Page 50 of Sea Glass Serenade

He kissed her forehead. “Absolutely. You want to tackle some more dishes with me? Something to keep our brains busy?”

“Yes.” She squeezed his hand. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

He smiled down at her, feeling a mixture of worry for Dean and a surge of happiness over the fact that he had a second chance with his wife.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Dean lay on the exam table in the doctor’s office, staring at the ceiling. He could hear the faint sounds of monitors beeping and of muffled voices in the hallway. He felt warm and comfortable physically, and the pain that had been sharp earlier in the evening was now a barely noticeable ache.

He took a deep breath and sighed. He wished he’d been able to hide his pain from his family. Hazel had seen him wince and had immediately gotten it out of him that his back hurt a great deal. The next thing he’d known, he’d been surrounded by his family members, and then getting whisked off to the hospital.

But this place is for people who really need care, or who don’t know what’s causing their symptoms,he thought.I do know. There’s no real reason for me to be here.

He felt sick to his stomach, realizing that he needed to tell his whole family about his diagnosis. He’d waited with Vivian and Hazel for about an hour before he could be seen by the doctor, and then he’d just been informed it was his arthritis flaring up. He needed to tell his family so that when something like this happened again, they wouldn’t become so worried.

He thought about how he and Julia had talked about thinking that the cause for his symptoms could have beensomething much worse. He didn’t want his family to have those same fears as they watched him suffer and didn’t know the cause of his pain.

The sick feeling in his stomach grew, and he took a deep breath. He didn’t want to tell them, because he knew that it would make them sad, and that they would never treat him the same way again. But he knew that this was the moment, and he told himself to be brave and do what was best for both him and them.

“Mr. Owens?” A nurse stepped into the exam room. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, fine. Much better now. Thanks.” He smiled at her.

“Here’s that information sheet the doctor wanted you to have. And we’re sending you home with this cream that you can use to help relieve the pain when this happens again. Do you have any questions for me?”

“No, that’s all right. Thanks.” He stood up stiffly, relieved to find that the pain was almost gone and he could move without feeling as though there were needles in his spine.

“Of course.” She handed him a packet of papers and a tube of cream. “Go on out there to the lobby, your family is waiting for you.”

He made his way back out to the lobby, and as soon as he stepped through the doorway his mouth popped open in surprise. He had thought that the nurse was referring to Hazel and Vivian when she’d said his “family,” but sitting in the waiting room chairs were Hazel, Vivian, Julia, Alexis, and Grayson. All of them looked anxious—Grayson and Alexis were holding hands, and Julia and Hazel were sitting close together with their arms around each other.

“Dean!” Julia jumped up as soon as she saw him and gave him a hug. “How are you feeling?”

He was soon surrounded by the rest of his family, all of them gently hugging him or patting him on the back.

“I’m doing fine.” He smiled at them, feeling a wave of nervousness over having to tell them his news. “Let’s—” He glanced around the waiting room, which still had a few people in it. He knew his family was going to feel emotional about his diagnosis and he didn’t want to create a scene. “Let’s go out to the parking lot, okay?”

They agreed, all looking relieved but a little confused about why he wanted to leave the hospital so quickly.

They made their way downstairs and through the front doors. A cool night breeze was ruffling its way through the parking lot, and Dean felt soothed by the feeling of it brushing against his face. He told himself firmly that he could do what he needed to do.

“We can drive you home, Dean,” Vivian said, taking his arm.

“Thank you, that would be nice,” he said. “But—well, first there’s something I need to say to all of you.” He took a deep breath and looked at all of their faces as they gazed at him in concern. Julia met his eyes and nodded gently to encourage him. He leaned over and kissed the side of his mother’s head. “I know why my back hurt tonight. I know why my hands got so weak the other day and I dropped that tool.”

“What is it, Dean?” Alexis whispered, looking scared.

“According to the doctors, I have osteoarthritis. My symptoms match the early symptoms of it. I have weakness and pain and fatigue. So.” He smiled wanly. “It could be worse.”

Hazel burst into tears and ran to wrap her brother in her arms.

“Hey,” he said, rocking her back and forth, “it’s okay. I’m going to be okay. It’s just something I’ve got to deal with.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she said, snuffling as she stepped back to look at his face.

“Yeah, Dean, why didn’t you tell us?” Alexis looked pale, and she was clinging to Grayson. "Why didn’t you let us support you while you were first dealing with that news?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to deal with it on my own time. I wanted a little more time to be treated normally by everyone, you know? Besides, I knew it was going to make you all sad. Like this.” He laughed a little, gesturing at their faces. “Come on, cheer up, will you?”

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