Everlasting

by S. E. Lund

  "Of course," I said, realizing that Liam wasn't an ordinary child. Having cancer altered them, making them see the world differently than a child who has never been ill. "Whatever you think."

  Drake took out his cell and called Brenda. I watched him while he waited, amazed that he could face all this turmoil in his life and still seem positive.

  Finally, she answered.

  "Hello," he said and smiled. "Yes, I'd like to very much. Maybe we could get some ice cream and go to the beach. Let me talk to your grandma, okay?"

  He raised his eyebrows at me and waited. She must have come on the line and Drake said hello and nodded.

  "Thank you. Yes, it was a shock of course. I'd like to visit with Liam today. What I wanted to ask you was whether you think it would be okay if he went to visit his other grandmother – if she's well enough."

  He listened for a while, taking a sip of his coffee.

  "I'd want to make sure she wasn't in any distress first. When I saw her this morning she was breathing much better and was brighter. Even if she can't understand who he is, I would like him to know who she is. Before she dies."

  He nodded as he listened and then smiled. "Thanks, Brenda. I'll make sure not to dwell on anything morbid. I'll tell him that she's sick with a bad cold and had to be in the hospital. I won’t mention that she's potentially terminal. And I won't take him to see her if her condition's deteriorated."

  Drake listened some more and then glanced over at me. "I think our whole family will take a trip up to see her. Then, we can all go for supper, and maybe ice cream like I promised, if you're okay with that."

  I nodded my head, wanting him to know I was happy to go with him and Liam.

  "Okay, we'll be by around three. If my mother is too ill, we won't go to the hospital but there's lots we can do down at the beach. Thanks. See you later."

  Drake ended the call and turned to me, smiling. "Well, that's all settled."

  "I'm glad. I just hope she's not too agitated so Liam can see her."

  "They're giving her medicine that is calming her so I hope she'll be fine. She may still be unaware of who we are, and unable to understand who Liam is but he should see her at least in case she passes."

  I leaned over to Drake and slipped my arms around his shoulders. "I love you," I said, my emotions getting the better of me.

  "When I met you, I told you I was pretty much an orphan" Drake said, brushing hair off my cheek, "but now look at how much family I have. I have us, I have your father and Elaine, I have Brenda and Liam, and now I have my mother and her family."

  My eyes teared up at that. "I'm glad for you."

  We kissed, the kiss warm and full of affection and emotion.

  For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, we did family things together, eating our lunch on the patio and then we put Sophia down for a nap that never happened. She was used to going down around three, but we wanted to spend time with Liam when he got home from school. It would mean she'd probably sleep in the car on the way home and it might mess up her sleep schedule at my father's, but I felt assured he and Elaine could deal with it.

  We got ready to go and pick up Liam, the two of us standing at the mirror in the bathroom, brushing our teeth and getting dressed.

  "I hope things go okay and that my mom is good enough for Liam to see her."

  "You can only check and see. We've got lots to do even if he can't meet her today. There will be other days perhaps."

  "We'll see."

  I kissed him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "That's all we can do."

  We finished dressing Sophie in her sunhat and tiny heart-shaped sunglasses and took the car to Maureen's home in the hills outside San Francisco. As we drove, Sophie fell asleep. When we arrived at Maureen's, Drake went to the door to get Liam and I smiled when I saw him. He looked so much like Drake with his fair skin, dark black hair and blue eyes. He was truly a mini-Drake and it made my heart squeeze to see them side by side. Drake spoke with Brenda for a moment and she turned and waved at me.

  I waved back, smiling, glad that Brenda was so understanding and so positive about Drake and Liam establishing a close bond. Even if Drake didn’t get shared custody of Liam, I knew that Brenda would always be open to him seeing Liam as much as possible. It hurt me to think Drake might not get shared custody because of his past, but we had to face that possibility.

  Father and son came to the vehicle, and Drake opened the door for Liam, who climbed in beside his sleeping sister. Drake helped him on the booster seat and fastened his seatbelt. Liam had on a baseball cap with the Giants logo on the front, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a Batman logo. He smiled at me.

  "Hello, Kate," he whispered, holding his finger up to his lips. "Sophia's sleeping."

  I nodded, realizing that Drake had told him to whisper so that Sophie could get her nap in. "She is," I said and held my finger up to my lips in reply.

  He turned to Sophie and stared at her like she was something special – and she was something special to him. His half-sister. Beside him in her car seat, she slept, her pacifier in her mouth, her head tilted to the side.

  I knew he wanted to talk to her and to us but he was a big enough boy to understand that we didn’t want her to wake up just yet and so he was patient, waiting until she did wake up to talk.

  Drake got back in the vehicle once Liam was secured, and off we drove, on our way to the hospital.

  "I told Liam that we wanted Sophie to sleep so we'll try to be quiet until we get to the hospital," Drake said in a quiet voice.

  I nodded and turned to glance back at Liam. He was sitting in his seat, happy to be out with us even if he did have to be quiet. I winked at him and he smiled back at me. He had a backpack with him and fished inside it, pulling out a comic book and a Batman toy. He held them both up for me to see.

  "It's Batman," he whispered, his eyes wide when he examined the doll.

  "Cool," I whispered back, realizing he had graduated from being a fan of Despicable Me to Batman. Behind us, Liam settled in to read his new comic while we drove, the comic in one hand and Batman held tightly in the other.

  I turned back and reached over to take Drake's hand. We really were a little family. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, turning to me and smiling.

  I knew that for Drake, this was heaven.

  We arrived at the hospital and Drake parked in his spot near the ER. Sophie woke up when the car stopped and we got out, the slamming of the doors waking her. Drake lifted her out of the car, still in her car seat, and placed her on the pavement while Liam put his things away in his backpack and got out of the car. Sophie smiled widely at Liam when he bent down to her in the parking lot, while I gathered up the diaper bag and Drake locked up.

  "Hi Sophia," Liam said, his face a few inches from hers. Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out a stuffed toy. It was another minion, this time with two eyes. He handed it to her. "This is for you. His name is Jerry. I was going to give you a transformer but my grandma said it would be better to give you something soft."

  Sophie took the minion from Liam's hand and bashed it against the side of her car seat. Liam laughed.

  "She likes it!"

  "She does," I replied and stroked his hair affectionately.

  While Drake went up to check on his mother, Liam, Sophie and I went to the cafeteria to get Liam a cookie while we waited. I didn’t want the trip to be disappointing to him if it turned out that we couldn't see Louise. We sat at a table and waited, Liam entertaining Sophia by talking about Jerry and telling her all about the minions and who they worked for. She was happy just to watch him, smiling periodically.

  Then, he changed to his latest obsession – Batman. He talked away to Sophie, his brow furrowed as he informed her about the new Batman comic he had. He reached into his backpack again and pulled out the Batman figurine to show her.

  Sophie seemed excited to see the doll so Liam handed it to her. It went immediately into her mouth like everyth
ing else she picked up. Beside her, Liam looked horrified at the prospect of baby drool on his prized possession so I took it away from her. I wiped it off with a baby wipe from Sophia's diaper bag. Liam looked relieved when I handed it back, no worse for the wear.

  Drake returned about ten minutes later and by the expression on his face, I assumed that Louise was in pretty good shape.

  "Let's go," Drake said, his hand on one of Liam's shoulders. "Your other grandma is feeling better today. The medicine they're giving her is working."

  "She has Alls—high—mers," Liam said carefully. "My grandma said it makes people forget things."

  "That's right," Drake said and led Liam down the hall, hand in hand. "She may not even know who we are, but I wanted you to meet her and know your other grandma."

  "I have three," Liam said, looking up at Drake. "My grandma, your mom and my other dad's mom."

  "You're lucky," I said and smiled. "Most people only have two."

  Liam smiled, and I could see his mind working. "I am lucky, I guess."

  We took the elevator up to the medical ward where Louise was staying and went to the room. My stomach was full of butterflies as I wondered what she would be like when she saw Drake and the rest of us.

  Could she understand who we all were or would it be too much for her?

  Inside was Louise's husband, who was sitting by her side, her hand in his. She was no longer restrained, her hands free but her arms were wrapped in bandages. Drake had told me that she tried to rip out her IVs...

  "Hello," Herb said when he saw us. He came right over and extended his hand to me and we shook. "You must be Kate. Nice to meet you."

  "Nice to meet you," I said and smiled at him. He had a pleasant face, with a balding hairline and warm brown eyes. "Sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

  He nodded. "Yes, but we're all so glad to have found Drake." Then he turned to Sophie in the car seat and Liam who was standing beside Drake, their hands clasped. "And this must be Liam. Hello, Liam. My name is Herb. Nice to meet you."

  Liam smiled up at Herb and they shook hands, and it was so cute to see Liam being so formal.

  "You have the same name as Herb Overkill."

  "I do but I'm not nearly as skinny."

  Liam laughed and glanced at Herb's belly, which was substantial. "No. But you're as tall as him."

  Herb smiled down at Liam. "You look like your dad. And your grandmother. She had that black hair when she was younger and those blue eyes."

  Liam nodded and glanced at the bed where Drake was standing, Louise's hand in his.

  I watched Drake, who bent down and kissed Louise's cheek. She looked somewhat more aware than Drake's description after he saw her the first day we found out she was in the hospital. Her hair had been brushed and her eyes were bright. She had a nasal cannula supplying her oxygen, but otherwise, she looked like a normal patient recovering from a disease.

  "How are you, Mother? It's Drake, your son from your marriage with Liam."

  When he spoke, she looked at him like he was speaking in gibberish, her brow furrowed. She muttered something, her eyes confused. Then Drake ushered Liam over and Liam stood on the stool beside the bed, moving close enough so that Louise could see him clearly.

  "This is Liam," Drake said, his voice emotional. "This is my son from a previous marriage. Liam, this is your grandmother."

  Liam extended his hand, expecting to shake Louise's hand. She changed demeanor as soon as she saw Liam, her face lighting up.

  "Drake, Drake, Drake..." She reached out and touched Liam's head, running her fingers over his hair. Then she took his hand, and squeezed it, all the while she kept chanting Drake over and over, and then it hit me that she was remembering Drake as a boy.

  She thought she was holding Drake's hand.

  "No, I'm Liam," Liam said, enunciating the word. "Li-am. Drake is my other father. He's your son."

  "Drake, Drake, Drake..."

  "It's okay," Drake said and bent down, taking Liam's hand out of hers. He clasped her hand instead, letting Liam move out of the way. "Grandma is a bit confused. She hasn’t seen me since I ten. She thinks you're me."

  "I know," Liam said. "That's okay. She's old. She forgot."

  "She did."

  Drake leaned down and kissed Louise once more on the forehead and she looked up in his face and continued whispering. This time, she kept repeating Liam, and I figured that she must have thought that he was Drake's father.

  He did look very much like Drake's father Liam had when he was Drake's age.

  I felt so bad for all of them – for Louise, for not being able to understand that she was seeing her son, Drake. For Drake, for being unable to get through to her and her to understand who he was. And for Liam, having to deal with the whole situation. He didn’t seem too upset and was quite willing to just accept things. I supposed that after all he'd been through in his short life, this mix-up was nothing.

  Drake stood beside the bed and spoke to Louise, telling her all about his first marriage and how Liam was his son with his first wife. He had already told her all this, but he probably felt a need to tell her again, hoping that she'd comprehend.

  I didn’t see even a hint of understanding on her face – only confusion.

  "So, tell me about Liam," Herb said and sat in a chair beside the bed. Liam stood in front of him and talked about himself. He pulled out Batman from his backpack and showed it to Herb, who took it and examined it closely.

  "I sure wish we had such great toys when I was your age. This is fantastic."

  "You liked Batman when you were a kid?"

  "He was my favorite. We could only watch on television or read comics."

  Liam smiled, pleased to find another Batman fan. He reached inside his backpack and pulled out the Batman comic, showing it to Herb, who made a big fuss about it.

  "We should go," Drake said to Herb, once he handed the comic back to Liam and took his place at Louise's side. "I'll come back and see her again tomorrow."

  "Come whenever you like. The doctors are hopeful for the first time that she may recover so we'd be pleased if you come as often as you're able. In fact, we wanted to invite you and your family over to our place as soon as things settled down. We have a big pit barbecue right beside the beach and could cook up a mess of ribs, as my family back home in Louisiana would say."

  Drake smiled and shook hands with Herb once more. "That sounds wonderful. I'd love to come and meet everyone, and introduce my family to them." He turned to Liam. "Would you like to go for a barbecue, Liam?"

  Liam nodded, taking Drake's hand once more. "Yes. Could I bring my boogie board and surf?"

  "Of course, you could," Herb said and smiled.

  "We look forward to it," I said.

  We said goodbye and made our away out of the hospital and to the car. When we got there, Drake put Sophie's car seat in the back and Liam got in beside her, on his booster seat.

  We both got inside and he closed his door, then inserted the key and started the engine. Then, he sat there for a moment, his head bowed. I reached out to touch him, knowing he was overwhelmed.

  He turned to me, his eyes wet. "That went better than I hoped."

  "It did."

  He leaned over and we kissed.

  "Other than her mistaking Liam for me as a boy. Probably that's all she can do – draw on deep memories at this point in her disease progression. She thought I was my father."

  "I know," I said, my own emotions overflowing. "She didn't seem upset."

  "No," he said and shook his head. "She didn't."

  He sighed and we drove off, on our way to the beach so we could enjoy the afternoon with Liam. He was a sweet boy who showed such composure during the visit to the people he did not know.

  I glanced to the back seat and sure enough, Sophie fell asleep, the motion of the car working every time. Beside her, Liam was reading his Batman comic book, turning pages, his eyes wide.

  While we were driving, Drake's cel
l let out a loud ding, indicating an incoming text message.

  "Can you check that for me?"

  I grabbed Drake's cell and opened it up, using his passcode. I flipped screens and found his text messages. There was one from his lawyer in Manhattan.

  GARY: Court date coming up. You'll be called by the prosecutor. Need you here so we can go over your testimony. Let me know when you can get here. The sooner the better. Court is in three weeks.

  I read it to Drake, a sinking feeling in my gut.

  "So soon?" he said, frowning. "I thought it wouldn't be until next month."

  "I guess not. We can all go together," I said, not wanting Drake to have to do it himself. "It's a good thing you only have five shifts left. You could go once they're done."

  Drake nodded, but his demeanor changed from that point on.

  Our special day with Liam, and with Drake's new-found family had gone so well. I didn’t want it to be ruined by a text so I took Drake's hand and squeezed.

  "It'll be straight-forward. You'll meet with Jude, go over your testimony, attend court and then we'll come back. Nothing to it. You did nothing wrong. Nothing illegal. We'll come back to San Francisco and we'll spend the rest of the year getting to know your new family and spending time with each other.

  He smiled finally and kissed my knuckles when we pulled up to a stoplight.

  "There's a reason I love you so much," he said softly.

  "There is," I replied. "It's because I love you so much."

  "We're a hopeless case. Hopelessly in love."

  I smiled back. "Hopeless as charged."

  We drove off to the beach and the spent the rest of a great day with family, thoughts about the upcoming trial put behind us both for now.

  Chapter 14

  DRAKE

  My day with Liam was wonderful. It was exactly what I needed.

  After our visit to the hospital to see my mother, we spent time on the beach in front of our house. The weather was warm, the sky blue with only a few clouds and was perfect. Liam had his boogie board and put on a wetsuit Brenda had packed for him, spending time in the surf, riding the small waves in. Sophie and Kate stayed a little farther up the beach from the surf and built sandcastles, Sophie wearing her floppy brim hat and heart-shaped sunglasses.