by Alison Mello
“Sweetie, I understand that. Just know that if we go and leave her home, then we can always plan a separate trip with her. However, if you don’t want to go, I can understand that, too. I just want you to talk to me about it. Don’t push me away and tell me that I can go without you.”
“But you can go without me. I don’t want you to think that just because I decide not to go you can’t go. Sean has been a friend of yours for a long time. I really don’t want you to miss it. I’ll feel bad.”
“I’m a big boy. I do not need you to feel bad for me.” He pulls me close to him and kisses me on the tip of my nose then my lips. “I care about you, T. I want to support your decisions, not have you feeling bad over them. Besides they’re our friends, they’ll understand if we decide we cannot fly down for the wedding, okay?”
I smile and nod at him as he kisses me again.
“Now let’s get some sleep because we’re going to have a human alarm clock wake us very early and we need to figure out what we’re going to do with her tomorrow.” He spoons me and kisses the top of my head.
Chapter 9
I take a deep breath and enjoy the scent of this amazing man lying on the side of me. I can’t believe he went home yesterday just to pack clothes so he could spend the night and head to work from here today. I’m really getting spoiled waking up with him. I smile to myself thinking about our day yesterday. It was nothing big, but we spent it together doing basic everyday stuff like laundry, grocery shopping for the week, and just plain old hanging out. Now, unfortunately, I have to wake him up so we can go back to the reality of the workweek.
I start kissing his chest and make my way up his neck to his earlobe. I give it a gentle nibble, and he lets out a groan before he stretches.
“Good morning, baby,” he says as I continue my nibbling on his ear. “You keep that up, and we are both going to be late for work.”
I smile and roll out of bed. “I wish I could be late, but you’re right. I need to stop because I need to jump in the shower and wake Katie for school.”
“Why don’t you jump in the shower, and while you’re showering I’ll wake her and help her get clothes for school.”
“You’re going to pick her clothes?” I ask, only because he doesn’t know where anything is in her room and Katie can be pretty picky when it comes to clothes.
“Um, yeah, just because I’m a guy it doesn’t mean I can’t handle picking out an outfit for a little girl,” he says, trying to be offended.
“Babe, I’m sure you can handle it, but you do not understand how picky Katie can be.”
He laughs at me. “I got this. You just get in the shower.”
“Okay,” I say as I head into the bathroom with my clothes.
I walk out of the bathroom dressed for work with my hair blow-dried. I’m hoping that I won’t have to fight with Katie about getting dressed, and Chase has her ready to go. She’s sitting at the table eating her breakfast of Cheerios.
“Good morning, Mommy!”
I smile and shake my head realizing that Chase did a good job as usual. “Good morning, sweetie. Did you have a good night’s sleep?”
She nods as she shovels more Cheerios into her mouth. “Mommy, Chase helped me pick my clothes. Did we do a good job?”
I look down at my beautiful daughter. “You did a great job, sweetie. Finish eating, and I’ll do your hair for you.”
“Okay, Mommy. Can you put it in a ponytail today?”
“Sure can. I’ll be out in about ten minutes to do it. Please make sure your backpack is ready to go with all of your school supplies that we bought.”
She again nods as she puts more food into her mouth.
I quickly flat-iron my hair and throw on a touch of makeup. Chase is in taking a shower while I put Katie’s hair into a ponytail. He comes out dressed in snug jeans, a well-fitted polo, and boots. Oh my, he looks hot! I’m practically drooling when my phone pings. I look down at the kitchen table, and the green light is flashing indicating I have a text message. I quickly pick it up and see it is Kyle.
I want to take Katie this weekend.
I stop and think for a second to make sure we have nothing going on.
Fine but I’m not telling her until you confirm with me on Friday night that you still plan on picking her up. What time will you get her?
Fine. I’ll text you on Friday. I want to pick her up at 10:00 am. We have a birthday party at noon.
Okay talk to you Friday.
When I put my phone down, Chase is watching me. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, I’ll fill you in after we put Katie on the bus.” I tell Katie to grab her backpack. I stick money into the little pouch on the back for her lunch, and we head out to wait for the bus.
Katie gets on the bus and waves good-bye to us from the window.
I turn to Chase. “That was Kyle texting me earlier. He wants to take Katie this weekend. He says they have a birthday party to go to. I told him I was fine with him picking her up, but I was not telling her until he confirmed with me on Friday night. I will not have her upset if he cancels again.”
He nods and looks like he’s thinking about how to respond before he says, “I guess we will see what happens. I hope he shows up. He hasn’t seen her in two weeks.”
“I know. She asked me the other day when she was going to see him again. For now I told her that her daddy was working, and I would see when he had plans to pick her up again. She accepted that, but eventually I’m going to have to talk to her about the truth and help her through if need be.”
“Just take it one day at a time for now, babe. You never know. Maybe he will wake up and start seeing her more. I have to head to the office. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll text you or call you later. Have a good day.” I push up on my toes to kiss him good-bye before I climb into my car.
* * * *
I’m deep in a journal entry when my phone rings, scaring the shit out of me. My cell phone never rings, so I quickly pick it up and when I see it’s my mom, answer immediately. “Hey, Mom, what’s wrong?” She never calls me, so I have to assume something is wrong.
“Hey, sweetie. I’m so sorry to bother you at work, but I’m on my way to the hospital with Daddy. His blood pressure was really low, and the doctor doesn’t like the sound of his breathing. He has ordered some immediate testing to be done.” My poor mom sounds so scared. “I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to pick Katie up at school.”
“Mom, please don’t worry about Katie. I’ll take care of her. Just let me know if they are going to admit him, and I’ll stop at the hospital as soon as I can.” I’m trying not to panic, but I am.
“I’ll call you as soon as I know more, sweetie.” She cuts the call off.
I run into Jack’s office in a panic.
“Theresa, what is it?”
“Sorry to burst in, Jack, but I wanted to let you know that I may need to leave early today. My dad is being sent to the hospital for testing, so I may need to get Katie if I can’t arrange something else. Plus I would like to go to the hospital to see him and find out what’s going on.”
“Theresa, it’s your dad. Don’t stress it. Do what you have to do.”
He has the most sympathetic look on his face. He lost his dad last year. Granted, I think his father was quite a bit older than mine, but I know he understands.
I shoot back to my office to sit and think for a second. If I call the school, they can put Katie on the bus that will take her to my house, but who can meet her there? I pick up the phone and call Chase.
“Hey, babe, how’s your day?”
“Not good, Chase. My dad is being sent to the hospital for testing, and I need to figure out how to get Katie. Can Sam meet her at the house? My landlord lives on the second floor and can let them in.”
“I’ll call you right back.” He cuts the call.
I call the school, tell them to put Katie on the bus, and confirm that her bus will arrive at three thi
rty. That gives me two and a half hours to either get home or get someone to the house for her. I also call the landlord and confirm that she’ll be home to let Sam in with Katie if she can meet her.
My cell phone rings. “Hey, Chase!”
“Hey, baby. I texted Sam. She’s going to go straight to your house after school. She gets home at 2:30 so she’ll have plenty of time. Can you let your landlord know she’ll be there about three? She’ll work on her homework until Katie gets there and she said she’ll have Katie get started on hers as well. Now how can I help?”
I feel tears prick in my eyes. “I don’t even know, Chase. I’m going to finish the huge journal entry I’m working on, and then I’m going to meet my mom at the hospital so I can find out what’s going on.”
“Oh, baby, I can hear the panic in your voice. Listen I’m going to head home and grab some clothes, and I’ll go to the house to check on Sam and Katie. I’ll make Katie dinner if need be and wait for you to get home.”
“Are you sure, Chase?”
“Baby, I’m one hundred percent sure. Go see your dad. Give me a call or shoot me a text once you know what is up, and then we’ll figure out plans for the week.”
A tear escapes my eye, and not just because I’m worried about my dad but also because I know I’m so lucky to have Chase to help me. “Thank you so much, Chase. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Don’t worry about it, baby. Just drive safe, please. I don’t want you getting hurt, too.”
“I will. I’ll call you in a bit to update you on the situation.”
* * * *
I get to the hospital and head right to the nurses’ station. They tell me my dad has still not been admitted but show me where he is so I can visit with him. When I walk into his curtained-off section of the large room he’s in, I find him fast asleep in a bed. He has oxygen hooked up to his nose and a blood pressure cuff on his arm. My mom is sitting by his side reading a magazine.
“Hey, Mom, any news yet?” I ask as I as I walk over to hug her.
“I was just told the doctor should be in any minute, but for now all I know is his blood pressure is too low and he’s not getting enough oxygen. They have drawn blood, taken X-rays, and have given him some new medication to try to correct his blood pressure.” She looks exhausted. “Let’s step out for a minute.”
“The doctors are going to admit him for observation and more testing if they don’t find anything in the tests they have already run. They plan on doing a CT scan, and I’m sure other tests, but I’m not sure what yet.”
“Okay, after the doctor comes in, why don’t you go home and freshen up. I’ll stay with him for a while until you come back,” I offer because I don’t know what else I can do to help.
“What about Katie?” I can’t believe with all that must be going through her mind with my dad, she’s still concerned with my daughter.
I give her a warm smile. “Mom, Katie is fine. Right now she’s with Chase’s cousin Sam, and he’s going to the house after work to feed her dinner and stay with her until I get home.”
“Okay, let’s go sit and wait for the doctor.” We start heading back behind the curtain. “That’s a good man you have found yourself, Theresa. Any man willing to pick up the slack of a bad father is worth keeping around.”
I bite the inside of my lip, trying to decide how much to tell her. “I care about him a lot, Mom. He’s really good to Katie and me, but I don’t know.”
“Theresa Marie, do not go into self-destruct mode.” She lifts my chin so I’m forced to look her in the eye. “What’re you not telling me?”
“Oh, Mom, it’s just some friends of ours are getting married. As a matter of fact, it’s one of his good friends. She’s pregnant, and they want a beach wedding so they asked if everyone would be willing to fly down south so they could have their beach wedding before the baby comes.” I pause so I can choose my words carefully.
“Let me guess. You told Chase to go without you because of Katie.” She has the look of disappointment on her face.
“What else was I supposed to say? It isn’t like we have been together long, and I have responsibilities here.” I know that she’d take Katie in a heartbeat, but I wouldn’t dream of asking, especially now.
“Young lady, you listen to me. If that young man wants to go down south with you for a weekend, you go with him and leave my granddaughter with me. You need to stop beating yourself up over the decision to have this child. You’ve been raising her on your own for seven years now. It’s about time you do something for yourself.”
“We’ll see, Mom. I don’t even want to think about it until I know what is going on with Daddy,” I tell her as my voice trembles with fear.
She mumbles, “You’re going on that trip if I have to call Chase myself.”
“Oh, Mom!” I start laughing.
“Stop arguing with your mother,” my dad says, sounding half-asleep.
“Oh, Daddy, how are you feeling?” I run to his side and grab his hand.
He squeezes my hand so slightly, but it’s enough I can feel it. “I feel like Katie is sitting on my chest.”
“Knock, knock,” the doctor says from the other side of the curtain before he enters our closed off area. “Mr. Anderson, I’m glad you’re awake. How are you feeling?” he says with a huge smile on his face.
“Like my granddaughter is sitting on my chest.” He’s very grumpy.
“Well, we definitely can see why you feel that way. We found a spot on your X-ray that we do not like the look of. We have a room ready for you so we can admit you. We need to run a few more tests tomorrow so we can figure out exactly what this spot is and what we need to do to get you feeling better.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Doc. What is it?”
“Daddy, don’t be mean to the doctor.”
“Theresa, I’m almost sixty-nine years old, I want it fed to me straight.”
“Well, to be honest, Mr. Anderson, that’s all I have for you tonight. Until we do the CT scan tomorrow and I get your blood results, we need to hang tight. We’re going to give you something to try to make it a little easier to breathe, but we’ll know more tomorrow.” He pats my dad on the leg before he starts to head out. “A nurse will be in shortly to move you to your room. Try to get some rest, and we will talk in the morning.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I say as the doctor leaves the room.
“Mom, I need to call Chase and give him an update. I’ll be right back.” I walk out of the holding area they have my dad in and into the family waiting room so I can talk in private.
“Hey, baby, how is he?”
“They are admitting him for more tests tomorrow. He needs a CT scan, and they’re still waiting on his blood work. They’re moving him to a room and as soon as he’s comfortable I’ll be home, if that is okay?”
“That is fine, I made Katie mac and cheese for dinner, and Sam gave her a shower for me, so she’s already in her pajamas and relaxing in front of the TV. Also I hope you don’t mind I introduced myself to your landlord as Sam was leaving. I thanked her for helping us out with the emergency. She asked me if everything was okay with your dad, and I told her I hadn’t heard yet. She seems really nice.”
“That’s fine. She’s really nice. Okay, well, let me get back so I can get home as soon as possible.”
“No problem, I’ll talk to you soon.”
* * * *
I collapse on my couch exhausted. I can’t believe it’s eight thirty and I’m just getting home. Katie is already asleep, and Chase is in the kitchen making me something to eat although I don’t feel much like eating. I’m tired and worried about my dad. In our family a spot on your lungs almost always means cancer, and my dad knows it, which is why he gave the doctor shit. He also knows they will not say anything until he has the CT scan and they have spoken to the oncologist.
“Here you go, baby. I made you a sandwich and cut you up some fruit. Please try to eat.” He rubs my back as I lean forward to take
a bite of my sandwich.
“They found a spot on his lungs,” I say flatly, pausing for a minute to try to contain my fear. “In our family, that almost always means cancer.”
“Aww, baby, I know it’s hard but try not to think the worst yet. Even if it is cancer, it doesn’t mean he can’t survive it.”
“I know, but it’s hard to think positive when every family member you have lost has been to cancer. It scares the shit out of me, and to be honest, I’m not ready to lose him yet. I know that sounds selfish, but I can’t help it.”
“How about we just take it one day at a time and see what happens. What’s your plan for tomorrow?”
“Well, they’re going to run tests first thing in the morning. Then the doctor will stop by to see him shortly after, hopefully with some results. My mom said that I should go to work and that she’ll call me when she knows something.”
“I’ll get Katie off the bus tomorrow, so don’t worry about her.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind? I mean I appreciate it but—”
He cuts me off. “Theresa, it’s fine. It’ll be a long week for both of us but that’s part of the relationship. I knew when I started dating you that you had a daughter. I’m not going to jump ship because you need my help.”
I nod as I finish the dinner he made me. “Want to hear something funny?”
He smiles. “Sure.”
“My mom really likes you. I mean to the point that I was talking about the wedding, and she gave me crap for telling you I probably couldn’t go.”
“She does?”
I nod. “She even said that she would call you personally to make sure you knew that I had Katie taken care of if I didn’t make the plans to go with you myself.”
