully after Linda finished. She then made "Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo" sounds like the theme music from The Twilight Zone."That's weird," Lauren said. "What do you think she was, a ghost or something?"
"My mom thinks she might have been an angel posing as a cancer patient."
"What? That doesn't make any sense. Why would an angel be doing that? They should be doing heroic stuff like pushing kids out of the way of cars or keeping people from falling off cliffs. Angels don't just show up to say 'Hey, howarya.'"
Linda sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose you've met an angel, and he told you all about what they do?"
"No. But a vampire came to my window once, and he told me all about it. Anyway, we've been furniture shopping." She'd gotten a summer job as a file clerk and fill-in receptionist for the city flood control office, which paid well. "We're going to have the coolest apartment on campus."
Linda groaned. She'd forgotten all about signing up for another year at the dorm, the same day her father and Molly came to help her get her stuff. "That sounds nice."
"Oh, by the way, could you send your part of the deposit, soon? They said they need it within the next couple of weeks."